Sulfur as Pollutant Species on the Cathode Side of a SOFC System

摘要

In order to link electrochemical performance degradation of thecathode in a large solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) to the presence ofpollutant species, a spatially-resolved study of contaminants wasperformed. Distribution maps of pollutants over the cell allowedidentifying their sources. Besides chromium and silicon, sulfur wasfound as a major pollutant species. Its preferential reaction withstrontium doped lanthanum cobaltite (LSC), forming strontiumsulfate SrSO_4, compared to strontium doped lanthanum manganite(LSM) is revealed here. When sulfur poisoning arises incombination with chromium, a sulfur-containing strontiumchromate compound is formed.