Modeling of a SOFC Fuelled by Methane: Influence of the Methane Steam Reforming Kinetics

Abstract

Methane appears to be a fuel of great interest for SOFC systems because it can be directly converted into hydrogen by Gradual Internal Reforming (GIR) within the SOFC anode with a new cell configuration. This study proposes a model of SOFC which takes into account the kinetics of the reforming reaction on the catalyst in order to assess the limitations under current of this new configuration of the SOFC cell. The aim of this work is to investigate the influence of the catalytic properties of methane steam reforming reaction on the SOFC cell electrochemical behavior in GIR operation.

Theoretical study of catalytic activity modifications in CO2 methanation induced by an electric field in solid-oxide cells

“…The Boudouard reaction (2CO = CO 2 + C) and cracking reaction, which are well known to occur in carbon deposition at high solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operating temperatures, are examples. 82–103 The Boudouard reaction, which uses CO as a reactant, may be restrained by an electric field in the [0 0 −1] direction because the equilibrium in this reaction leans toward the reactant side owing to the stabilization of CO adsorption. The cracking reaction generated CH x -type species on the product side as the reaction progressed.…”

Methane steam reforming reaction in solid oxide fuel cells: Influence of electrochemical reaction and anode thickness

“…where 𝑝 CH 4 and 𝑝 H 2 O are the partial pressures of methane and steam, 𝛼 CH 4 and 𝛼 H 2 O are the reaction orders of methane and steam, respectively. The Power-Law kinetic model which has been intensively studied previously provides a straightforward and convenient method to describe the reaction rate without considering the complex surface chemistry [13,[18][19][20][27][28][29][35][36][37][38][39][40][45][46][47][48][49]. The reaction orders can take any value, with −2.0 to 2.0 being a common range according to previously published data [18][19][20]25,[27][28][29][35][36][37][38][39][40].…”

Three Dimensional Temperature Distribution Analysis in Directly Internal Reforming SOFC Fuelled by Methane

“…The PSC technology provides flexible reaction field tolerant to thermal shock with high catalytic activity under high gas space velocity, and moreover enables us to easily fabricate functionally-graded reaction field leading to homogeneous temperature distribution. Computational simulations are the best tools to control and design the functional gradation of PSC (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). In this study, we have developed a reactor model coupled with computer fluid dynamics (CFD) and reactions to predict three dimensional temperature distributions.…”