Effect of syngas and coal composition of performance of solid oxide fuel cell

Gasification technology includes the conversion of fossil fuels into either combustible gas or synthesis gas (syngas) for subsequent utilization. It finds its applications in the productions of clean power as well as chemicals. Coal is one of the world's important source of energy fueling around 40% of the power stations around the world. It is commonly agreed that coal pits will be mined more intensively and in more numbers in the coming years and that lignite and hard coals will be the major energy suppliers until 2100. Integrated gasification fuel cell hybrid power generation system is a promising system for coal utilization. It combines clean coal gasification technology with efficient fuel cell technology. In this paper , effect of syngas and coal composition on performance of solid oxide fuel cell was studied. It was observed that different ratios of H2 and CO affect the current and voltage fuel cell. With higher molar fraction of H2 the better output voltage was obtained under the same working conditions. The trace species in coal also affect the performance of solid oxide fuel cell. Ni, Be, Cr, K and Na trace species present in coal also affect the performance to some extent. (author)