Small Size Cylindrical Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells and Future Approaches for Decreasing Working Temperature

The paper deals with the development of an original small size cylindrical molten carbonate fuel cell (SSMCFC) and an investigation for decreasing its working temperature. High benefits are obtained by the proposed configuration in terms of construction time and costs, thermal dispersion minimization, global efficiency; minimization of gases tight problems, compression strain uniformity on the contact surface. A 1kW stack constituted by 15 single cells was tested with good results. However, SSMCFC is characterized by high working temperatures (600-700°C). Thus, high temperatures and the typical used electrolyte may accelerate the cell components breakdown and corrosion. An investigation on using ionic liquids as electrolyte support instead of a lithium aluminate porous element was carried out by an experimental facility. Test results allowed to individuate the optimum kind of ionic liquid for SSMCFC matrix support and possible other adjustment for performances improving.