Research solid oxide fuel cells

Current availability of individual lanthanides (plus Y and La) in a state of high purity and relatively low cost has stimulated research into potential new applications. These are mainly in the field of solid state chemistry and include solid oxide fuel cells, new phosphors and perhaps most significantly high temperature superconductors... 

Hikita T. Research and development of planar solid oxide fuel cells at Tokyo Gas. In Badwal SPS, Bannister MJ, Hannink RHJ, editors. Science and Technology of Zirconia V., Lancaster, PA Technical Publishing Company, 1993 674—681. 

In fuel cells, the combustion energy of hydrocarbons can be converted directly into electrical energy. At the fuel cell anode, the hydrocarbon is in most cases converted to carbon dioxide because the intermediates are more easily oxidized than the starting hydrocarbon (Eq. 9a) at the fuel cell cathode oxygen is reduced to water (Eq. 9b). Most fuel cell research has involved the use of hydrogen as fuel. However, solid oxide fuels cells (SOCFs) can operate at higher temperature and can... 

Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Bechtel Group, Inc., "Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Repowering of Highgrove Station Unit 1, Final Report," prepared for Southern California Edison Research Center, March 1992. 

K. Krist, "Gas Research Institute s Fundamental Research on Intermediate-Temperature Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cells," in Fuel Cell Program and Abstracts, 1992 Fuel Cell Seminar, Tucson, AZ, November 29 - December 2, 1992. 

Siemens-Westinghouse Power Corporation of Pittsburgh, PA developed and fabricated the first advanced power plant to combine a solid oxide fuel cell and a gas turbine. The microturbine generator was manufactured by Northern Research and Engineering Corporation of Woburn, Mass. The factory acceptance test was completed in April 2000. Southern California Edison will operate the new hybrid plant at The National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California-Irvine. A year of testing in a commercial setting will be performed at this site. The system cycle is expected to generate electric power at 55 % efficiency. 

W.L. Lundberg, "Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cogeneration System Conceptual Design," prepared by Westinghouse for Gas Research Institute, Report No. GRI-89-0162, July 1989. 

Dr. Hui has worked on various projects, including chemical sensors, solid oxide fuel cells, magnetic materials, gas separation membranes, nanostruc-tured materials, thin film fabrication, and protective coatings for metals. He has more than 80 research publications, one worldwide patent, and one U.S. patent (pending). He is currently leading and involved in several projects for the development of metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), ceramic nanomaterials as catalyst supports for high-temperature PEM fuel cells, protective ceramic coatings on metallic substrates, ceramic electrode materials for batteries, and ceramic proton conductors. Dr. Hui is also an active member of the Electrochemical Society and the American Ceramic Society. 

Polymer electrolyte membrane and solid oxide fuel cells demonstration of systems and development of new materials. Activity leader National Research Council (CNR). Estimated activity cost 14 million. 

Fig. )0. Researcher. Joe Makiet. monitors operation of a 20 kW solid oxide fuel cell generator while it is tested on a variety nf hydrocarbon fuels. (Wextinghou.se Electric Corporation)...

H. Hammou outlines the thermodynamic concepts and rate processes relevant to solid oxide fuel cells. Recent advances in materials research concerning electrical properties, and stability at high temperatures, are thoroughly reviewed. The most promising hardware developments are described, along with problems to be resolved. 

Stover, D., Diekmann, U., Flesch, U., Kabs, H., Quadakkers, W.J., Tietz, F. and Vinke, I.C., Recent developments in anode supported thin film SOFC at Research Center Julich, in Proceedings of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells VI, S.C. Singhal and M. Dokiya (Eds.), 1999, p. 812. 

Both the 2000 doe analysis and a 2003 analysis by the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Research Centre in Berlin suggest that solid oxide fuel cells (sofcs) may be a better candidate for home fuel cells because they have higher electric efficiency, they do not need an expensive external reformer, and they have more usable heat.27 For home use, however, sofcs would have their own limitations. Since they operate at very high temperatures, they take a long time (several hours) to warm up, which is why they operate much better in commercial and industrial applications that require high levels of electricity continuously. 

In recent decades, research has intensified to develop commercially viable fuel cells as a cleaner, more efficient source of energy, due to the global shortage of fossil fuels. The challenge is to achieve a cell lifetime suitable for transportation and stationary applications. Among the possible fuel cell types, it is generally believed that PEM fuel cells hold the most promise for these uses [10, 11], In order to improve fuel cell performance and lifetime, a suitable technique is needed to examine PEM fuel cell operation. EIS has also proven to be a powerful technique for studying the fundamental components and processes in fuel cells [12], and is now widely applied to the study of PEM fuel cells as well as direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), solid oxide fuel cell (SOFCs), and molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs). 

ZECA [Zero Emission Coal Alliance] A process for making electricity from coal. The coal is reacted with steam and hydrogen to produce methane, which is reformed to produce pure hydrogen, which is used in a solid oxide fuel cell to produce electricity. Developed from 1999 by Los Alamos National Laboratory and an alliance of industrial research laboratories, now organized as the ZECA Corporation. 

However, at the present fuel cells, for example PAFC (Phosforic acid fuel cell) or MCFC (Molten carbonate fuel cell), the residual fuel is finally burned by the already N2-diluted e2(hausted gas for the heat supply in order to convert the fuel to hydrogen and CO. On the other hand, SOFC (Solid oxide fuel cell) could more easily separate the CO2 recycling gas Much more research and development should be necessary for the recovery of CO2 in the fuel cell system. 

Although the effort for developing efficient PEM, and also solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), electrocatalysts has absorbed the majority of the research activities in electrocatalysis during the last 15 years, there are also several other theoretically and technologically important electrocatalytic fields that have attracted significant attention and where important advances have been made. 

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