Degradation of Ni-YSZ and Ni-GDC fuel cells after 1000 h operation: Analysis of different overpotential contributions according to electrochemical and microstructural characterization

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technologies are emerging as potential power generation units with limited environmental impacts. However, the main challenges towards large scale commercial applications are high costs and low lifetime compared to currently used technologies. The present study aims at understanding degradation mechanisms in SOFCs through both experimental and modelling approaches. For this purpose, two state of the art fuel cell configurations based on Ni cermet fuel electrode (either YSZ-Yttrium Stabilised Zirconia or GDC-Gadolinium Doped Ceria), YSZ electrolyte and LSCF (Lanthanum Strontium Cobalt Ferrite oxide) air electrode were chosen. The cells were tested for 1000 hours with H2 rich mixture as fuel feed and air as oxidant. Cells were characterised at several H2/H2O ratios and temperatures with air or oxygen fed to the air electrode using different techniques. These allowed the identification of kinetic parameters to be implemented in an in-house 2D Fortran based model. The model was able to successfully simulate global cell behaviour as a function of local features, and it was validated with experimental I-V curves recorded prior and post durability operation. Moreover, post-mortem microstructure characterisation was also performed to fine-tune the model towards a more accurate prediction of the degradation influence on cell performance.

Alternative Materials for the Enrichment of Biogas with Methane

Carbonaceous adsorbents have been pointed out as promising adsorbents for the recovery of methane from its mixture with carbon dioxide, including biogas. This is because of the fact that CO2 is more strongly adsorbed and also diffuses faster compared to methane in these materials. Therefore, the present study aimed to test alternative carbonaceous materials for the gas separation process with the purpose of enriching biogas in biomethane and to compare them with the commercial one. Among them was coconut shell activated carbon (AC) as the adsorbent derived from bio-waste, rubber tire pyrolysis char (RPC) as a by-product of waste utilization technology, and carbon molecular sieve (CMS) as the commercial material. The breakthrough experiments were conducted using two mixtures, a methane-rich mixture (consisting of 75% CH4 and 25% CO2) and a carbon dioxide-rich mixture (containing 25% CH4 and 75% CO2). This investigation showed that the AC sample would be a better candidate material for the CH4/CO2 separation using a fixed-bed adsorption column than the commercial CMS sample. It is worth mentioning that due to its poorly developed micropore structure, the RPC sample exhibited limited adsorption capacity for both compounds, particularly for CO2. However, it was observed that for the methane-rich mixture, it was possible to obtain an instantaneous concentration of around 93% CH4. This indicates that there is still much potential for the use of the RPC, but this raw material needs further treatment. The Yoon–Nelson model was used to predict breakthrough curves for the experimental data. The results show that the data for the AC were best fitted with this model.

Effects of dwell time of split injection on mixture formation and combustion processes of diesel spray

The effects of dwell time on the mixture formation and combustion processes of diesel spray are investigated experimentally. A commercial multihole injector with a 0.123 mm hole diameter is used to inject the fuel. The injection procedure is either a single or split injection with different dwell times, whereas the total amount of injected fuel mass is 5.0 mg per hole. Three dwell times are selected, that is, 0.12, 0.32 and 0.54 ms, with a split ratio of 7:3 based on previous findings. The vapour phase is observed, and the mixture formation pertaining to the equivalence ratio is analysed using the tracer laser absorption scattering (LAS) technique. A high-speed video camera is used to visualise the spray combustion flame luminosity, whereas a two-colour pyrometer system is used to evaluate the soot concentrations and flame temperature. An analysis of the mixture formation based on the spray evaporating condition reveals a more concentrated area of the rich mixture within a 0.32 ms dwell time. In the shortest dwell time of 0.12 ms, the equivalence ratio distribution decreases uniformly from the rich mixture region to the lean mixture region. In the case involving a shorter dwell time, a suitable position for the second injection around the boundaries of the first injection is obtained by smoothly growing the lean mixture and avoiding the large zone of the rich mixture. Therefore, the shortest dwell time is acceptable for mixture formation, considering the overall distribution of the equivalence ratios. Spray combustion analysis results show that the soot formation rate of the single injection and 0.32 ms dwell time case is high and decreases quickly, implying a rapid reduction in the high amount of soot. Consequently, 0.12 ms can be considered the optimal dwell time due to the ignition delay and relatively low soot emission afforded.

Threshold concentration and random collision determine the growth of the huntingtin inclusion from a stable core

The processes underlying formation and growth of unfolded protein inclusions are relevant to neurodegenerative diseases but poorly characterized in living cells. In S. cerevisiae, inclusions formed by mutant huntingtin (mHtt) have some characteristics of biomolecular condensates but the physical nature and growth mechanisms of inclusion bodies remain unclear. We have probed the relationship between concentration and inclusion growth in vivo and find that growth of mHtt inclusions in living cells is triggered at a cytoplasmic threshold concentration, while reduction in cytoplasmic mHtt causes inclusions to shrink. The growth rate is consistent with incorporation of new material through collision and coalescence. A small remnant of the inclusion is relatively long-lasting, suggesting that it contains a core that is structurally distinct, and which may serve to nucleate it. These observations support a model in which aggregative particles are incorporated by random collision into a phase-separated condensate composed of a particle-rich mixture.

Preparing Methane – Air Mixture Using Ejector

In this research, a two – dimensional numerical investigation is conducted to show the ability of the jet-ejector to prepare the air – methane mixture at different equivalence ratio. The basic dimensions (diameters ratio, throat length, angle α, and angle θ) of the jet-ejector are taken into account on calculating the equivalence ratio. The results showed that the ratio of the diameters has a higher effect than other parameters on preparing a mixture for equivalent ratios including both rich and lean mixture. The rest of the factors did not have a significant effect on the value of the equivalence ratio, and only had a role in preparing an equivalence ratio for rich mixture type.

Modelling adiabatic flame temperature for methane with an overview for advanced combustion process: flameless combustion

In this study, we have carried out to modeling by mathematical equations the environment of the combustion chamber under some conditions using the software MATLAB in order to make an adequate algorithm of resolution and get solution of the different equations that taken part in the phenomenon of combustion, so the first was to identifies the kind of the fuel to use in that model (taking Methane as fuel combustion) and minimizing the reduction of novice gas burned is in priority, for this, we want to establish the optimal values to take to preserve the environment, especially from CO2 and CO emissions, secondly, its nature according to the equivalent ratio (lean, stoichiometric or rich mixture), all variations of equivalent ratio, the third idea is to retrace the ways of a different product of the reaction and see their variations compared to the equivalent ratio, once traced, we can improvise which exact place in the reaction, a product will be finished either in the form of a gas or to decompose in order to bind to another and form another component. We also discussed the percentage of O2 and H2O emissions for an interesting viewpoint of the environmental aspect of hydrocarbon’s chemical reaction. Another additional part will be dedicated to the process of flameless combustion to write its mathematical equation, compare it with the so-called traditional one, and see the variations in the temperature according to the equivalent ratio.

Operating Principles, Performance and Technology Readiness Level of Reversible Solid Oxide Cells

The continuous increase of energy demand with the subsequent huge fossil fuel consumption is provoking dramatic environmental consequences. The main challenge of this century is to develop and promote alternative, more eco-friendly energy production routes. In this framework, Solid Oxide Cells (SOCs) are a quite attractive technology which could satisfy the users’ energy request working in reversible operation. Two operating modes are alternated: from “Gas to Power”, when SOCs work as fuel cells fed with hydrogen-rich mixture to provide both electricity and heat, to “Power to Gas”, when SOCs work as electrolysers and energy is supplied to produce hydrogen. If solid oxide fuel cells are an already mature technology with several stationary and mobile applications, the use of solid oxide electrolyser cells and even more reversible cells are still under investigation due to their insufficient lifetime. Aiming at providing a better understanding of this new technological approach, the study presents a detailed description of cell operation in terms of electrochemical behaviour and possible degradation, highlighting which are the most commonly used performance indicators. A thermodynamic analysis of system efficiency is proposed, followed by a comparison with other available electrochemical devices in order to underline specific solid oxide cell advantages and limitations.

Experimental study on the emission influence of the fuel system faults for light-duty vehicle

The fuel system is a very important system in light-duty vehicles. The faults of the system will cause serious deterioration of vehicle emissions and other performance. In order to study the influence of different types of faults on emissions, this paper studies the faults of several OBDII vehicles. The results show that: the fault of rich mixture in fuel system will increase the emissions of CO and NMHC by 3-5 times and the emissions of NOx by 1-2 times; the fault of lean mixture in fuel system will increase the emissions of NOx by 4-5 times and the emissions of CO and NMHC by 0.7-2.5 times; there are two kinds of imbalance faults, one is imbalance lean and the other is imbalance rich. Imbalance lean mainly causes NOx deterioration, which is increased by 7.5 times. Imbalance rich mainly causes CO and NMHC emissions deterioration, which is increased by about 3 times. There are many kinds of faults in the fuel system which cause serious deterioration of emissions. It is necessary to focus on monitoring the faults of the fuel system.

Characterization of Metallic Interconnects Extracted from Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks Operated up to 20,000 h in Real Life Conditions: The Air Side

Metallic interconnects represent the main component of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack in terms of weight and volume. They are typically made of ferritic stainless steel (FSS) coated on the air side. At the stack operating conditions, the interconnect is exposed to a dual atmosphere: air at the cathode side; fuel (a hydrogen-rich mixture) at the anode side. The stacks considered in this study were field operated in reformed natural gas for 5000, 9000 and 20,000 h respectively. The analyzed interconnects are made from CROFER22APU and coated on the air side with Co-Mn base spinel. One interconnect has been studied for each stack by sampling and preparing cross section the inlet and outlet positions. The samples were characterized by SEM-EDXS in order to investigate the evolution of the interconnect at the air side. The interaction between the metal substrate and the coating is investigated highlighting the formation of chromia based thermal grown oxide (at the FSS/coating interface) and the solid-state diffusion of Cr and Fe from the metal into the coating. The microstructural features evolving as a function of time are also quantified.