Selected aspects of the design and diagnostics of solid oxide fuel cells

• Main Author: Lis Bartłomiej
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2016-01-01
• Series: E3S Web of Conferences
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20161000128

An increased growth in demand for energy accompanied by efforts to limit its negative impact on the environment is forcing society to seek new, more efficient energy sources. Fuel cells are one of the most promising solutions among the widely developed new generation of electrical generators. Fuel cells directly convert chemical fuel into electricity. Water and waste heat are by-products of fuel cell operation. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have proven to be one of the most interesting solutions among the five types of technologically advanced fuel cells, for their ability to operate at temperatures above 800°C. Furthermore, SOFCs are characterized by other advantages in comparison to PEMFCs, including: (1) no need to use expensive catalysts (e.g. platinum, the price of which is high, and its resources limited), (2) the possibility of direct, internal conversion of hydrocarbon fuels, (3) lower sensitivity to contaminants (in particular, hydrogen fuel containing CO, which is useful for SOFCs instead of the platinum catalyst poisoners), and (4) the possibility of using waste heat in a gas turbine, or for heating or other industrial purposes. The paper discusses selected issues regarding the construction and characteristics of planar solid oxide fuel cells. Selected results of the following electrochemical investigations: Ba0.9Ca0.1Ce0.9Y0.1O3-based proton electrolyte as possible components of SOFCs operating at intermediate temperature range (500-700°C).