Behavior of anode- vs. electrolyte-supported solid oxide fuel cells subjected to sulfur poisoning
摘要
In this study, anode- and electrolyte-supported solid oxide fuel cells were prepared and subjected to sulfur poisoning using 5 ppm H2S balanced H2 gas, with a current density of 500 mAcm−2 at 800 °C. In the case of the anode-supported cell (ASC) with a large volume of Ni particles in the thick anode, a relatively long time period (~ 2.5 h) was required for sulfur adsorption (initial drop), with a continuous secondary drop over ~ 19 h. The resultant power density loss was ~ 12.1% after the 24 h poisoning test. The ASC performance did not recover, and approximately 6% of the performance (power density) was lost after the 24 h recovery process. In the case of the electrolyte-supported cell (ESC), the thinner anode allowed for quick sulfur coverage (initial drop) with no secondary drop and a rapid recovery of nearly 100%. Furthermore, the ESC exhibited considerably lower power density loss (~ 2.8%) than the ASC after a given poisoning time (~ 24 h). The post-analysis results indicate that an ASC anode can suffer permanent deterioration due to the formation of nickel sulfides owing to incomplete sulfur desorption during the recovery process. The present study reveals two advantages of ESCs over ASCs with respect to sulfur poisoning: 1) sulfur poisoning is less lethal to an ESC because of its high resistance, and 2) ESC power loss caused by sulfur adsorption can be fully and quickly reversed to the initial performance level by introducing H2S-free fuel.