Research On Performence Of SOFC Using Ethanol As Fuel

The lack of energy is a very serious problem. The coal, petroleum and natural gas are decreased rapidly with the development of the world economy, and the environmental pollution problems are deteriorated, and therefore the study of new energy become very important,Ethanol is a kind of green, renewable energy, which can be the substitute of fossil fuel. Solid oxide fuel cell have the advantage of high energy utilization and environment-friendly, and is known as "The green generation technology in the 21 century" .The feasibility of application about ethanol in SOFC is studied, and reactions on anode in different condition are explored. The main work and conclusions of this paper are as follows:(1) The reaction of pure ethanol on anode of SOFC is studied based on the reforming and cracking reaction of ethanol. The performance of SOFC with ethanol fuel and Ni-YSZ/YSZ/LSM anode is tested. The experimental results show that: the SOFC with ethanol fuel have a good performance. But carbon deposition is very serious on anode, which need to be further solved.(2) The reaction of mixture of H₂O and C₂H₅OH on anode of SOFC is studied based on the steam reforming. The result showed that: the carbon deposition on anode is decreased, because of the H₂O mixed into C₂H₅OH, and the decrease speed of the performance about SOFC become also slowly. It is indicated that steam reforming of H₂O and C₂H₅OH has a positive effect on resistance to carbon formation. However, it is necessary that finding another method about resistance to carbon formation, which can make the performance of SOFC steady in a long time, for further study.(3) Citric acid sol-gel is used to prepare to the 10%Ni/ZnO-ZrO₂ catalyzer, which can take place of resistance to carbon formation and steam reforming reaction. From XRD pattern we can see that catalyzer is well crystallized at 1400℃. The characteristic apex of cubic and orthorhombic phase of ZrO₂ can be found in XRD pattern, and the cubic phase is the main phase. The microcosmic shape of catalyst particles is analyzed through TEM. The SOFC monomer is made using the catalyst and the SOFC performance is tested. The reaction type and reaction mechanism about the reaction on SOFC anode is studied in different condition with the ethanol fuel. The cross-section and the surface of SOFC has been characterized though SEM after experiment. The result showed that the catalyzer has a good effect on resistance to carbon formation about anode.