AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
To Maximize Triple-Phase Interfaces Between Fuel, Electrolyte, and Electrode of Direct Coal Fuel Cell Through CeO2 Coating
CHENGGUO LI, Donggeun Lee, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
Abstract Number: 742 Working Group: Nanoparticles and Materials Synthesis
Abstract A new type of high-temperature fuel cell directly using pulverized coal particles, which is called direct coal fuel cell (DCFC), has recently attracted scientific and industrial attention due to its excellent electrochemical efficiency and efficient use of least expensive coal. However, the fuel cell system is still in its infancy mainly because triple-phase interface between an Ni-based anode, solid fuel, and molten electrolyte where electrochemical reaction occurs is limited as compared to gaseous fuel of hydrogen. Hence, this study was devoted to find a new way to enhance the electrochemical usage of the fuel. The first trial is to use a porous Ni electrode in which coal powder are fed to maximize the physical contact between the coal and electrode. This approach was found to be five times more efficient in electrochemical performance of the system. As the triple phase contact is even more enhanced by making the fuel electrode wettable to the electrolyte of molten carbonate, the second trial was made to coat the electrode with CeO2 for this purpose. As a final result, the electrical power output reached 70mW/cm2 at a current density of 150mA/cm2 which was actually 40% increased from the case of non-coated anode.