Ethanol internal reforming in solid oxide fuel cells: A path toward high performance metal-supported cells for vehicular applications

Internal reforming of ethanol fuel was investigated on high-performance metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells (MS-SOFCs) with infiltrated catalysts. The hydrogen concentration and internal reforming effects were evaluated systematically with different fuels including: hydrogen, simulated reformate, anhydrous ethanol, ethanol water blend, and hydrogen-nitrogen mixtures. A simple infiltration of Ni reforming catalyst into 40 vol% Ni-Sm0.20Ce0.80O2-δ (Ni-SDCN40) and fuel-side metal support leads to complete internal reforming, as confirmed by comparison to simulated reformate. The performance difference between hydrogen and fully-reformed ethanol is attributed entirely to decrease in hydrogen concentration. High peak power density was achieved for a range of conditions, for example 1.0 W cm−2 at 650 °C in ethanol-water blend, and 1.4 W cm−2 at 700 °C in anhydrous ethanol fuel. Initial durability tests with ethanol-water blend show promising stability for 100 h at 700 °C and 0.7 V. Carbon is not deposited in the Ni-SDCN40 anode during operation

Erratum: Ethanol internal reforming in solid oxide fuel cells: A path toward high performance metal-supported cells for vehicular applications [Journal of Power Sources 449 (2020) 227598] (Journal of Power Sources (2020) 449, (S0378775319315915), (10.1016/j.jpowsour.2019.227598))

The authors regret that a technical mistake has been discovered, which impacts the current density and power density reported in this article. Briefly, the mistake was caused by catalyst solution leaking out of the intended 1 cm2 catalyzed area and depositing catalyst over the whole cell. As a result, the calculated current and power densities (total divided by the catalyzed area) were higher than reality because the measured current and power were dividing by the intended 1 cm2 instead of the actual area including the leakage, which was approximately 5 cm2. This issue is presented, analysed, and discussed in further detail in the supporting information of Reference 1. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused