Performance Analysis of an Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Test Bench under a CO2-H2O Feed Stream

Abstract

Renewable sources and electric distribution network can produce or make available a surplus of electric and thermal energies. The Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Electrolyzer (IT-SOE) fed by CO2-steam mixtures can store these electric and thermal energies producing CO-H2 mixtures with high conversion efficiency. Inside the IT-SOE, the CO2-steam mixtures are converted into CO-H2 mixtures and O2 through cathodic and anodic electrochemical reactions and reverse water gas shift chemical reactions. In this article an IT-SOE stack fed by different types of steam mixtures was tested at different operating temperatures and the stack polarization and electric power curves were detected experimentally. At the highest hydrogen production operating temperature of the stack fed by steam mixtures, the experimental polarization and electric power curves of the stack fed by steam and CO2-steam mixtures were compared. A simulation model of the IT-SOE system (stack and furnace) fed by CO2-steam mixtures was formulated ad hoc and implemented in a MatLab environment and experimentally validated. At the highest hydrogen production stack operating temperature, the IT-SOE system thermal equilibrium current was evaluated through the simulation model. Moreover, the influence of this current on the IT-SOE system efficiency and the CO-H2 mixture degree of purity was highlighted.

Reinforcement learning based adaptive power pinch analysis for energy management of stand-alone hybrid energy storage systems considering uncertainty

“…Newer innovative hydrogen production approach, which relies on internal rather than external reforming of fuel mixtures into mass production of electric and thermal energy carriers, with high efficiency, based on the use of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) have recently been investigated. In [12], an intermediate temperature solid oxide electrolyser stack is fed with carbon dioxide (CO 2 )-steam mixture at the anode. Here the fuel mixture is reformed into CO -H 2 mixture while at the cathode, oxygen fed into the system is converted into ions.…”

Optimization of the Fuel Cell Renewable Hybrid Power System Using the Control Mode of the Required Load Power on the DC Bus

“…• Modeling, control, and optimization of the FC system to improve the fuel economy [10][11][12]; • Developing innovative solutions and advanced technologies to improve the lifetime, reliability and safety in operation of the FC system [13,14]; • Numerical models for the control of hydrogen and thermal/electric energies productions through Solid Oxide Electrolyzer/Fuel Cells [15]: • Proposal of innovative stand-alone or grid-connected RES HPS architectures, which can be optimized based on advanced Energy Management Strategies (EMSs) [16][17][18] and Global Maximum Power Point Tracking (GMPPT) control algorithms [19][20][21] applied to available RESs (photovoltaic systems, wind turbines etc.) in order to optimally ensure the power flow balance on the DC bus (and/or the AC bus) [22][23][24] and improve the harvested energy from the RESs [25][26][27]; • Hybridization of the RES HPS with an FC system as backup energy source (FC/RES HPS) to mitigate the RES power variability and load dynamics by controlling the generated FC power at the level of the required power on the DC bus [28][29][30].…”

Yb-Doped BaCeO3 and Its Composite Electrolyte for Intermediate-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

“…Fuel cells have many merits, such as diversity of fuel options, being environmentally friendly and having high energy efficiency [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. BaCeO 3 and SrCeO 3 -based perovskite oxides have excellent protonic conductivities under hydrogen- or water-containing atmosphere at 400–1000 °C [9,10,11,12,13,14,15].…”