Solid Oxide fuel cell

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Solid oxide fuel cells are a class of fuel cells characterized by the use of a solid oxide material as the electrolyte. SOFCs use a solid oxide electrolyte to conduct negative oxygen ions from the cathode to the anode. The electrochemical oxidation of the oxygen ions with hydrogen or carbon monoxide thus occurs on the anode side Intended mainly for stationary applications with an output of 1 kW and larger They work at very high temperatures (some at 1000C) Due to the high operating temperature of SOFC's, they have no need for expensive catalyst.

Composition
Every fuel cell has two electrodes, one positive and one negative, called, respectively, the cathode and anode. The reactions that produce electricity take place at the electrodes. Every fuel cell also has an electrolyte, which carries electrically charged particles from one electrode to the other, and a catalyst, which speeds the reactions at the electrodes

 SOFC) use a hard, ceramic compound of metal (like calcium or zirconium) oxides (chemically, O2) as electrolyte Efficiency is about 60 percent Operating temperatures of 800-1,000 C (about 1,800 F).

Simplified diagram of an SOFC

Operating Principle
1. Oxygen is dissociated at the cathode into O2-(reduction reaction) 2. O2- migrate thru the crystal structure of the electrolyte 3. Oxidize the hydrogen atoms at anode 4. Yields electrons and produces electricity

CathodicReaction: O2 + 2e O2 Anodic Reaction: H2 +O2 H2O + 2e

SOFC Design types

According to the type of cell configuration and developer Three major configurations for stacking the cells together to increase the voltage and power are:
Tubular (as developed by Westinghouse and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), Flat plate (as developed by Ceramatec and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), and Monolithic (as developed by Allied Signal)

Tubular structure

Applications
Suitable for decentralized electricity production While the major application of SOFCs are seen in stationary plants, auxiliary power units in
Transportation vehicles On-board power for aircraft Power packs- small enough to be carried by soldiers

has been motivated by DARPA(Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, US)

Drawbacks
The high temperature limits applications of SOFC units and they tend to be rather large While solid electrolytes cannot leak, they can crack. Complex materials Assembling Maintenance Design Cost & choice of material