The impact of wood-derived gasification gases on Ni-CGO anodes in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

The impact of gases arising from the gasification of wood chips on the performance of an intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) has been assessed. The anode material was a 60:40 wt.% Ni:CGO-10 (Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95) cermet, which was tested in various gas atmospheres from diluted hydrogen to emulated gasification mixtures containing H2, N2, CO, CH4 and CO2. It was found that CO decreased the performance of the cell when compared to H2. The presence of 10% CO2 in the fuel did not significantly affect cell performance, whilst operation with 5 and 10% CH4 resulted in poor power output due to carbon deposition. The current–voltage characteristics of the cell in hydrogen compared well with theoretical I/V predictions. The latter enable leakage currents, arising from the partial reduction of the CGO electrolyte on the anode side, to be quantified.