Ethylene glycol as a new sustainable fuel for solid oxide fuel cells with conventional nickel-based anodes

In this study, renewable ethylene glycol (EG) was exploited as a potential fuel for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with conventional nickel yttria-stabilized zirconia (Ni–YSZ) cermet anodes for sustainable electric power generation. Carbon deposition behaviors over Ni–YSZ anodes under different carb...

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Main Authors: Qu, J., Wang, Wei, Chen, Y., Wang, F., Ran, Ran, Shao, Zongping
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier Ltd 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7725
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author Qu, J.
Wang, Wei
Chen, Y.
Wang, F.
Ran, Ran
Shao, Zongping
author_facet Qu, J.
Wang, Wei
Chen, Y.
Wang, F.
Ran, Ran
Shao, Zongping
author_sort Qu, J.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In this study, renewable ethylene glycol (EG) was exploited as a potential fuel for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with conventional nickel yttria-stabilized zirconia (Ni–YSZ) cermet anodes for sustainable electric power generation. Carbon deposition behaviors over Ni–YSZ anodes under different carbon-containing atmospheres such as EG, glycerol, ethanol and methane were characterized through thermodynamic prediction, oxygen-temperature programmed oxidation and SEM–EDX analysis. EG was observed to be better than acetic acid and glycerol and much better than methane and ethanol in terms of carbon deposition. A calculation of the open-circuit voltages of EG-fueled SOFCs suggested that EG is a suitable fuel for SOFCs. A maximum power output of 1200 mW cm−2 at 750 °C was obtained from a cell operating on EG-steam fuel, which is only a little lower than that from a cell based on hydrogen fuel. The cell was further operated stably on an EG-steam gas mixture for 200 h with no apparent performance degradation, carbon deposition over the anode, Ni agglomeration, or change in the morphology of the anodes. The current study confirmed the practical applicability of EG as a direct fuel for SOFCs, which may have a great effect on future energy systems.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2015
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-77252017-09-13T14:35:06Z Ethylene glycol as a new sustainable fuel for solid oxide fuel cells with conventional nickel-based anodes Qu, J. Wang, Wei Chen, Y. Wang, F. Ran, Ran Shao, Zongping In this study, renewable ethylene glycol (EG) was exploited as a potential fuel for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with conventional nickel yttria-stabilized zirconia (Ni–YSZ) cermet anodes for sustainable electric power generation. Carbon deposition behaviors over Ni–YSZ anodes under different carbon-containing atmospheres such as EG, glycerol, ethanol and methane were characterized through thermodynamic prediction, oxygen-temperature programmed oxidation and SEM–EDX analysis. EG was observed to be better than acetic acid and glycerol and much better than methane and ethanol in terms of carbon deposition. A calculation of the open-circuit voltages of EG-fueled SOFCs suggested that EG is a suitable fuel for SOFCs. A maximum power output of 1200 mW cm−2 at 750 °C was obtained from a cell operating on EG-steam fuel, which is only a little lower than that from a cell based on hydrogen fuel. The cell was further operated stably on an EG-steam gas mixture for 200 h with no apparent performance degradation, carbon deposition over the anode, Ni agglomeration, or change in the morphology of the anodes. The current study confirmed the practical applicability of EG as a direct fuel for SOFCs, which may have a great effect on future energy systems. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7725 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.03.051 Elsevier Ltd restricted
spellingShingle Qu, J.
Wang, Wei
Chen, Y.
Wang, F.
Ran, Ran
Shao, Zongping
Ethylene glycol as a new sustainable fuel for solid oxide fuel cells with conventional nickel-based anodes
title Ethylene glycol as a new sustainable fuel for solid oxide fuel cells with conventional nickel-based anodes
title_full Ethylene glycol as a new sustainable fuel for solid oxide fuel cells with conventional nickel-based anodes
title_fullStr Ethylene glycol as a new sustainable fuel for solid oxide fuel cells with conventional nickel-based anodes
title_full_unstemmed Ethylene glycol as a new sustainable fuel for solid oxide fuel cells with conventional nickel-based anodes
title_short Ethylene glycol as a new sustainable fuel for solid oxide fuel cells with conventional nickel-based anodes
title_sort ethylene glycol as a new sustainable fuel for solid oxide fuel cells with conventional nickel-based anodes
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7725