Progress Towards Direct Liquid-Fed Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Abstract

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) appear to be among the most promising solutions to our looming energy challenges as the inherently high efficiency and fuel flexibility offered by SOFCs would enable us to use our dwindling fossil fuels more efficiently. Unfortunately, despite their inherent advantages, the conventional SOFCs operating at high temperatures (> 700 °C) are limited largely to stationary applications. However, low-temperature SOFCs (LT-SOFCs) operating at temperatures < 600 °C can offer a cost-effective fuel cell system with rapid start-up and shut-down characteristics, which can expand the applications of SOFCs into the transportation sector. Especially promising is the direct operation of LT-SOFCs with liquid fuels, which can allow direct utilization of either conventional “drop-in” fuels that adapt the existing fuel distribution infrastructure or other liquid fuels (e.g., methanol and ethanol) produced from various biomass sources.