ECS Trans. 2015 Troskialina 2503 13

ECS Transactions, 68 (1) 2503-2513 (2015)
10.1149/06801.2503ecst ©The Electrochemical Society
Improved Performance and Durability of Anode Supported SOFC

Operating on Biogas
L. Troskialina, A. Dhir, R. Steinberger-Wilckens
Centre for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Research

School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Simulated biogas with 0.5 CO2 to CH4 ratio was used to fuel
NiYSZ-based anode supported SOFC at 750oC for 22 hours.
Operation on biogas was carried out after 26 hours stabilization on
H2. Sn doping by infiltration technique on NiYSZ anode surface
produced 4.5 times higher cell electrical performance on biogas
compared to the performance of un-doped NiYSZ cell. SnNiYSZ
cell showed no carbon deposited while NiYSZ cell showed 0.17mg
carbon/cm2 cell. This paper presents cell electrical performance
data supported by impedance spectra and mass spectra of fuel cell
outlet gases. The findings in this paper may bring efforts for
making biogas fuelled SOFC closer to being operable.
Introduction
As awareness of global warming and environmental protection increases, the desire for
more efficient and renewable energy generation remains on the rise. One of the promising
devices for efficient energy conversion is the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC). SOFCs are
high energy conversion devices that convert fuel to electricity and can operate on a
variety of different fuels such as natural gas and biogas. Biogas, a renewable fuel which
is the direct product of an anaerobic digester for biomass or biowastes, mainly consists of
50-70mol% methane and 50-30mol% CO2. Compared to H2 fuelled SOFCs, biogas
fuelled SOFCs offer several advantages such as reduced H2 production and purification
times, allowing the utilization of waste by-products, and assisting in concentrating CO2
from its source hence helping in CO2 capture and sequestration. A recent paper by Siefert
and Litster (1) on exergy and economic analysis of biogas fuelled SOFC systems reported
that a biogas fuelled SOFC may be incorporated in an anaerobic digester (AD) plant to
make the AD-plant a net electricity generator rather than energy consumer. Other reports,
such as those by Takahashi, et. al. (2), Lanzini, et. al. (3), and Girona, et. al. (4) also
suggest promising operation of biogas fuelled SOFC.
NiYSZ cermets are still the most commonly used anode materials for SOFCs (5,6).
Since SOFCs operate at high temperatures, typically 700oC-850oC, and supported Ni
particles are also industrially used as methane steam reforming catalyst, it is possible to
use hydrocarbon fuels directly in SOFC. This operation is known as internal reforming.
Internal reforming process is one of the many advantages of high temperature SOFCs as
it makes for a less complicated, cost-effective system. In internal reforming process
methane and other hydrocarbons will be converted to more usable gas species, H2 and
CO (syngas) via steam reforming [1,2] and CO2 reforming [3] reactions and
accompanying water gas shift reaction [4]. H2 and CO are the main species which can be
2503
Downloaded on 2019-04-04 to IP 36.72.38.224 address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see ecsdl.org/site/terms_use) unless CC License in place (see abstract).
electrochemically oxidized in the SOFC anode compartment to produce electricity and

heat.
CH4 + H2O CO + 3H2 [1]

CH4 + 2 H2O CO2 + 4H2 [2]
CH4 + CO2 2CO + 2H2 [3]
CO + H2O CO2 + H2 [4]
CH4 C + 2H2 [5]
2CO CO2 + C [6]
CO + H2 C + H2O [7]
When the SOFC is fuelled by hydrocarbons, conventional NiYSZ anode is known to

catalyze the formation of carbon deposits besides acting as catalyst for hydrocarbon
reforming and hydrogen and CO electrochemical oxidations. Carbon deposits may be
formed mainly via hydrocarbon cracking [5], CO disproportionation [6] and CO
hydrogenation [7]. These reactions may take place in gas phase and on the catalyst
surface (7). Accumulation of carbon deposits can cause fuel cell performance degradation
or even failure. Formation of deleterious carbon, which always accompanies methane or
hydrocarbon reforming can cause anode pore blockage, disintegration of nickel particles
via chemisorptions and dissolution of carbon through nickel surface, encapsulation of the
nickel particles, and eventually collapse of catalyst support (7-11).
Studies to operate solid oxide fuel cells in direct internal reforming mode with the
aim to reduce carbon deposition have been developed for some time. Some works involve
operation with addition of steam to the fuel feed, or combining fuel with oxidant (air or
CO2) to aid in the removal of carbon deposits (12). However, adding air, steam or CO2 to
the system reduces overall energy efficiency via increasing cell potential losses and
adding costs to fuel cell operation and balance of plant.
Other research groups have studied the incorporation of a small amount of rare earth
oxides or formation of Ni-alloy on the NiYSZ and examined the influence on NiYSZ
properties and performance. Several bi-metallic-Ni alloys such as Pt-Ni, Co-Ni, Cu-Ni,
Ce-Ni, Mo-Ni, Al-Ni have been investigated (13-16). The use of Sn-Ni alloys have also
been studied and shown promising results (8,17-22). Nikolla et.al (17,21,22) studied the
catalytic properties of Sn-Ni alloys towards hydrocarbon reactions which involve
activation of C-C, C-H, C-O bonds and suggested that Sn-Ni alloy can promote C-O bond
formation and inhibit C-C bond formation. Both are critical in the process of carbon
deposition in hydrocarbon fuelled SOFC (7-12). There were also studies of varying Ni
anode reduction temperature in an attempt to increase performance and reduce carbon
formation in anode supported SOFCs fuelled by methane (23,24).
The aim of this work is to explore cell processing/cell testing methods that minimize
carbon deposition on Ni-YSZ anodes operating on biogas without significant changes in
anode structure and without sacrificing performance. This work is based on the proposed
mechanism that carbon is formed on the Ni anode surface where there are Ni particle
ensembles which provide active sites for carbon-carbon bond formation. Thus, to
minimize the formation of C-C bonds, Ni particle ensembles should be broken via the
presence of other catalysts such that Ni catalytic properties for hydrocarbon oxidation and
reforming are retained and electronic and ionic conductivities within the anode are not
2504
significantly reduced. Introducing additional metal particles in the form of Ni-alloys is

one approach so Sn-doping using infiltration technique on NiYSZ anode surface has been
proposed to serve this objective.
This paper presents part of the results of a study of infiltrating NiYSZ anode with Sn
and examining the fuel cell performance when fuelled with simulated biogas under dry
reforming mode.
Experimental
This work used commercially available NiYSZ anode supported half-cell SOFCs.
These half-cells were 30mm diameter discs comprised of 300µm thick NiYSZ anode
membranes, anode active layer and a 10µm thick YSZ electrolyte layer with 2.0cm2
active cathode area. The first LSM-YSZ cathode composite layer was hand painted and
sintered at 1150oC/3h and the second pure LSM cathode layer was hand painted and
sintered at 1100C/3h. Anode and cathode current collectors were made of silver wires
attached to anode/cathode surface using silver paste. To prepare the SnNiYSZ cell the Ni-
YSZ anode surface was treated with SnCl2 solution before the current collector fitting
stage. A suspension of SnCl2 (Sigma Aldrich SnCl2. 2H2O) in ethanol was used as dopant.
The presence of Sn on SnNiYSZ anode was confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy
and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDX). The Sn-doped NiYSZ anode
used in this paper had 1% (by weight) Sn to Ni ratio.
The ready to test cell was mounted and sealed on an alumina cell housing using silver
paste as cell sealant. The cell was then assembled in the test rig ready for heating-up and
anode reduction before electrical performance testing. Care was taken to ensure cell
housing set up and sealing were gas tight. Electrical performance testing was done in a
test rig which consists of a temperature programmed-tunnel furnace, fuel supplies with
mass flow controllers, and connections to electrical performance test station and outlet
gas composition monitor. Fuel cell electrical performance was monitored with a
Solartron-1470 test station which is equipped with an Electrochemical Impedance
Spectrometer (EIS). An online Mass Spectrometer was attached to anode gas outlet line
to monitor the outlet gas composition.
The cell was tested on simulated biogas at a condition where carbon deposition is
thermodynamically expected; that is at 1:2:1 CO2:CH4:He ratio and 750oC operating
temperature. Helium was co-fed with the fuel to allow for calculation of outlet gas partial
pressure using mass spectrometry. H2 at 21ml/min and He at 7ml/min were fed for anode
reduction and performance stabilization and CH4 at 14ml/min and CO2 at 7ml/min were
fed to replace H2 at the 26th hour of operation. The test on biogas was done for 22 hours.
One of the tested samples from each series of cell test condition was prepared for
determination of deposited carbon using Temperature Programmed Oxidation (TPO)
technique. The tested cell was placed in a quartz tubular reactor in the tunnel furnace.
Into this tubular quart reactor 10ml/min O2 and 40ml/min He were fed at ambient
temperature. The sample was heated up to 900oC at 5oC/minute rate. The outlet gases
from this reactor are fed to a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer to monitor the gas
composition. The presence of carbon will be marked by the appearance of CO2 peak on
the Mass Spectra.
2505
Results and Discussion
Anode Surface Characterization by SEM and EDX
SEM/EDX was used to characterize the cell microstructure. Figure 1a shows part of
anode and electrolyte layer while Figure 1b represents anode surface showing the
distribution of Ni-rich parts in more continuous Zr-rich parts.
a b
B
Anode support bi-rich parts
Anode Active Layer Zr-rich parts
Electrolyte
Figure 1. A cross sectional area of a SnNiYSZ cell showing part of reduced anode and
electrolyte layers (a), and reduced anode surface showing Ni-rich and Zr-rich parts (b).
Figure 2 shows EDX mapping of Zr, Ni and Sn on anode surface. This image shows
that on anode surface Zr forms a more continuous part compared to Ni. It is also shown
that anode pores are of less than 1µm diameter. The EDX map confirms that Sn is present
and well distributed over Ni particle sites. The image was taken from reduced SnNiYSZ
anode surface before cell testing which contain 4% Sn to Ni weight ratio obtained from
repeated (24x) SnCl2 infiltration.
Zr bi Sn
Figure 2. EDX map of SNiYSZ anode surface showing the distribution of Zr, Ni and Sn.
Electrical Performance Testing Results
Figure 3a shows polarization and power density curves measured at the end of the 26
hours performance stabilization on H2. Open circuit voltage on the NiYSZ cell was
1.072V while that on the SnNiYSZ was 1.022V.
2506
1.2 0.35
0.3
a) b)
1.0 0.3 10 KHz
0.1 Hz
Power Density (W/cm2)

0.25
Voltage (Volt) 0.8 0.2
Z' (ohm)
0.2
0.6
0.15 NiYSZ
0.4 V-SnNiYSZ 0.1 SnNiYSZ
0.1
V-NiYSZ
0.2 P-NiYSZ 0.05
P-SnNiYSZ
0.0 0 0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Current Density (A/cm2) Z'' (ohm)
Figure 3. a) Polarization and power density curve of NiYSZ and SnNiYSZ cell, b)
corresponding impedance spectra of NiYSZ and SnNiYSZ cell (cross).
Figure 3a also shows that peak power densities of 310mW/cm2 and 320mW/cm2 were
observed for the NiYSZ and SnNiYSZ cell respectively. Towards 700mA/cm2 current
density, power density curve on the SnNiYSZ cell started to decline which means a fuel
deficient condition was reached, while on the NiYSZ cell this phenomenon is observed at
a slightly higher current density. Following these results, it is expected that SnNiYSZ cell
shows similar or slightly higher cell resistances, however impedance spectra represented
in Figure 3b shows the opposite phenomena. In these impedance spectra, we can see that
the SnNiYSZ cell showed significantly lower ohmic and total resistances. It is not known
what effects are observed on these two cells when fuelled by H2 that makes impedance
spectra values of this SnNiYSZ cell lower than expected. Further analysis is needed
which should include data from repeated testing of the cells. Due to the limited space in
this paper, further discussion on this phenomenon will be presented in future paper; the
next subsection presents data from operation in biogas.
Figure 4a shows polarization and power density curves obtained in operating the
NiYSZ and SnNiYSZ anode supported SOFC on biogas. Here shown that the NiYSZ cell
gave a low peak power density of 75mW/cm2 while SnNiYSZ cell gave similar power
density to that on H2 330mW/cm2. This low performance of NiYSZ cell on biogas may
imply that dry reforming takes place in this NiYSZ anode only very slowly. On the
contrary, the better performance of SnNiYSZ cell may indicate that dry reforming takes
place more successfully on SnNiYSZ than it does on NiYSZ cell.
Figure 4b represents impedance spectra taken at OCV for SnNiYSZ and NiYSZ cells
with electrical performance shown in Figure 4a. Consistent with the observed power
density curve, impedance spectra of NiYSZ cell showed much higher polarization and
total resistance on biogas compared to those on H2. While for SnNiYSZ cell, the
resistances stay the same on H2 and biogas. This result on impedance spectra supports the
prediction that on NiYSZ cell very little biogas is reformed to produce H2 and CO
whereas on SnNiYSZ cell sufficient biogas is reformed. These phenomena will be more
clearly explained as the composition of fuel cell outlet gases is presented and discussed in
the next sub section.
In Figure 4c the result of TPO of tested NiYSZ is presented. This figure shows a
small amount of carbon, 0.17mg/cm2 deposited on the NiYSZ cell. Interestingly, TPO of
tested SnNiYSZ did not indicate any presence of carbon deposit. Although general
understanding of carbon deposition in catalytic reforming process is established, the exact
2507
mechanism occurring in a specific catalytic process cannot be easily generalized. As

reported by several researchers (7-12), reactions which will lead to carbon deposition is
inherent in methane or hydrocarbon reforming, since methane cracking which produce
carbon and H2 is believed to be the initial step in steam or dry reforming reactions. The
types of carbon deposited and the rate of carbon deposition on supported Ni catalysts
vary depending on Ni particle size and crystal face, types of Ni catalyst support, reaction
conditions (temperatures, residence time) and the nature of hydrocarbon feed
composition. The deposited carbon can be oxidized or gasified via reverse reactions with
H2O, CO2 or H2. In terms of reactivity or easiness to gasify and oxidize, there are two
main types of carbon deposit, the reactive Cα and less reactive Cβ. It was also reported
that at certain conditions the reactive Cα can be converted to Cβ. In the case of catalytic
internal reforming on NiYSZ-based anode under fuel cell operation, carbon accumulation
can be minimized not only by gasification using steam, air or CO2 but also via operating
the fuel cell under current drawing mode. Alzate-Restrepo and Hill (25) carried out
extensive measurements of carbon deposition on NiYSZ anode fuelled by various
mixtures of CH4, H2 and CO at OCV and varied current loads and showed that the
quantity of carbon deposited was maximum under OCV mode and minimum at highest
current drawing mode.
1.2 0.35
0.4
a) 1 0.3 b) 10kHz
0.1Hz
0.25 0.3
Voltage (Volt)
0.8
Z' (ohm)
0.2
0.6 0.2
0.15
0.4
0.1
V-NiYSZ 0.1
0.2 V - SnNiYSZ
P - SnNIYSZ 0.05 NiYSZ
P-NiYSZ SnNiYSZ
0 0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Current Density (A/cm 2) Z'' (ohm)
6.E-04
c)
5.E-04
CO2 Partial Pressure
4.E-04
3.E-04
2.E-04
1.E-04
0.E+00
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Temperature (oC)
Figure 4. a) represents polarization curves and power density of SnNiYSZ and NiYSZ
cells, b) corresponding impedance spectra of both cells, c) TPO result of tested NiYSZ
cell.
The two findings of carbon deposited on our NiYSZ sample being 0.17mg/cm2 and
none on SnNiYSZ cell can be explained as follows. The small amount of carbon
deposited on our base NiYSZ cell may be related to the low dry reforming performance
and the fact that the cell being operated mostly at current drawing mode; this would allow
for electrochemical oxidization of deposited carbon leaving only a small amount of
2508
unreactive carbon Cβ detected during TPO. While our SnNiYSZ cell did not show any
deposited carbon; this can be caused by the presence of Sn on Ni surface which was
proposed to be capable of breaking Ni atom ensembles, the active sites required for C-C
bond formation, hence the possibility of C-C bond formation is reduced. Furthermore Sn
also can act as a catalyst for C-O bond formation (8, 17-22) therefore any deposited
carbon may be easily oxidized via reverse CO disproportionation (Boudouard reaction)
and electrochemical oxidation at current drawing mode.
Presented in Figure 5 are current densities obtained during the cell testing for 48
hours at 0.7V. The first 26 hours of operation on H2 shows constantly increasing current
density on the SnNiYSZ cell and relatively quicker stable current achieved on the NiYSZ
cell. This evidence reveals that in SnNiYSZ cell anode reduction takes place slower than
that in NiYSZ cell. Relatively stable current densities observed within 22 hours of
operation on SnNiYSZ and NiYSZ cells. Roughly five time increase in current density
was obtained from doping NiYSZ with Sn using our infiltration technique. As will be
shown from Mass Spectra this high current density obtained in SnNiYSZ cell was due to
availability of sufficient fuel (CO and H2) for electrochemical oxidation, whereas in the
case of NiYSZ cell the amount of CO and H2 present were very low.
0.5
Current Density (A/cm2)
0.4
0.3
0.2
H2  Biogas
0.1
NiYSZ
SnNiYSZ
0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Time (hours)
Figure 5. Comparison of current density produced at 0.7V on NiYSZ and SnNiYSZ cells.
The cells were fuelled by H2 for the first 26 hours and by biogas for the last 22 hours.
Mass Spectra of Fuel Cell Outlet Gases
Figure 6 shows H2 partial pressures at OCV and during I-V curve measurement from
the first 6.2 hours of operation on H2. The first sweep of I-V curve measurement was
done with incremental voltage decrease from OCV down to 0.4V, the second sweep was
incremental voltage increase from 0.4V to OCV (the figure shows only partial spectra of
the second I-V sweep). The decrease in H2 partial pressure in figure 6a represents how
much H2 is converted to steam during H2 electrochemical oxidation. The amount of H2
being oxidized is higher on the NiYSZ than that on SnNiYSZ. As supported by figure 6b
these results show that our method of doping Sn on to NiYSZ anode does cause some
loss of catalytic properties in electrochemical oxidation of H2.
2509
1.2 0.35
0.8
a) b) 1 0.3
Power Density (W/cm2)

H2 Partial Pressure
0.75 0.25
Voltage (Volt)
0.8
0.7 0.2
0.6
0.15
0.65
0.4
OCV II-V
0.1
NiYSZ
0.6
0.2 V -SnNiYSZ V -NiYSZ 0.05
SnNiYSZ
P -NiYSZ P -SnNiYSZ
0.55 0 0
5.8 5.9 6 6.1 6.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Time ( hours) Current Density (A/cm2)
Figure 6. (a) This shows partial pressures of H2 at the outlet of NiYSZ and SnNiYSZ
cells at 21h operation on H2 showing the change from OCV mode to polarization curve
measurement mode, (b) corresponding polarization curve.
Figure 7 represents partial pressures of unreacted CH4 a), unreacted CO2 b), CO
produced c) and H2 produced d) from NiYSZ cell (dark colored) and SnNiYSZ cell (light
colored) during the first 105 minutes of operation on biogas. The first 90 minutes was at
OCV and the last 15 minutes was at I-V curve measurement. The manner of I-V curve
measurement is the same with that on H2 fuel. Figure 7a shows very little CH4 is
converted (reformed) in our NiYSZ cell while a substantial amount of CH4 was reformed
on the SnNiYSZ cell. Similar explanation applies to figure 7b of CO2 partial pressures.
Figures 7c and 7d confirm that CO and H2 are indeed produced during dry reforming.
The high amount of CO and H2 produced and electrochemically oxidized in SnNiYSZ
cell are consistent with the high current obtained on SnNiYSZ cell fuelled by biogas
which is represented in figure 5. Figure 7c can serve as evidence that CO in biogas
mixture is indeed electrochemically oxidized at the comparable rate to H2
electrochemical oxidation. These facts further support the improved electrical
performance of SnNiYSZ cell over NiYSZ cell.
This overall better performance of SnNiYSZ in biogas fuel is in agreement with the
findings presented by Trimm (8) and Nikolla et. al. that SnNi alloy promotes C-O bond
formation and inhibits C-C bond formation (19, 20). It is proposed that during OCV, via
the action of SnNi alloy to promote C-O bond formation, the small amount of carbon
produced from the slow methane cracking reaction on our base NiYSZ anode is quickly
consumed by CO2 therefore causing more carbon to be produced from methane cracking.
This process continues until equilibrium is achieved. While during current drawing, CO
produced from dry reforming is electrochemically oxidized to CO2, similarly carbon is
also electrochemically oxidized to CO. Overtime the composition of CO, CO2, CH4, H2
and H2O in anode compartment is determined by equilibrium constants of various
reactions involved. Simultaneous carbon formation and removal continuously take place.
However, when for some reason, much Cα is converted to Cβ, carbon removal may
become slower and carbon accumulation will occur which can eventually cause catalyst
deactivation.
To summarize the performance of these Sn-doped and undoped NiYSZ cells, Table I
lists the important figures of electrical performance and gas partial pressures obtained
from mass spectra.
2510
0.6 0.6
a) CH 4 SnNiYSZ NiYSZ b)
0.5 0.5 CO 2 SnNiYSZ NiYSZ
CO2 Partial Pressure

CH4 Partial Pressure
0.4 0.4 OCV II-V
0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2
0.1 OCV II-V 0.1
0 0
60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105
Time (minutes)
Time (minutes)
c) d)
0.6 0.60
CO SnNiYSZ NiYSZ H2 SnNiYSZ NiYSZ

0.5 0.50
H2 Partial Pressure
CO Partial Pressure
0.4 OCV II-V 0.40
0.3 0.30 OCV II-V
0.2 0.20
0.1 0.10
0
0.00
60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105
60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105
Time (minutes)
Time (minutes)
Figure 7. This shows partial pressures of the outlet gases from NiYSZ (dark colored) and
SnNiYSZ cells (light colored) during biogas feeding under OCV and polarization (I-V
curve) measurements.
Table 1. Summary of the Electrical Performance and Electro Chemical (EC) Conversion
Parameter SnNiYSZ NiYSZ

On H2 On Biogas On H2 On Biogas
Peak power density (mA/cm2) 325 325 320 72
Current density at 0.7V (A/cm2) 400 (26h) 400 350 (26h) 92
Ohmic Resistance (Ohm) 0.056 0.050 0.087 0.093
Total Resistance (Ohm) 0.442 0.400 (22h) 0.600 1.100 (22h)
EC-Conversion of H2 in H2 fuel (at 0.079 0.036
26hours, in partial pressure)
H2 produced from Dry Reforming 0.093 0.011
EC-Conversion of H2 in biogas fuel 0.017 0.005
CO produced from Dry Reforming 0.286 0.062
EC-Conversion of CO in biogas fuel 0.078 0.017
Carbon deposited (mg/cm2 anode - None - 0.170
surface area
Conclusions
Simulated biogas with 0.5 CO2 to CH4 ratio has been used to fuel NiYSZ-based
anode supported SOFC at 750oC for 22 hours, after 26 hours stabilization on H2. 1%
(weight) Sn doping by infiltration technique on anode surface produced roughly 4.5 times
higher cell electrical performance on biogas and without carbon deposition detected after
cell testing. Performance of SnNiYSZ on H2 is slightly lower than that of NiYSZ,
however lower ohmic and polarization resistances were observed on SnNiYSZ compared
to those on NiYSZ cell. Further investigation is needed to clarify this finding. The
increase in electrical performance of SnNiYSZ in biogas can be related to the ability of
2511
SnNi alloy to improve NiYSZ catalytic properties in biogas (dry) reforming reaction via
promotion of C-O bond formation (oxidation of carbon) and inhibition of C-C bond
formation. This suggestion was confirmed by impedance spectra and mass spectra of fuel
cell outlet gas composition. When fuelled by biogas SnNiYSZ cells provide more CO and
H2 as dry reforming products, enabling electrochemical oxidation of CO and H2 in anode
compartment to take place more easily hence increasing the rate of mass transfer. These
would result in lowering cell potential losses and increasing electrical performance. Most
of the findings in this paper agree with results previously reported by other researchers
(17-22). Hence this may bring efforts for making biogas fuelled SOFC closer to being
operable. However further study is still needed to evaluate and confirm the roles that Sn
may play in improving Ni catalytic activity in biogas (dry) reforming reaction and in
other hydrocarbon reforming conditions, especially in inhibiting carbon deposition. This
would allow for more detailed data become available to assist in better fuel cell design
and manufacture.
Acknowledgments
Mrs. Lina Troskialina is grateful to the Ministry of Education of Indonesia and

European Union’s Hydrogen Joint Undertaking Project under Grant Agreement No.
278525 MMLCR=SOFC for the scholarship provided for her to carry out this study at
the Centre for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Research, School of Chemical Engineering
University of Birmingham.
References
1. N. S. Siefert and S. Litster, J. Power Sources, 272, p. 386 (2014).

2. Y. Takahashi, Y. Shiratori, S. Furuta, K. Sasaki, Solid-State Ionics, 225, p.113
(2012).
3. A. Lanzini, P. Leone, C. Guerra, F. Smeacetto, N.P. Brandon, M. Santarelli,
Chemical Engineering Journal., 220, p.254 (2013).
4. K. Girona, J. Laurencin, J. Fouletier, F. Lefebre-Joud, J. Power Sources, 210, p.
381 (2012).
5. S. McIntosh and R. J. Gorte, Chem. Rev, 104, p. 4845 (2005).
6. R. J. Gorte, Material Matters, 5, article 4 (2011).
7. D. L. Trimm, Catalysis Today, 37, p.p233 (1997)
8. D. L. Trimm, Catalysis Today., 49, p.3 (1999)
9. G. R. Milward, H. E. Evans, I. P. Jones, C. D. Eley, Materials at High
Temperatures, 20, p.535 (2003).
10. J. Rostrup Nielsen, J Catalysis, 48, p.155 (1977)
11. C. H. Bartholomew, Applied Catalysis A:General, 212, p.17 (2001).
12. D. Mogensen, J.-D. Grunwaldt, P. V. Hendriksen, K. Dam-Johansen, J. U.
Nielsen, J. Power Sources, 196, p. 25 (2011).
13. W. An, D. Gatewood, B. Dunlap, C. Heath Turner, J. Power Sources, 196, p.
4724 (2011).
14. D. La Rosa, A. Sin, M. Lo Faro, G. Monforte, V. Antonucci, A. S. Arico, J.
Power Sources, 193, p. 160 (2009).
15. Y. Liu, Y. Bai, J. Liu, J. Power Sources, 196, p. 9965 (2011).
2512
16. M. D. Gross, J. M. Vohs, R. J. Gorte, J. Electrochemical Society, 154, p. B694

(2007).
17. E. Nikolla, J. Schwank, S. Linic, J. Electrochemical Society, 156, p. B1312 (2009)
18. H. Kan, H. Lee, Applied Catalysis B:Environmental, 97, p.108 (2010)
19. A. Singh, and J. M. Hill, J. Power Sources, 214, p. 185 (2012).
20. N. Bogolowski, and J. Drillet, Proceedings 11th European SOFC Forum, p.
B0501 (2014)
21. E. Nikolla, A. Holewinski, J. Schwank, S. Linic, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 131, p. 2747
(2008)
22. E. Nikolla, J. Schwank, S. Linic, Journal of Catalysis, 263, p. 220 (2009)
23. A. Dhir, and K. Kendall, J. Power Sources, 181, p. 297 (2008).
24. C. Mallon, and K. Kendall, J. Power Sources, 145, p. 154 (2005).
25. V. Alzate-Restrepo, J. M. Hill, Applied Catalysis A:General, 342, p.49 (2008).
2513

ECS Trans. 2015 Troskialina 2503 13

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

ECS Trans. 2015 Troskialina 2503 13

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ECS Transactions, 68 (1) 2503-2513 (2015)

10.1149/06801.2503ecst ©The Electrochemical Society

Improved Performance and Durability of Anode Supported SOFC

L. Troskialina, A. Dhir, R. Steinberger-Wilckens

Centre for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Research

electrochemically oxidized in the SOFC anode compartment to produce electricity and

CH4 + H2O CO + 3H2 [1]

When the SOFC is fuelled by hydrocarbons, conventional NiYSZ anode is known to

significantly reduced. Introducing additional metal particles in the form of Ni-alloys is

Results and Discussion

Anode Surface Characterization by SEM and EDX

Anode Active Layer Zr-rich parts

Electrical Performance Testing Results

Power Density (W/cm2)

mechanism occurring in a specific catalytic process cannot be easily generalized. As

Mass Spectra of Fuel Cell Outlet Gases

Power Density (W/cm2)

CO2 Partial Pressure

0.1 OCV II-V 0.1

CO SnNiYSZ NiYSZ H2 SnNiYSZ NiYSZ

0.4 OCV II-V 0.40

0.3 0.30 OCV II-V

Parameter SnNiYSZ NiYSZ

Mrs. Lina Troskialina is grateful to the Ministry of Education of Indonesia and

1. N. S. Siefert and S. Litster, J. Power Sources, 272, p. 386 (2014).

16. M. D. Gross, J. M. Vohs, R. J. Gorte, J. Electrochemical Society, 154, p. B694

You might also like