Methane Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell

Electrolyte is distributed among separator cathode and anode paste by capillarity and excess is allowed do drain into the containment crucible.

Methane molten carbonate fuel cell.

Our electrochemical cell fig. Oxide catalyst materials for methane oxidation were examined in order to develop the anode electrode for molten carbonate type fuel cell mcfc. This final report summarizes the results of technology development for the internal reforming molten carbonate fuel cell stack. Molten carbonate fuel cells are high temperature fuel cells that operate at temperatures of 600 c and above.

Journal of fuel cell science and technology 7 6 doi. Molten carbonate fuel cells when coupled with a turbine can reach efficiencies approaching 65 considerably higher than the 37 42 efficiencies of a phosphoric acid fuel cell plant. Molten carbonate is regarded as a permselective membrane for oxygen and carbon dioxide. United states patent 5084362.

In particular the external and internal steam reforming of methane to synthesis gas are the main catalytic processes which produce fuel hydrogen for high temperature molten carbonate fuel cell mcfc utilising natural gas 2 3 4 5. Molten carbonate fuel cells are currently being developed for natural gas biogas and coal based power plants for electrical utility industrial and military applications. A fuel cell system in which a methane producing gasifier supplies methane fuel to an internal reforming fuel cell and unspent hydrogen from the anode exhaust of the fuel cell is used by the gasifier in processing the feedstock being. Mcfcs are high temperature fuel cells that use an electrolyte composed of a molten carbonate salt mixture suspended in a porous chemically inert ceramic matrix of beta alumina solid electrolyte.

For the molten carbonate fuel cell. 1 contains a paste of particulate carbon fuel in a molten carbonate electrolyte 32 li 68 k eutectic in the anode compartment at a ratio of carbon to carbonate of 1 2 or less. Modeling of a methane fuelled direct carbon fuel cell system. When the waste heat is captured and used overall fuel efficiencies can be over 85.

In the first system the methane is reformed in a reactor separated from the mcfc system and then supplied to the anode compartment of the cell. Internal reforming molten carbonate fuel cell system with methane feed. An application of a molten carbonate fuel cell mcfc system to the reforming reactor is proposed. Nature energy 2018.