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Thermal modelling of ethanol-fuelled Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Bin
  • Xu, Haoran
  • Tan, Peng
  • Zhang, Yuan
  • Xu, Xiaoming
  • Cai, Weizi
  • Chen, Meina
  • Ni, Meng

Abstract

A 2D thermal model is developed to investigate an ethanol-fuelled Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (E-SOFC) with a Ni-ZrO2/CeO2 functional layer for internal reforming of ethanol. The catalytic kinetics of the functional layer used in this model is validated in terms of ethanol conversion and product selectivity in the experimental data of a fixed-bed testing reactor. The simulated E-SOFC demonstrates a typical performance of 4385.6 A m−2 at 0.6 V, corresponding to a power density of 2631.4 W m−2, with a high conversion ratio of ethanol (0.903) at 700 °C. Parametric studies of voltage, water to ethanol ratio and inlet fuel gas temperature are conducted and comprehensively analysed, concluding that the positive effects of lowering the voltage and increasing the inlet temperature on the ethanol conversion. We find that adding the reforming layer is a facile and effective way to replace the conventional H2 by abundant-in-nature ethanol for SOFC from the numerical analysis. Attention is also drawn to the carbon deposition risk by thermodynamic analysis of the gas composition, suggesting to keep the water to ethanol ratio higher than 3. The as-developed model can serve as an effective tool for the optimization of the operating conditions and geometry design to avoid carbon deposition and improve the performance of ethanol-fuelled Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Bin & Xu, Haoran & Tan, Peng & Zhang, Yuan & Xu, Xiaoming & Cai, Weizi & Chen, Meina & Ni, Meng, 2019. "Thermal modelling of ethanol-fuelled Solid Oxide Fuel Cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 476-486.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:237:y:2019:i:c:p:476-486
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.01.025
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    6. Yang, Yang & Liu, Fangsheng & Han, Xu & Wang, Xinxin & Dong, Dehua & Chen, Yan & Feng, Peizhong & Khan, Majid & Wang, Shaorong & Ling, Yihan, 2022. "Highly efficient and stable fuel-catalyzed dendritic microchannels for dilute ethanol fueled solid oxide fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
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    8. Li, Bangxin & Irvine, John T.S. & Ni, Jiupai & Ni, Chengsheng, 2022. "High-performance and durable alcohol-fueled symmetrical solid oxide fuel cell based on ferrite perovskite electrode," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PB).
    9. Wang, Chen & He, Qijiao & Li, Zheng & Yu, Jie & Bello, Idris Temitope & Zheng, Keqing & Han, Minfang & Ni, Meng, 2024. "A novel in-tube reformer for solid oxide fuel cell for performance improvement and efficient thermal management: A numerical study based on artificial neural network and genetic algorithm," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    10. Zeng, Zezhi & Qian, Yuping & Zhang, Yangjun & Hao, Changkun & Dan, Dan & Zhuge, Weilin, 2020. "A review of heat transfer and thermal management methods for temperature gradient reduction in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    11. Mendiburu, Andrés Z. & Lauermann, Carlos H. & Hayashi, Thamy C. & Mariños, Diego J. & Rodrigues da Costa, Roberto Berlini & Coronado, Christian J.R. & Roberts, Justo J. & de Carvalho, João A., 2022. "Ethanol as a renewable biofuel: Combustion characteristics and application in engines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    12. Abdellah Essaghouri & Zezhi Zeng & Bingguo Zhao & Changkun Hao & Yuping Qian & Weilin Zhuge & Yangjun Zhang, 2022. "Influence of Radial Flows on Power Density and Gas Stream Pressure Drop of Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-21, October.
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