Mathematical Modelling of Proton‐Conducting Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Comparison with Oxygen‐Ion‐Conducting Counterpart

Proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (H-SOFC), using a proton-conducting electrolyte, potentially have higher maximum energy efficiency than conventional oxygen-ion-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (O-SOFC). It is important to theoretically study the current–voltage (J–V) characteristics in detail in order to facilitate advanced development of H-SOFC. In this investigation, a parametric modelling analysis was conducted. An electrochemical H-SOFC model was developed and it was validated as the simulation results agreed well with experimental data published in the literature. Subsequently, the analytical comparison between H-SOFC and O-SOFC was made to evaluate how the use of different electrolytes could affect the SOFC performance. In addition to different ohmic overpotentials at the electrolyte, the concentration overpotentials of an H-SOFC were prominently different from those of an O-SOFC. H-SOFC had very low anode concentration overpotential but suffered seriously from high cathode concentration overpotential. The differences found indicated that H-SOFC possessed fuel cell characteristics different from conventional O-SOFC. Particular H-SOFC electrochemical modelling and parametric microstructural analysis are essential for the enhancement of H-SOFC performance. Further analysis of this investigation showed that the H-SOFC performance could be enhanced by increasing the gas transport in the cathode with high porosity, large pore size and low tortuosity.

[1]  S. Barnett,et al.  An Octane-Fueled Solid Oxide Fuel Cell , 2005, Science.

[2]  Tong Seop Kim,et al.  Performance characteristics of a MW-class SOFC/GT hybrid system based on a commercially available gas turbine , 2006 .

[3]  R. Herbin,et al.  Three-dimensional numerical simulation for various geometries of solid oxide fuel cells , 1996 .

[4]  Yoshio Matsuzaki,et al.  Evaluation and modeling of performance of anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell , 2000 .

[5]  Takuto Araki,et al.  Cycle analysis of planar SOFC power generation with serial connection of low and high temperature SOFCs , 2006 .

[6]  R. Kee,et al.  A general mathematical model for analyzing the performance of fuel-cell membrane-electrode assemblies , 2003 .

[7]  D. A. Noren,et al.  Clarifying the Butler–Volmer equation and related approximations for calculating activation losses in solid oxide fuel cell models , 2005 .

[8]  S. Chan,et al.  Polarization effects in electrolyte/electrode-supported solid oxide fuel cells , 2002 .

[9]  Robert J. Kee,et al.  Gas-phase reactions of methane and natural-gas with air and steam in non-catalytic regions of a solid-oxide fuel cell , 2006 .

[10]  K. Sumathy,et al.  Potential of renewable hydrogen production for energy supply in Hong Kong , 2006 .

[11]  Shi Yang,et al.  Innovative design to improve the power density of a solid oxide fuel cell , 2006 .

[12]  N. Sammes,et al.  Dynamic modeling of single tubular SOFC combining heat/mass transfer and electrochemical reaction effects , 2005 .

[13]  Amornchai Arpornwichanop,et al.  Effects of electrolyte type and flow pattern on performance of methanol-fuelled solid oxide fuel cells , 2005 .

[14]  A. Virkar,et al.  Dependence of polarization in anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells on various cell parameters , 2005 .

[15]  Mao Zongqiang,et al.  Electrochemical properties of intermediate-temperature SOFCs based on proton conducting Sm-doped BaCeO3 electrolyte thin film , 2006 .

[16]  Panagiotis Tsiakaras,et al.  Thermodynamic analysis of a hydrogen fed solid oxide fuel cell based on a proton conductor , 2001 .

[17]  K. Kreuer.  First published online as a Review in Advance on April 9, 2003 PROTON-CONDUCTING OXIDES , 2022 .

[18]  K. Knight,et al.  Perovskite solid electrolytes: Structure, transport properties and fuel cell applications , 1995 .

[19]  Jason P. Trembly,et al.  Effects of coal syngas and H2S on the performance of solid oxide fuel cells: Single-cell tests , 2006 .

[20]  Sano,et al.  A low-operating-temperature solid oxide fuel cell in hydrocarbon-Air mixtures , 2000, Science.

[21]  Subhash C. Singhal,et al.  Computer simulation of defects and oxygen transport in yttria-stabilized zirconia , 2006 .

[22]  H. Iwahara,et al.  High Temperature Solid Electrolyte Fuel Cells Using Perovskite‐Type Oxide Based on BaCeO3 , 1990 .

[23]  M. Fowler,et al.  Performance comparison of Fick’s, dusty-gas and Stefan–Maxwell models to predict the concentration overpotential of a SOFC anode , 2003 .

[24]  Laura Schaefer,et al.  Numerical study of a flat-tube high power density solid oxide fuel cell: Part I. Heat/mass transfer and fluid flow , 2005 .

[25]  J. Young,et al.  Thermodynamic and transport properties of gases for use in solid oxide fuel cell modelling , 2002 .

[26]  Raymond J. Gorte,et al.  Direct oxidation of hydrocarbons in a solid-oxide fuel cell , 2000, Nature.

[27]  Panagiotis Tsiakaras,et al.  Thermodynamic analysis of a solid oxide fuel cell system fuelled by ethanol , 2001 .

[28]  S. Cocchi,et al.  A global thermo-electrochemical model for SOFC systems design and engineering , 2003 .

[29]  M. Koyama,et al.  Large-scale calculations of solid oxide fuel cell cermet anode by tight-binding quantum chemistry method , 2005 .

[30]  H. Iwahara,et al.  Proton conductive properties of gadolinium-doped barium cerates at high temperatures , 1992 .

[31]  J. Brouwer,et al.  Fuel flexibility study of an integrated 25 kW SOFC reformer system , 2005 .

[32]  John B Goodenough,et al.  Double Perovskites as Anode Materials for Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells , 2006, Science.

[33]  M. Chyu,et al.  Simulation of the chemical/electrochemical reactions and heat/mass transfer for a tubular SOFC in a stack , 2003 .

[34]  Andrei G. Fedorov,et al.  Radiation heat transfer in SOFC materials and components , 2005 .

[35]  K. Sumathy,et al.  AN OVERVIEW OF HYDROGEN PRODUCTION FROM BIOMASS , 2006 .

[36]  Frank A. Coutelieris,et al.  On the systematic optimization of ethanol fed SOFC-based electricity generating systems in terms of energy and exergy , 2003 .

[37]  Panagiotis Tsiakaras,et al.  Thermodynamic analysis of a methane fed SOFC system based on a protonic conductor , 2002 .

[38]  Zongping Shao,et al.  A thermally self-sustained micro solid-oxide fuel-cell stack with high power density , 2005, Nature.

[39]  S. Chan,et al.  A complete polarization model of a solid oxide fuel cell and its sensitivity to the change of cell component thickness , 2001 .

[40]  Eric Croiset,et al.  Mechanistic modelling of a cathode-supported tubular solid oxide fuel cell , 2006 .

[41]  F. Calise,et al.  Design and partial load exergy analysis of hybrid SOFC–GT power plant , 2006 .

[42]  P. Douglas,et al.  Theoretical performance analysis of ethanol-fuelled solid oxide fuel cells with different electrolytes , 2006 .

[43]  Geert Versteeg,et al.  The use of the dusty-gas model for the description of mass transport with chemical reaction in porous media , 1995 .

[44]  Dennis Y.C. Leung,et al.  A modeling study on concentration overpotentials of a reversible solid oxide fuel cell , 2006 .

[45]  Phillip N. Hutton,et al.  A macro-level model for determining the performance characteristics of solid oxide fuel cells , 2004 .

[46]  Khiam Aik Khor,et al.  An electrolyte model for ceramic oxygen generator and solid oxide fuel cell , 2002 .

[47]  François Maréchal,et al.  Generalized model of planar SOFC repeat element for design optimization , 2004 .

[48]  Vinod M. Janardhanan,et al.  Modeling Elementary Heterogeneous Chemistry and Electrochemistry in Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells , 2005 .

[49]  Dennis Y.C. Leung,et al.  An Electrochemical Model of a Solid Oxide Steam Electrolyzer for Hydrogen Production , 2006 .

[50]  B. Ellis,et al.  Construction and operation of fuel cells based on the solid electrolyte BaCeO3:Gd , 1991 .

[51]  Lars Imsland,et al.  Control strategy for a solid oxide fuel cell and gas turbine hybrid system , 2006 .

[52]  Jan Van herle,et al.  Ammonia as a fuel in solid oxide fuel cells , 2003 .

[53]  D. Jeon,et al.  A comprehensive micro-scale model for transport and reaction in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells , 2006 .