Partitioning of coal contaminants in the components of liquid tin anode solid oxide fuel cells

ScienceDirect.coms: Direct carbon fuel cells (DCFCs) electrochemically convert fossil fuels to electricity, resulting in higher efficiency and less pollution than traditional direct combustion technologies. This work focuses on direct use of coal in a liquid tin anode solid oxide fuel cell (LTA SOFC) where a layer of molten tin functions as the anode. In such a direct solid fueling scheme, a major technical concern is the ultimate disposition of trace materials naturally present in the coal.

Trace contaminants introduced with the coal must be located in the functional portions of the LTA SOFC to ensure that any deleterious reactions are known and ultimately mitigated. This research effort determines the thermochemical contaminant partitioning between the tin anode, slag, or electrolyte material and examines the critical interfaces within the system. Contaminant partitioning was examined by TEM, SEM/EDS, and ICP–OES/MS. Sulfur is known to poison yttria-stabalized zirconia (YSZ) and appears to form a tin sulfide phase that is dispersed in the liquid tin during operation. Results show that tin oxide formed on and near the YSZ electrolyte, and could potentially degrade charge transfer.

The slag was found to consist of the expected metal oxides, however, tin and tin oxide were intermixed with the slag component, indicating a probable need for a tin recovery process that will potentially increase the complexity of an LTA SOFC system.



Journal of Power Sources
Volume 211, 1 August 2012, Pages 192–201
Partitioning of coal contaminants in the components of liquid tin anode solid oxide fuel cells
Benjamin C. Nielsena, b, , , Kirk Gerdesc, William O’Connora, Xueyan Songd, Harry Abernathyc
a National Energy Technology Laboratory, 1450 Queen Ave. SW, Albany, OR 97321, United States
b URS Corporation (NETL site contractor), United States
c National Energy Technology Laboratory, 3610 Collins Ferry Rd., Morgantown, WV 26507, United States
d West Virginia University, Engineering Sciences Bldg, Evansdale Dr., Morgantown, WV 26506, United States
Received 21 December 2011. Revised 15 March 2012. Accepted 17 March 2012. Available online 7 April 2012.

Platinum / Tin Oxide – Single Walled Carbon Nanotube Electrocatalysts for Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell

Electrochem meetings: Preliminary analysis of the CVs and EOR support the findings of enhanced activity of the synthesized catalysts. The addition of tin and SWCNT to support platinum

shows promise as an ethanol oxidation catalyst and may be a feasible approach to increase the performance of DEFCs. However, further work is required to fully understand the catalytic effect on the ethanol oxidation reaction mechanism.

Zhongwei Chen*, Ryan S Hsu

Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute of

Nanotechnology, Waterloo Institute for Sustainable

Energy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario,

Canada, N2L 3G1

One-dimensional modeling of a liquid tin anode solid oxide fuel cell

Scopus: "The integration of electronics into modern warfare has seen the creation of a niche market for portable power generators that run on military logistic fuel (JP-8). The 2 stage chemical/electrochemical reaction of the fuel on the anode side of the Liquid Tin Anode (LTA)-SOFC allows a range of carbonaceous fuels to be directly utilized at high efficiencies. However, the LTA-SOFC technology currently has a peak power density of 120mW cm-2 on JP-8. A better understanding of the anode side kinetics, thermodynamic, and transport properties would allow further optimization of this technology. A physics-based model of the LTA-SOFC was built. The model was initially developed for simple fuel before incorporation of heavy hydrocarbon fuels. This paper reports on the modeling efforts to date."

Platinum/tin oxide/carbon cathode catalyst for high temperature PEM fuel cell

Scopus: "The performance of high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) using platinum supported over tin oxide and Vulcan carbon (Pt/SnOx/C) as cathode catalyst was evaluated at 160-200 C and compared with Pt/C. This paper reports first time the Pt/SnOx/C preparation, fuel cell performance, and durability test up to 200 h. Pt/SnOx/C of varying SnO compositions were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX and EIS. The face-centered cubic structure of nanosized Pt becomes evident from XRD data"