Simulation analysis of a system combining solid oxide and polymer electrolyte fuel cells

We evaluated the performance of system combining a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack and a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) stack by a numerical simulation. We assume that tubular-type SOFCs are used in the SOFC stack. The electrical efficiency of the SOFC–PEFC system increases with increasing oxygen utilization rate in the SOFC stack. This is because the amount of exhaust heat of the SOFC stack used to raise the temperature of air supplied to it decreases as its oxygen utilization rate increases and because that used effectively as the reaction heat of the steam reforming reaction of methane in the stack reformer increases. The electrical efficiency of the SOFC–PEFC system at 190 kW ac is 59% (LHV), which is equal to that of the SOFC-gas turbine combined system at 1014 kW ac.