Evaluation of reformation of diesel type fuel in an MCFC stack

The authors present the technical approach and the initial test results for operation of a subscale molten carbonate fuel cell stack with a liquid hydrocarbon fuel. The fuel, EXXSOL D110, was selected because it is similar in characteristics to diesel fuel and is available with a low sulfur content. The molten carbonate fuel cell stacks have been developed for electric utility power generation and incorporate internal reforming plate units for conversion of natural gas into hydrogen which is used for the electrochemical power generation. For the demonstration with EXXSOL D110 fuel, an additional vaporizer and a preconverter column were employed. The liquid fuel is vaporized together with some water which is required for preconversion of the fuel to methane and hydrogen. The testing conducted so far with EXXSOL D110 indicates that this type of fuel can be readily preconverted in an adiabatic catalyst column for utilization with internally reforming molten carbonate fuel cell stacks