Internal reforming SOFC running on biogas

Direct feeding of biogas to SOFC, which is derived from municipal organic wastes, has been investigated as a carbon-neutral renewable energy system. CH4/CO2 ratio in the actual biogas fluctuated between 1.4 and 1.9 indicating biogas composition is strongly affected by the kinds of organic wastes and the operational conditions of methane fermentation. Using anode-supported button cells, stable operation of biogas-fueled SOFC was achieved with the internal reforming mode at 800 °C. Cell voltage above 0.8 V was recorded over 800 h at 200 mA cm−2. It has been revealed that air addition to actual biogas reduced the risk of carbon formation and led to more stable operation without compromising cell voltage due to the lowering of anodic overvoltage.