Effect of Design Parameters on the Internal Steam Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems

Junjie Chen; Xuhui Gao

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11

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Effect of Design Parameters on the Internal Steam Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems

Junjie Chen, Xuhui Gao

Published in American Journal of Modern Energy (Volume 3, Issue 3)

Received: 10 May 2017 Accepted: 26 May 2017 Published: 30 June 2017

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Abstract

The operation of solid oxide fuel cell systems with the internal steam reforming of methane over supported nickel catalysts is studied. A mathematical model including heterogeneous chemistry, electro-chemistry, mass transport, and porous media transport is developed to explore the thermal energy coupling between the steam reforming and the electrochemical reactions, independent of the geometrical structure. The role of catalyst activity, inlet temperature, current density, and operating pressure in the system behavior is evaluated. A sensitivity analysis is also performed for different design parameters. The effect of flow configuration on the operation of the system is analyzed and compared based on multiple performance criteria. It is shown that the internal steam reforming within the fuel cell system can result in an overall auto-thermal operation which increases efficiency and simplifies the design process. However, a local cooling effect may occur close to the entrance of the reformer. The use of less active catalysts can cause the slippage of the methane. To reduce both the overall temperature increase across the fuel cell and the local cooling caused by the endothermic steam reforming reactions, increasing the operating pressure is found to be an effective approach. High system efficiency is obtained with increasing the operating pressure or decreasing the current density. The more efficient system is found for a co-flow configuration, while significant temperature gradients near the entrance of the reformer are not desirable for ceramic solid oxide fuel cell systems.

Published in	American Journal of Modern Energy (Volume 3, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11
Page(s)	38-49
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Steam Reforming, Design Parameter, Flow Configuration, Reaction Kinetics, Energy Conversion Efficiency

References

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APA Style

Junjie Chen, Xuhui Gao. (2017). Effect of Design Parameters on the Internal Steam Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems. American Journal of Modern Energy, 3(3), 38-49. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11

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ACS Style

Junjie Chen; Xuhui Gao. Effect of Design Parameters on the Internal Steam Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems. Am. J. Mod. Energy 2017, 3(3), 38-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11

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AMA Style

Junjie Chen, Xuhui Gao. Effect of Design Parameters on the Internal Steam Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems. Am J Mod Energy. 2017;3(3):38-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11,
  author = {Junjie Chen and Xuhui Gao},
  title = {Effect of Design Parameters on the Internal Steam Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems},
  journal = {American Journal of Modern Energy},
  volume = {3},
  number = {3},
  pages = {38-49},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajme.20170303.11},
  abstract = {The operation of solid oxide fuel cell systems with the internal steam reforming of methane over supported nickel catalysts is studied. A mathematical model including heterogeneous chemistry, electro-chemistry, mass transport, and porous media transport is developed to explore the thermal energy coupling between the steam reforming and the electrochemical reactions, independent of the geometrical structure. The role of catalyst activity, inlet temperature, current density, and operating pressure in the system behavior is evaluated. A sensitivity analysis is also performed for different design parameters. The effect of flow configuration on the operation of the system is analyzed and compared based on multiple performance criteria. It is shown that the internal steam reforming within the fuel cell system can result in an overall auto-thermal operation which increases efficiency and simplifies the design process. However, a local cooling effect may occur close to the entrance of the reformer. The use of less active catalysts can cause the slippage of the methane. To reduce both the overall temperature increase across the fuel cell and the local cooling caused by the endothermic steam reforming reactions, increasing the operating pressure is found to be an effective approach. High system efficiency is obtained with increasing the operating pressure or decreasing the current density. The more efficient system is found for a co-flow configuration, while significant temperature gradients near the entrance of the reformer are not desirable for ceramic solid oxide fuel cell systems.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of Design Parameters on the Internal Steam Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems
AU - Junjie Chen
AU - Xuhui Gao
Y1 - 2017/06/30
PY - 2017
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11
DO - 10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11
T2 - American Journal of Modern Energy
JF - American Journal of Modern Energy
JO - American Journal of Modern Energy
SP - 38
EP - 49
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2575-3797
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11
AB - The operation of solid oxide fuel cell systems with the internal steam reforming of methane over supported nickel catalysts is studied. A mathematical model including heterogeneous chemistry, electro-chemistry, mass transport, and porous media transport is developed to explore the thermal energy coupling between the steam reforming and the electrochemical reactions, independent of the geometrical structure. The role of catalyst activity, inlet temperature, current density, and operating pressure in the system behavior is evaluated. A sensitivity analysis is also performed for different design parameters. The effect of flow configuration on the operation of the system is analyzed and compared based on multiple performance criteria. It is shown that the internal steam reforming within the fuel cell system can result in an overall auto-thermal operation which increases efficiency and simplifies the design process. However, a local cooling effect may occur close to the entrance of the reformer. The use of less active catalysts can cause the slippage of the methane. To reduce both the overall temperature increase across the fuel cell and the local cooling caused by the endothermic steam reforming reactions, increasing the operating pressure is found to be an effective approach. High system efficiency is obtained with increasing the operating pressure or decreasing the current density. The more efficient system is found for a co-flow configuration, while significant temperature gradients near the entrance of the reformer are not desirable for ceramic solid oxide fuel cell systems.
VL - 3
IS - 3
ER -

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Author Information

Junjie Chen

Department of Energy and Power Engineering, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, China
Xuhui Gao

Department of Energy and Power Engineering, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, China

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Junjie Chen, Xuhui Gao. (2017). Effect of Design Parameters on the Internal Steam Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems. American Journal of Modern Energy, 3(3), 38-49. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11

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ACS Style

Junjie Chen; Xuhui Gao. Effect of Design Parameters on the Internal Steam Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems. Am. J. Mod. Energy 2017, 3(3), 38-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11

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AMA Style

Junjie Chen, Xuhui Gao. Effect of Design Parameters on the Internal Steam Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems. Am J Mod Energy. 2017;3(3):38-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11,
  author = {Junjie Chen and Xuhui Gao},
  title = {Effect of Design Parameters on the Internal Steam Reforming of Methane in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems},
  journal = {American Journal of Modern Energy},
  volume = {3},
  number = {3},
  pages = {38-49},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajme.20170303.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajme.20170303.11},
  abstract = {The operation of solid oxide fuel cell systems with the internal steam reforming of methane over supported nickel catalysts is studied. A mathematical model including heterogeneous chemistry, electro-chemistry, mass transport, and porous media transport is developed to explore the thermal energy coupling between the steam reforming and the electrochemical reactions, independent of the geometrical structure. The role of catalyst activity, inlet temperature, current density, and operating pressure in the system behavior is evaluated. A sensitivity analysis is also performed for different design parameters. The effect of flow configuration on the operation of the system is analyzed and compared based on multiple performance criteria. It is shown that the internal steam reforming within the fuel cell system can result in an overall auto-thermal operation which increases efficiency and simplifies the design process. However, a local cooling effect may occur close to the entrance of the reformer. The use of less active catalysts can cause the slippage of the methane. To reduce both the overall temperature increase across the fuel cell and the local cooling caused by the endothermic steam reforming reactions, increasing the operating pressure is found to be an effective approach. High system efficiency is obtained with increasing the operating pressure or decreasing the current density. The more efficient system is found for a co-flow configuration, while significant temperature gradients near the entrance of the reformer are not desirable for ceramic solid oxide fuel cell systems.},
 year = {2017}
}

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