Exploring the stability of direct ethanol solid oxide fuel cells at intermediate temperature

Abstract

Anode supported fuel cells were tested in direct (no water added) bioethanol at intermediate temperature (600°C and 700°C). The standard fuel cell has reasonable short-term stability under dry ethanol if current is continuously drawn at a minimum fuel utilization factor at 700ºC. However, the YSZ/Ni anode develops carbon deposits as inferred from post fuel cell test analyses and fixed bed steam reforming catalytic tests at 600°C. Thus, an active catalytic layer with tailored properties for ethanol internal reforming was studied. Initial tests investigated the Ir/gadolinium-doped ceria catalysts previously proven stable at 850°C. The main results have shown that the catalytic layer has no significant effect on the performance of the fuel cell running under hydrogen. The use of a ceria-based catalytic layer has enhanced the stability of the fuel cell under dry ethanol at 700°C, but stable operation at 600°C requires the development of more active catalyst.