Molten metal anode solid oxide fuel cell for transportation-related auxiliary power units.

A vehicular power system, a vehicle and a method of providing auxiliary power to a vehicle using an auxiliary power unit that uses a molten metal anode solid oxide fuel cell rather than an internal combustion engine. The auxiliary power unit includes a container with numerous fuel cells disposed within it such that when the metal anode is heated, the metal converts to a molten state that can be electrochemically cycled between oxidized and reduced states by oxygen and a fuel present in the molten metal, respectively. The auxiliary power unit further includes a furnace that selectively provides heat to the fuel cells in order to place the anode into its molten metal state. Seals may provide fluid isolation between the molten metal within the container and the ambient environment

Fuel cells as an energy source for desalination applications.

Nowadays, there is a renewed interest in fuel cell technology from industry and academia, electrochemistry and catalysis scientists. This interest is due to environmental legislations for CO2 and other greenhouse gases emissions (United Nations Environment Programme and the World Trade Organization, 2009) that demand the use of high efficiency energy production systems. Such systems have great potential in the area of desalination technology (Kenet, 2003, Al-Hallaj et al., 2004, Singh, 2008, Wang et al. 2011, Jones, 2013). Fuel cells are characterised by high operation efficiency, which results in decreased fuel consumption, and low environmental impact. A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy of a fuel directly into electricity through electrochemical reactions, with low waste heat (e.g. SOFC in Fig. 1). The first fuel cell was fabricated back in 1830's, and slow but steady progress has been made toward their commercialization since then

Neutron diffraction residual strain measurements of molybdenum carbide-based solid oxide fuel cell anode layers with metal oxides on Hastelloy X.

Thermal spray deposition processes impart residual stress in layered Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) materials and hence influence the durability and efficiency of the cell. The current study which is the first of its kind, reports results on using a neutron diffraction technique, to non-destructively evaluate the through thickness strain measurement in plasma sprayed (as-sprayed) anode layer coatings on Hastelloy{reg}X substrate. Through thickness neutron diffraction residual strain measurements has been done on three different anode coatings (Mo-Mo2C/Al2O3, Mo-Mo2C/ZrO2 and Mo-Mo2C/TiO2) using the vertical scan mode. The three anode coatings (developed through optimized process parameters) investigated had porosities as high as 20%, with thicknesses between 200 {aelig}m to 300 {aelig}m deposited on 4.76 mm thick Hastelloy{reg}X substrate discs of 20 mm diameter. The results show that the through thickness residual strain in all three anodes was different for different crystallographic planes but was on average it was tensile. Other measurements includes X-ray diffraction, nanoindentation and SEM microscopy. As the anode layer microstructures are complex (includes bi-layer alternate phases), non-destructive characterisation of residual strain, e.g. using neutron diffraction, provides a useful measure of through thickness strain profile without altering the stress field in the SOFC electrode assembly

Application of thermal spray coatings in electrolysers for hydrogen production: advances, challenges, and opportunities.

Thermal spray coatings have the advantage of providing thick and functional coatings from a range of engineering materials. The associated coating processes provide good control of coating thickness, morphology, microstructure, pore size and porosity, and residual strain in the coatings through selection of suitable process parameters for any coating material of interest. This review consolidates scarce literature on thermally sprayed components which are critical and vital constituents (e.g. catalysts (anode/cathode), solid electrolyte, and transport layer, including corrosion-prone parts such as bipolar plates) of the water splitting electrolysis process for hydrogen production. The research shows that there is a gap in thermally sprayed feedstock material selection strategy as well as in addressing modelling needs that can be crucial to advancing applications exploiting their catalytic and corrosion-resistant properties to split water for hydrogen production. Due to readily scalable production enabled by thermal spray techniques, this manufacturing route bears potential to dominate the sustainable electrolyser technologies in the future. While the well-established thermal spray coating variants may have certain limitations in the manner they are currently practiced, deployment of both conventional and novel thermal spray approaches (suspension, solution, hybrid) is clearly promising for targeted development of electrolysers