Performance Analysis of CH

The performance of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack system driven by simulated reformate was investigated in this study. CH4 was used as a surrogate fuel for low hydrocarbon components in reformate gas. One of the motivations for this study is to articulate the effects of low hydrocarbons in reformate gas, such as CH4 , on SOFCs. The effects of low hydrocarbons on SOFC have been widely investigated in SOFC button cells, but it does not provide the practical information to develop an SOFC system. Hence, we investigated the performance changes in SOFC stack operation with simulated reformate gas. Open-circuit voltage of the SOFC and discharge condition decreased as the fraction of CH4 in anode inlet gas was increased. The limit current density also decreased. As Eguchi et al. reported, CH4 does not directly participate in the electrode reaction (14). Hence, concentration overvoltage occurred in SOFC operation with CH4 . The effect of CH4 on SOFC long-term performance will be investigated in future studies.Copyright © 2009 by ASME