Performance of Internal and External Reforming Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Systems

2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Musa ◽  
H. J. Steeman ◽  
M. De Paepe
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Operating Temperature ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell ◽  
Gas Temperature ◽  
Molten Carbonate ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Cell Systems ◽  
Carbonate Fuel Cell

Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC) are a promising alternative power source for distributed or residential power plants. Therefore, thermodynamic models are built in an Aspen customer modeler for the externally reformed (ER) MCFC and internally reformed (IR) MCFC. These models are integrated in Aspen Plus™. In this article the performance of internal and external reforming molten carbonate fuel cell systems are investigated. To this end the gas temperature at the anode inlet is varied to be able to exam the effect of operating temperature on the operating conditions for different modes of MCFC systems in a range between 600 and 700°C. It is found that the operating temperature has more effect on the cell voltage of IR-MCFC system compared to ER-MCFC system. Simulations show that the IR-MCFC system is more efficient than the ER-MCFC system. The cycle efficiency is rather independent of the operating temperature for as well ER-MCFC as IR-MCFC systems.

The Ejector Performance of a 75 kW Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell System

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beomjoo Kim ◽  
Do Hyung Kim ◽  
Junghyun Lee ◽  
Seung Won Kang ◽  
Hee Chun Lim
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Cell System ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell ◽  
Molten Carbonate ◽  
Fuel Cell System ◽  
Entrainment Ratio ◽  
Operating Limits ◽  
Carbonate Fuel Cell

An ejector is a machine for mixing and transporting fluid under vacuum. Ejectors enhance system efficiency, are easily operated, have a mechanically simple structure, and do not require a power supply. Because of these advantages, ejectors have been used in a variety of industrial fields such as refrigeration systems, power plants, and oil plants. In this work, an ejector was used to safely recycle anode tail gas in a 75 kW molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) system at Korea Electric Power Research Institute. In this system, the ejector was placed at the mixing point between the anode tail gas and either the cathode tail gas or fresh air. Because commercial ejectors are not designed for the operating conditions of our fuel cell system, a new ejector was designed for use beyond the operating limits of conventional ejectors. In this study, the entrainment ratio and anode outlet pressure were measured according to the ratio of the nozzle diameter to the throat diameter in the newly designed ejector. These results help to define important criteria of ejectors for MCFC recycling.

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