Performance enhancement of biodiesel fueled SOFC using paper-structured catalyst

Abstract In this study, performance of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) connected with paper-structured catalyst (PSC) was evaluated in the direct feed of wet oleic fatty acid methyl ester (oleic-FAME, C 19 H 36 O 2 ), which is a mono-unsaturated component of practical biodiesel fuels (BDFs), in the steam to carbon ratio (S/C) range between 2.0 and 3.5, and high current density of 1 A cm −2 (at 0.7 V) was recorded at 800 °C. Long term stability of oleic-FAME fueled SOFC was achieved by the incorporation of PSC into SOFC even under severe operating condition prone to coking (direct feed of unsaturated hydrocarbon with carbon number 19 and low S/C ratio of 2.0). After 100 h test, coking was not observed in both SOFC anode and PSC.