Energy integration strategies for solid oxide fuel cell systems

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have operating temperatures ranging from as low as 600 °C for intermediate temperature operation to above 900 °C for higher temperature operation. These high temperatures are often viewed as a considerable disadvantage from a materials point of view because of the occurrence of unwanted interfacial reactions, stresses as a result of thermal expansivity mismatches, etc. However, higher temperatures are also an advantage of SOFC systems. Fuel pretreatment that may involve such processes as reforming is very often highly endothermic in nature. The high operating temperature of an SOFC allows for efficient system energy integration with the waste heat from the fuel cell being used to drive fuel pretreatment processes. Here, we demonstrate this propensity for energy integration by looking at the use of a novel hydrogen-carrier system working with an SOFC.