An experimental and theoretical approach for the carbon deposition problem during steam reforming of model biogas

The conversion of biogas to electricity presents an attractive niche application for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). A number of attempts have been made to use biogas as a fuel for high temperature fuel cell systems such as SOFCs. Biogas can be converted to a hydrogen-rich fuel in a reforming process which can use steam or carbon dioxide as the reforming agent. Conventionally, the reforming process is conducted at around 850◦C using several different catalysts depending on application. Biogas naturally contains the reforming agent, carbon dioxide, however, for typical biogas the content of carbon dioxide is insufficient to conduct the reforming process safely. Fore those cases, steam is added to prevent carbon deposition. Carbon formation occurs between the catalyst and the metal support, creating fibers which damage the catalytic property of the reactor. A number of papers have dealt with the problem of carbon deposition during both methane steam reforming and dry reforming. However, from the standpoint of solid oxide fuel cells, not every carbon-free condition is optimal for its operation. This paper treats this subject, explaining the mechanism of carbon formation during the steam reforming of biogas and using a numerical analysis to determine efficient and carbon-free working conditions

World Energy Resources and New Technologies

The development of civilisation is linked inextricably with growing demand for electricity. Thus, the still-rapid increase in the level of utilisation of natural resources, including fossil fuels, leaves it more and more urgent that conventional energy technologies and the potential of the renewable energy sources be made subject to re-evaluation. It is estimated that last 200 years have seen use made of more than 50% of the available natural resources. Equally, if economic forecasts prove accurate, for at least several more decades, oil, natural gas and coal will go on being the basic primary energy sources. The alternative solution represented by nuclear energy remains a cause of considerable public concern, while the potential for use to be made of renewable energy sources is seen to be very much dependent on local environmental conditions. For this reason, it is necessary to emphasise the impact of research that focuses on the further sharpening-up of energy effi ciency, as well as actions aimed at increasing society’s awareness of the relevant issues. The history of recent centuries has shown that rapid economic and social transformation followed on from the industrial and technological revolutions, which is to say revolutions made possible by the development of power-supply technologies. While the 19th century was “the age of steam” or of coal, and the 20th century the era of oil and gas, the question now concerns the name that will at some point come to be associated with the 21st century. In this paper, the subjects of discussion are primary energy consumption and energy resources, though three international projects on the global scale are also presented, i.e. ITER, Hydrates and DESERTEC. These projects demonstrate new scientifi c and technical possibilities, though it is unlikely that commercialisation would prove feasible before 2050. Research should thus be focused on raising energy effi ciency. The development of high-effi ciency technologies that reinforce energy security is presented, with it being assumed that these new high-efficiency technologies are capable of being applied globally in the near future

Catalyst Distribution Optimization Scheme for Effective Green Hydrogen Production from Biogas Reforming

Green hydrogen technology has recently gained in popularity due to the current economic and ecological trends that aim to remove the fossil fuels share in the energy mix. Among various alternatives, biogas reforming is an attractive choice for hydrogen production. To meet the authorities’ requirements, reforming biogas-enriched natural gas and sole biogas is tempting. Highly effective process conditions of biogas reforming are yet to be designed. The current state of the art lacks proper optimization of the process conditions. The optimization should aim to allow for maximization of the process effectiveness and limitation of the phenomena having an adverse influence on the process itself. One of the issues that should be addressed in optimization is the uniformity of temperature inside a reactor. Here we show an optimization design study that aims to unify temperature distribution by novel arrangements of catalysts segments in the model biogas reforming reactor. The acquired numerical results confirm the possibility of the enhancement of reaction effectiveness, coming from improving the thermal conditions. The used amount of catalytic material is remarkably reduced as a side effect of the presented optimization. To ensure an unhindered perception of the reaction improvement, the authors proposed a ratio of the hydrogen output and the amount of used catalyst as a measure

An Anisotropic Microstructure Evolution in a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Anode

The presented research shows that the long-term operation of a solid oxide fuel cell can lead to substantial anisotropic changes in anode material. The morphology of microstructure in the investigated stack was observed before and after the aging test using electron nanotomography. The microstructural parameters were estimated based on the obtained digital representation of the anode microstructure. Anisotropy was discovered in two of the three phases that constitute the anode, namely nickel and pores. The third component of the anode, which is yttrium-stabilized zirconia, remains isotropic. The changes appear at the microscale and significantly affect the transport phenomena of electrons and gasses. The obtained results indicate that the reference anode material that represents the microstructure before the aging test has isotropic properties which evolve toward strong anisotropy after 3800 h of constant operation. The presented findings are crucial for a credible numerical simulation of solid oxide fuel cells. They indicate that all homogeneous models must adequately account for the microstructure parameters that define the anisotropy of transport phenomena, especially if microstructural data is taken from a post-operational anode

Coaxial multi-criteria optimization of a methane steam reforming reactor for effective hydrogen production and thermal management

The advancement in environmental awareness is the recent driving factor of the energy industry development. The market sentiments dictate the commercialization of unconventional energy sources. Thus, generation via hydrogen conversion gains popularity. The presented research regards the enhancement of the steam reforming reaction, used for the production of hydrogen via the conversion of hydrocarbons. The reforming process characterizes by a strong endothermic nature. The rapid course of the reaction leads to the creation of temperature gradients of a considerable magnitude. The presented research strives to alleviate the negative consequences of the reaction character. An original strategy by the name of macro-patterning is suggested as a remedy. The presented research proposes an updated concept, predicting the introduction of coaxial segments to the catalytic insert. The segments may consist of catalytic material or metallic foam applied for local suppression of the reaction. The morphology of specific segments may be altered independently, to allow for additional control of the reforming reaction. The objective of the research is to define the optimal segment composition. The optimization process is based on an in-house procedure implementing a genetic algorithm. The acquired results appear to validate the macro-pattering concept. A significant unification of the temperature field is obtained, with a simultaneous increase in hydrogen productivity

A Three-Dimensional Numerical Assessment of Heterogeneity Impact on a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell’s Anode Performance

In this research, a fully three-dimensional, multiphase, microstructure-scale heterogeneous (non-continuous) electrode, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) stack model is implemented in order to assess the impact of homogeneity disturbance in an SOFC anode. The Butler⁻Volmer model is combined with recent empirical relations for conductivity and aspects of the Maxwell⁻Boltzmann kinetic theory describing the transport of mass within the porous medium. Methods for the localized quantification of electrode morphology parameters (such as triple phase boundary length) are implemented. The exchange current distribution in the electrode, the partial pressures and the electric potential fields for each phase are computed numerically. In order to simulate heterogeneity, transfer barriers of varying placement and size are added to an otherwise homogeneous, virtual microstructure based on data from FIB-SEM tomography. The results are compared to a model based on the continuous electrode theory, and the points of discrepancy are highlighted

Convection of paramagnetic fluid in a cube heated and cooled from side walls and placed below a superconducting magnet: comparison between experiment and numerical computations

The magnetic convection of paramagnetic fluid is studied in a strong magnetic field. The fluid in a cubic enclosure is heated from one vertical wall and cooled from the opposite one. The fluid is the 80% mass aqueous solution of glycerol with 0.8 mol/kg concentration of gadolinium nitrate hexahydrate to make the working fluid paramagnetic. The small amount of liquid crystal slurry is added to the fluid in order to visualize the temperature profiles in a vertical cross-section. This system is placed directly below the solenoid of the superconducting magnet which is oriented vertically. The temperature of cold wall is constantly controlled by the water flowing from a thermostating bath. On the other hand, the hot wall is heated by a nichrome wire from a DC power supply. In the numerical computations, the configuration of the system is modeled to be as close as possible to the real system. The physical properties of the working fluid are used to compute dimensionless parameters in the numerical model and the computations are carried out for corresponding cases. Later, the numerical and experimental results are compared with each other

Thin Solid Film Electrolyte and Its Impact on Electrode Polarization in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Studied by Three-Dimensional Microstructure-Scale Numerical Simulation

In this work, a three-dimensional microstructure-scale model of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell’s Positive-Electrolyte-Negative assembly is applied for the purpose of investigating the impact of decreasing the electrolyte thickness on the magnitude, and the composition of electrochemical losses generated within the cell. Focused-Ion-Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy reconstructions are used to construct a computational domain, in which charge transport equations are solved. Butler–Volmer model is used to compute local reaction rates, and empirical relationships are used to obtain local conductivities. The results point towards three-dimensional nature of transport phenomena in thin electrolytes, and electrode-electrolyte interfaces

A Multiscale Approach to the Numerical Simulation of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

The models of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), which are available in the open literature,may be categorized into two non-overlapping groups: microscale or macroscale. Recent progressin computational power makes it possible to formulate a model which combines both approaches,the so-called multiscale model. The novelty of this modeling approach lies in the combination ofthe microscale description of the transport phenomena and electrochemical reactions’ with thecomputational fluid dynamics model of the heat and mass transfer in an SOFC. In this work,the mathematical model of a solid oxide fuel cell which takes into account the averaged microstructureparameters of electrodes is developed and tested. To gain experimental data, which are used toconfirm the proposed model, the electrochemical tests and the direct observation of the microstructurewith the use of the focused ion beam combined with the scanning electron microscope technique(FIB-SEM) were conducted. The numerical results are compared with the experimental data fromthe short stack examination and a fair agreement is found, which shows that the proposed modelcan predict the cell behavior accurately. The mechanism of the power generation inside the SOFC isdiscussed and it is found that the current is produced primarily near the electrolyte–electrode interface.Simulations with an artificially changed microstructure does not lead to the correct prediction of thecell characteristics, which indicates that the microstructure is a crucial factor in the solid oxide fuelcell modeling