Journal of Power Sources, Vol.381, 18-25, 2018
Rich-burn, flame-assisted fuel cell, quick-mix, lean-burn (RFQL) combustor and power generation
Micro-tubular flame-assisted fuel cells (mT-FFC) were recently proposed as a modified version of the direct flame fuel cell (DFFC) operating in a dual chamber configuration. In this work, a rich-bum, quick-mix, lean-bum (RQL) combustor is combined with a micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cell (mT-SOFC) stack to create a rich-bum, flame assisted fuel cell, quick-mix, lean-bum (RFQL) combustor and power generation system. The system is tested for rapid startup and achieves peak power densities after only 35 min of testing. The mT-FFC power density and voltage are affected by changes in the fuel-lean and fuel-rich combustion equivalence ratio. Optimal mT-FFC performance favors high fuel-rich equivalence ratios and a fuel-lean combustion equivalence ratio around 0.80. The electrical efficiency increases by 150% by using an intermediate temperature cathode material and improving the insulation. The RFQL combustor and power generation system achieves rapid startup, a simplified balance of plant and may have applications for reduced NO. formation and combined heat and power.
Keywords:Flame-assisted fuel cell (FFC);Micro-combined heat and power;Micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cell (mT-SOFC);Rich-burn quick-mix lean-burn (RQL) combustor;Two-stage combustor;Fuel-rich combustion