The impact and mitigation of carbon formation on Ni-YSZ anodes from biomass gasification tars

J. Mermelstein*, M. Millan-Agorio, N. P. Brandon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The combination of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) and biomass gasification has the potential to become an attractive technology for the production of clean renewable energy. However the impact of tars, formed during biomass gasification, on the performance and durability of SOFC anodes has not been well established experimentally. This paper reports on an experimental study assessment of the performance and mitigation of carbon formation on the anodes of SOFC button cells from synthetic model tars arising from the gasification of biomass material. The anode material was a 60:40 wt.% NiO/YSZ cermet, which was tested in a synthetically generated syngas containing a concentration of up to 15 g/Nm3 biomass gasification tars. It was found that carbon formation in dry conditions significantly damaged the anode of the fuel cell resulting in decreased cell performance and excessive anode polarization resistances. These effects were reduced by applying a load to the cell, and were essentially inhibited once the steam content of the input fuel was > 2%.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationECS Transactions - Fuel Cell Seminar 2008
PublisherElectrochemical Society Inc.
Pages111-117
Number of pages7
Edition1
ISBN (Electronic)9781607680796
ISBN (Print)9781566777292
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes
Event2008 Fuel Cell Seminar and Exposition - Phoenix, AZ, United States
Duration: 27 Oct 200831 Oct 2008

Publication series

NameECS Transactions
Number1
Volume17
ISSN (Print)1938-5862
ISSN (Electronic)1938-6737

Conference

Conference2008 Fuel Cell Seminar and Exposition
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityPhoenix, AZ
Period27/10/0831/10/08

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering

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