Coal Fueled SOFC System

Mu, L., Powers, ).D., and Brouwer, ). (2010) A finite volume SOFC model for coal-based integrated gasification fuel cell systems analysis. J. Fuel Cell Sci. Technol, 7, 041017. 

Terrestrial applications aimed at an economic SOFC system for the production of electrical power from coal and air at an overall efficiency of 60% or greater. With a conceptual 100 kW coal-burning fuel cell power system (Figure 2.10 [120]), coal could be gasified using the heat and combustion products emerging from the fuel cell stacks. 

A 2002 study for the National Energy Technology Laboratory found that coal gasification systems with C02 capture could reach efficiencies of 60% or more in cogenerating hydrogen and electricity using different configurations of turbines and solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). 

SCO SCPC SD SEC SMR SNG SOFC SPE SRES SULEV SUV Synthetic crude oil Super-critical pulverised coal System dynamics US Securities and Exchange Commission Steam methane reformer Synthetic natural gas Solid-oxide fuel cell Society of Petroleum Engineers IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios Super-ultra-low-emission vehicle Sport utility vehicle... 

Solid oxide fuel cellsoperateatvery high temperatures, around 1,000°C. High temperature operation removes the need for precious-metal catalyst, thereby reducing cost. It also allows SOFCs to reform fuels internally, which enables the use of a variety of fuels and reduces the cost associated with adding a reformer to the system. SOFCs are also the most sulphur-resistant fuel cell type they can tolerate several orders of magnitude more sulphur than other cell types. In addition, they are not poisoned by carbon monoxide (CO), which can even be used as fuel. This allows SOFCs to use gases made from coal. 

In Japan, there is a project aimed at capturing the considerable volume of hydrogen gas which can be obtained as a by-product steel production. R D will focus on the purification process of fuel from coke oven gas to an acceptable level for fuel cell utilisation. METI, the Japan Research and Development Centre for Metals and Nippon Steel are working on the project with a 2003 budget allocation of 549 million. Japan also operates the 4C/.f project which aimsto develop an optimum coal gasifier for fuel cells and the establishment of gas clean-up system for purification of coal gas to the acceptable level for utilisation for MCFC and SOFC. The budget allocations for 2000-2003 total 4.6 billion. 

The publicly-funded fuel cell research program started in 1985, with the main activities performed at the Energy research Centre ofthe Netherlands (ECN). Between 1985 and 2001, about 100 million was invested by mixed public-private funds in the development of fuel cell and hydrogen energy. The objectives ofthe Dutch fuel cell programs were initially oriented to the application of coal gas in MCFC based systems. The MCFC activities were terminated in 2001, after an evaluation failed to indicate its commercial viability with natural gas. Afterwards, the activities shifted to SOFC and PEM technology for high efficient conversion of natural gas in small-scale decentralised units. 

The necessary fuel processing of natural gas or other hydrocarbons and coal before its use in the SOFC changes the system design. The following investigations have been done for methane as the main component of natural gas to keep the calculations simple. A common type of fuel processing for hydrocarbons is the endothermic steam reforming process as shown for methane in Equation (2.105) with the heat demand Equation (2.106)... 

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