The Role of Bi-Polar Plate Design and the Start-Up Protocol in the Spatiotemporal Dynamics during Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Anode Reduction

Energies

Maria Erans¹  SeyedAli Nabavi¹  Vasilije Manovic¹  MatthewD. R. Kok²  DanielJ. L. Brett²  PaulR. Shearing²  Maximilian Maier²  JamesB. Robinson²  ThomasM. M. Heenan² 

[1] Centre for Climate and Environmental Protection, Cranfield University, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK;Electrochemical Innovation Lab, Department of Chemical Engineering, UCL, London WC1E 7JE, UK;

关键词: SOFC;    fuel cell;    anode;    Ni–YSZ;    REDOX;    reduction;   

DOI  :  10.3390/en13143552

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Start-up conditions largely dictate the performance longevity for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The SOFC anode is typically deposited as NiO-ceramic that is reduced to Ni-ceramic during start-up. Effective reduction is imperative to ensuring that the anode is electrochemically active and able to produce electronic and ionic current; the bi-polar plates (BPP) next to the anode allow the transport of current and gases, via land and channels, respectively. This study investigates a commercial SOFC stack that failed following a typical start-up procedure. The BPP design was found to substantially affect the spatiotemporal dynamics of the anode reduction; Raman spectroscopy detected electrochemically inactive NiO on the anode surface below the BPP land-contacts; X-ray computed tomography (CT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) identified associated contrasts in the electrode porosity, confirming the extension of heterogeneous features beyond the anode surface, towards the electrolyte-anode interface. Failure studies such as this are important for improving statistical confidence in commercial SOFCs and ultimately their competitiveness within the mass-market. Moreover, the spatiotemporal information presented here may aid in the development of novel BPP design and improved reduction protocol methods that minimize cell and stack strain, and thus maximize cell longevity.

【 授权许可】

Unknown