A new carbon fuel cell with high power output by integrating with in situ catalytic reverse Boudouard reaction

Abstract

Solid carbon was investigated as the fuel for an intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC). An innovative, indirect operating method involving internal catalytic gasification of carbon to gaseous carbon monoxide via the reverse Boudouard reaction (C(s) + CO2(g) ? 2CO(g)) was proposed. The carbon gasification reaction rate was greatly enhanced by adopting FemOn-MxO (M = Li, K, Ca) as a catalyst. A peak power density of ~297 mW cm-2 was achieved at 850 °C for an anode-supported SOFC with scandium-stabilized zirconia electrolyte and a La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 cathode by applying a catalyst-loaded, activated carbon as fuel. This peak power density was only modestly lower than that obtained using gaseous hydrogen as the fuel. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.