1 / 12

SOFC Technology

SOFC Technology. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Intended mainly for stationary applications with an output of 1 kW and larger They work at very high temperatures (some at 1000ºC) Due to the high operating temperature of SOFC's, they have no need for expensive catalyst . Fuels for Fuel Cells.

bruis
Download Presentation

SOFC Technology

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. SOFC Technology

  2. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells • Intended mainly for stationary applications with an output of 1 kW and larger • They work at very high temperatures (some at 1000ºC) • Due to the high operating temperature of SOFC's, they have no need for expensive catalyst.

  3. Fuels for Fuel Cells • The primary fuels directly utilized within fuel cell stacks today are • Hydrogen • Carbon monoxide • Methanol and • Dilute light hydrocarbons like methane, depending upon the fuel cell type. 

  4. Cont..

  5. SOFC :The most inherently fuel flexible • The presence of sulfur is not tolerated by fuel cells in general. • SOFC is the most inherently fuel flexible of the fuel cell types.  • MCFC units are also quite fuel flexible.

  6. Cont.. • (SOFC) use a hard, ceramic compound of metal (like calcium or zirconium) oxides (chemically, O2) as electrolyte • Efficiency is about 60 percent • Operating temperatures of 800-1,000 °C (about 1,800 °F).

  7. Simplified diagram of an SOFC

  8. Operating Principle • Oxygen is dissociated at the cathode into O2- • O2- migrate thru the crystal structure of the electrolyte • Oxidize the hydrogen atoms at anode • Yields electrons and produces electricity

  9. Cont..

  10. SOFC Design types • According to the type of cell configuration and developer- • Three major configurations for stacking the cells together to increase the voltage and power are: • Tubular (as developed by Westinghouse and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), • Flat plate (as developed by Ceramatec and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), and • Monolithic (as developed by Allied Signal).

  11. Applications • Suitable for decentralized electricity production • While the major application of SOFCs are seen in stationary plants, auxiliary power units in • Transportation vehicles • On-board power for aircraft • Power packs- small enough to be carried by soldiers has been motivated by DARPA

  12. Drawbacks • The high temperature limits applications of SOFC units and they tend to be rather large • While solid electrolytes cannot leak, they can crack. • Complex materials • Assembling • Maintenance • Design Cost & choice of material

More Related