SOFC

SOLID OXIDE FUEL
CELL
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FIRZANA T N
High temp fuel cells

chemical energy into electricity
Electricity directly from oxidizing a fuel.
Use of a solid oxide material (YSZ) as the
electrolyte.
Characterized by their electrolyte material
High efficiency, long-term stability, fuel
flexibility, low emissions, and relatively low cost.
Largest disadvantage is the high operating
temperature which results in longer start-up times
and mechanical and chemical compatibility issues.
Operate at very high temperatures, typically
between 500 and 1,000 C

The higher operating temperature make
SOFCs suitable candidates for application with

heat engine energy recovery devices or
combined heat and power, which further
increases overall fuel efficiency.
SOFCs can have multiple geometry
1 Planar fuel cell

electrolyte is sandwiched in between the
electrodes
.
2 Tubular geometries
either air or fuel is passed through the

inside of the tube and the other gas is passed
along the outside of the tube
easier to seal air from the fuel. The
performance is less than the performance of the
planar design because the planar design has a
lower resistance comparatively
3 Modified planar (MPC or MPSOFC),

wave-like structure replaces the
traditional flat
configuration of the planar cell. both planar
cells (low
resistance) and tubular cells.
Individual FC produce relatively small electrical
potential(0.7v)
Stacked together is typically only a few
millimeters thick.
Hundreds of these cells are then connected in
series to form what most people refer to as an

"SOFC stack".
ceramics used do not become electrically and
ionically active until they reach very high

temperature and as a consequence the stacks
have to run at temperatures ranging from 500 to
1,000 C
At the anode a catalyst oxidizes the fuel, usually

hydrogen, turning the fuel into a positively charged ion and
a negatively charged electron. The electrolyte is a substance
specifically designed so ions can pass through it, but the
electrons cannot. The freed electrons travel through a wire
creating the electric current. The ions travel through the
electrolyte to the cathode. Once reaching the cathode, the
ions are reunited with the electrons and the two react with a
third chemical, usually oxygen, to create water or carbon
dioxide.
negatively charged oxygen ions travel from the
cathode to the anode instead of positively charged

hydrogen ions travelling from the anode to the
cathode
Anode,
H2
2H+ +2eCathode.
1/2O2 +2H+ +2eH 2O
Byproduct water as well as two electrons.
These electrons then flow through an external
circuit .
The cycle then repeats as those electrons enter the
cathode material again.
Both anode and cathode layer must be

very porous to permeable to gas.
The oxidation reaction between the
oxygen ions and the hydrogen produces heat as
well as water and electricity.
If the fuel is a light hydrocarbon , another
function of the anode is to act as a catalyst for
steam reforming the fuel into hydrogen. This
provides another operational benefit to the fuel
cell stack because the reforming reaction is
endothermic, which cools the stack internally.
electrolytes electronic
conductivity must be kept as low as possible
to prevent losses from leakage currents.
The high operating temperatures
of SOFCs allow the kinetics of oxygen ion
transport to be sufficient for good
performance.
proton-conducting SOFCs (PC-SOFC)

are being developed which transport protons
instead of oxygen ions through the electrolyte
with the advantage of being able to be run at
lower temperatures than traditional SOFCs.
Ohmic losses in an SOFC result

from ionic conductivity through the
electrolyte. This is inherently a materials
property of the crystal structure and atoms
involved. However, to maximize the ionic
conductivity, several methods can be done.
Firstly, operating at higher temperatures can
significantly decrease these Ohmic losses.
Substitutional doping methods to
further refine the crystal structure and control
defect concentrations can also play a
significant role in increasing the conductivity.
Another way to decrease ohmic resistance is
to decrease the thickness of the electrolyte
layer.
Research is going now in the direction of

lower-temperature SOFC (600 C) in order to
decrease the materials cost, which will enable the
use of metallic materials with better mechanical
properties and thermal conductivity.
to improve the fuel flexibility of SOFCs.
to improve the stability of anode
materials for hydrocarbon oxidation
in reducing start-up time to be able to
implement SOFCs in mobile applications
A solid oxide electrolyser cell(SOEC)

is a solid oxide fuel cell set in regenerative
mode for the electrolysis of water with a solid
oxide, or ceramic
SOFCs that operate in an

intermediate temperature (IT) range, meaning
between 600 and 800 C, are named ITSOFCs
Uses pyrochlore oxides(high IT conductivity)
Low Temperature SOFCs
An SOFC-GT higher operating
efficiencies by running the SOFC under
pressure
Application
use as auxiliary power units in vehicles to
stationary power generation with outputs

from 100 W to 2 MW
commercial, industrial backup power generation

generate both electricity and heat
Portable power systems
Next generation energy source.
END

SOFC

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SOLID OXIDE FUEL

High temp fuel cells

Operate at very high temperatures, typically

between 500 and 1,000 C

SOFCs suitable candidates for application with

SOFCs can have multiple geometry

1 Planar fuel cell

either air or fuel is passed through the

3 Modified planar (MPC or MPSOFC),

Individual FC produce relatively small electrical

Hundreds of these cells are then connected in

series to form what most people refer to as an

ionically active until they reach very high

At the anode a catalyst oxidizes the fuel, usually

negatively charged oxygen ions travel from the

cathode to the anode instead of positively charged

Both anode and cathode layer must be

proton-conducting SOFCs (PC-SOFC)

Ohmic losses in an SOFC result

Research is going now in the direction of

A solid oxide electrolyser cell(SOEC)

SOFCs that operate in an

stationary power generation with outputs

commercial, industrial backup power generation

Next generation energy source.

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