In situ reduction and evaluation of anode supported single chamber solid oxide fuel cells

Damien Rembelski (1, 2, 3) , Mathilde Rieu (1, 2, 3) , Lionel Combemale (4) , Jean-Paul Viricelle (1, 2, 3)

1 SPIN-ENSMSE - Centre Sciences des Processus Industriels et Naturels
2 LGF-ENSMSE - Laboratoire Georges Friedel
3 PRESSIC-ENSMSE - Procédés et REactivité des Systèmes Solide-gaz, Instrumentation et Capteurs
4 ICB - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne

Single chamber anode-supported fuel cells are investigated under several methane-oxygen-nitrogen atmospheres at intermediate temperatures (500°C-700°C). Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95 (CGO) is chosen as electrolyte and deposited by screen-printing onto NiO-CGO anode pellets. A cathode composed of 70 wt% La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3−δ (LSCF) and 30 wt% of CGO is screen-printed onto the electrolyte. Thermogravimetric analyses of anode reduction are performed at 700 °C. Carbon deposition is observed under diluted methane but a successful reduction is obtained after an initialization under diluted methane followed by a final treatment under methane-to-oxygen ratio (R_mix) of 2. Anode-supported fuel cells are investigated regarding the working temperature and R_mix. Two types of cells are prepared with modifications of the electrolyte microstructure. For both cells tested, the Open Circuit Voltage (OCV), the power density and the fuel utilization increase when R_mix and temperature decrease. The electrolytes of both cells have a porous microstructure and the electrolyte of the second cell, with the highest thickness, brings better performances. At 600 °C for R_mix = 0.6, the maximum power density is improved from 60 for the first cell to 160 mW cm⁻² for the second cell. Comparing the fuel utilization, it increases from 3% for the first cell to 6% for the second one for the same testing conditions.

Mots clés: Single chamber; SOFC; Methane; Anode-supported cell

Domaines: Génie des procédés

Damien Rembelski, Mathilde Rieu, Lionel Combemale, Jean-Paul Viricelle. In situ reduction and evaluation of anode supported single chamber solid oxide fuel cells. Journal of Power Sources, 2013, 242 (15), pp.811-816. ⟨10.1016/j.jpowsour.2013.05.118⟩. ⟨hal-00840106⟩