Cannock landfill gas powering a small tubular solid oxide fuel cell — a case study

Cannock landfill gas — mainly a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide — can successfully power a small tubular solid oxide fuel cell. Initial experiments showed a relatively rapid falling off in power due to poisoning with hydrogen sulphide. A simple de-sulphurisation system alleviated this problem. Even greater performance was achieved by the pre-addition of air to help in the reforming of the gas, giving little loss of power over the lifetime of the experiment.