19
Contamination
Resistant Anodes for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells--Eltron
Research, Inc., 4600 Nautilus Court South, Boulder, CO
80301-3241; 303-530-0263
Dr.
James H. White, Principal Investigator, eltron@eltronresearch.com
Ms. Eileen E. Sammells, Business Official, sammells@eltronresearch.com
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG03-02ER83406
Amount:
$99,998
State-of-the-art solid
oxide fuel cells operating on reformed natural gas require a separate fuel
processing stage that adds expense and complexity to the overall power system.
Operation on reformate of unscrubbed fuel or directly on hydrocarbon fuel
would be highly desirable; however, proper anode materials need to be developed
that exhibit high electrocatalytic activity toward hydrocarbon oxidation,
tolerance toward feedstream sulfur, and the suppression of carbon deposition.
This project will
further develop ceria-based materials as anodes for the electrochemical
oxidation of hydrocarbon fuels or reformates in solid oxide fuel cells operating
at intermediate temperatures (550-750°C). These
materials have been demonstrated to be catalysts for both effective methane
oxidation and selective CO oxidation, and are believed to possess the properties
necessary to be effective anode materials, including the inhibition of carbon
deposition. In Phase I, the
materials will be fabricated and characterized for their electrical and thermal
expansion properties. Their
stability toward hydrogen sulfide, as well as their performance as anodes under
fuel cell operating conditions with methane and methane reformate, will be
evaluated in the temperature range of 550-750°C. Lastly, the anodes will be analyzed for carbon deposition and stability.