Solid oxide fuel cells with recuperative operation by CO2 reforming of methane

摘要

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have been regarded as one of the most attractive energy conversion devices because of their advantages such as high power generation efficiency, relatively high tolerance for impurities, non-use of noble metals, and fuel flexibility. Examples of the multi-fuel applicability include gaseous fuels such as alkanes and dimethyl-ether, and liquid fuels in ambient condition such as methanol and toluene, as well as solid fuels such as activated carbon and coal. Here we are focusing on a methane-fueled SOFC operated with direct internal reforming (DIR-SOFC). In this case methane is reformed into hydrogen and carbon monoxide directly on SOFC anode, which are electrochemically consumed for power generation simultaneously, resulting in high conversion of the fuel. And also, DIR-SOFC has an advantage from a viewpoint of heat recuperation, that is, heat generated with electrochemical reaction can be effectively recovered with endothermic reforming reaction.