Anode barrier layers for tubular solid-oxide fuel cells with methane fuel streams

Experimental results in button cells show that a porous chemically inert barrier layer can extend the range of coke-free operation on Ni–YSZ anode structures, even with pure methane as the fuel. The first objective of this paper is to assist interpreting these results using computational models that consider porous-media transport and heterogeneous reforming chemistry. The second objective is to predict the performance of a chemically inert barrier layer in a tubular, anode-supported, solid-oxide fuel cell.