Effect of Reaction Temperature on the Performance of Thermal Swing Sorption-Enhanced Reaction Process for Simultaneous Production of Fuel-Cell-Grade H2and Compressed CO2from Synthesis Gas

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is known as an interesting energy conversion device because of its fuel flexibility and high efficiency. The hydrogen-rich stream is used as fuel carrier converting to generate electrical energy. A non-stoichiometric thermodynamic model based on minimum free energy was performed to predict the amount of hydrogen production via the methanol reforming under supercritical water (SCW) condition. The effects of SCW reaction temperature and water-to-methanol molar ratio on the SOFC power generation integrated with SCW reforming from methanol were investigated. The hydrogen yield, the required heat duty for a feed preheater and a SCW reactor and the SOFC power generation increase with increasing the SCW reaction temperature and the amount of water fed in SCW reactor. Under operating parameters of SCW reformer based on 1 mole/sec of methanol fed at the high temperature of 1273 K and water-to-methanol molar ratio of 5, the SOFC electrical power of 246 kW was produced with the maximum fuel utilization of 0.7.

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Catalytic Material Development for a SOFC Reforming System: Application of an Oxidative Steam Reforming Catalyst to a Monolithic Reactor

ASME 2010 8th International Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology Conference: Volume 2 ◽

10.1115/fuelcell2010-33198 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

Mark W. Smith ◽

David A. Berry ◽

Dushyant Shekhawat ◽

Daniel J. Haynes

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Synthesis Gas ◽

Steam Reforming ◽

Pyrochlore Phase ◽

Catalyst System ◽

Biodiesel Fuel ◽

Major Step ◽

Material Development ◽

Reforming Catalyst ◽

Catalytic Material

The main objective of this work was to develop fuel reforming technologies to produce a H2-rich synthesis gas to power a solid oxide fuel cell being developed by US DOE for applications like diesel auxiliary power units. In order to accomplish this objective the following efforts were required: 1) examination of the effect of oxygen-conducting supports on reforming catalyst performance, 2) demonstration of the long-term stability under reforming conditions of an oxide powder catalyst deposited onto an oxygen-conducting support, 3) fabrication of a catalyst system by depositing the active catalyst and oxygen-conducting material onto a monolithic support structure for scaled-up reforming tests, 4) demonstration of the scaled-up reforming tests using the monolithic reactor. A successful 1,000-hr diesel reforming test was completed on a powder pyrochlore catalyst developed by NETL deposited onto an oxygen-conducting support. This test demonstrated that the catalyst and support compositions developed have significant potential in a commercial reforming application for the production of synthesis gas. Transforming this powder catalyst into a commercially viable form was the next major step to the development of a usable product. An alumina monolith structure coated with both the oxygen-conducting support and the active pyrochlore phase was fabricated and its performance was validated by short term partial oxidation (POX) tests on pump diesel, and in an integrated reformer-fuel cell test for 100 hrs on a biodiesel fuel under oxidative steam reforming (OSR) conditions.

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Simultaneous Production of Bioethanol and Bioelectricity in a Membrane Less Single Chambered Yeast Fuel Cell by Saccharomyces Cerevisiae and Pichia Fermentans

10.21203/rs.3.rs-405049/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Akansha Shrivastava ◽

Mamta Pal ◽

Rakesh Kumar Sharma

Keyword(s):

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Microbial Fuel Cell ◽

Power Density ◽

Ethanol Yield ◽

Coulombic Efficiency ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Open Circuit ◽

Simultaneous Production ◽

Electrochemical Technology

Abstract Production of bioethanol and bioelectricity is a promising approach through microbial electrochemical technology. Sugars are metabolized by yeast to produces ethanol, CO2 and energy. Surplus electrons produced during the fermentation can be transferred through the circuit to generate electricity in a Microbial fuel cell (MFC). In the present study, a membrane less single chambered microbial fuel cell was developed for simultaneous production of bioethanol and bioelectricity. Pichia fermentans along with a well-known ethanol producing yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was allowed to ferment glucose. S. cerevisiae demonstrated maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) 0.287 ± 0.009 V and power density 4.473 mW m− 2 on 15th day, with a maximum ethanol yield of 5.6% (v/v) on 12th day. P. fermentans demonstrated a maximum OCV of 0.318 ± 0.0039 V and power density of 8.299 mW m− 2 on 15th day with ethanol yield of 4.7 % (v/v) on 12th day. Coulombic efficiency (CE) increased gradually from 0.002–0.471 % and 0.012–0.089 % in the case of S. cerevisiae and P. fermentans, respectively, during 15 days of experiment. Thus, the result indicated that Single chambered fuel cell can be explored for its potential applications for ethanol production along with clean energy generation.

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