Fuel Flexible Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

One of the key attributes of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology is its multifuel capability.  The SOFC can operate on a variety of practical fuels (ranging from natural gas, alcohols to diesel, coal gas) with or without a reformer.  The multifuel feature along with high performance capability and design flexibility enable the SOFC for a broad spectrum of power generation applications (from watt-size portable devices to multi-MW base load power plants).  This paper compares the operating characteristics of SOFCs on specified fuels, and discusses the issue of carbon deposition and the impact of various parameters including reactant composition and contaminant on the operation of the SOFC on different types of fuel.