An experimental study of the effects of key operating parameters on the molten carbonate fuel cell performance

Abstract

Proper selection of the operating conditions of molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs) can not only effectively improve the efficiency of power generation, but also reduce carbon emissions and help achieve the great goal of “carbon neutrality”. In this study, an MCFC single-cell experimental bench with a polarization area of 225 cm² is built to study the effects of key operating parameters on the MCFC performance. The experimental results show that when the cell uses pure H₂ as the input fuel, the optimal operating temperature of the cell is 650 °C, and the performance of the cell will decrease after exceeding 650 °C. When pure CH₄ is used as the input fuel of the cell, the cell can also undergo an electrochemical reaction to produce electricity, but the performance of the cell is low, so this MCFC single cell is not suitable for using pure CH₄ as the fuel. Finally, a comparative experimental study of pure H₂ and H₂ blended with CH₄ gas is conducted. The results show that the cell performance is better when the cell fuel uses a mixture of H₂ : CH₄ = 9 : 1 than when pure H₂ is used as the fuel. A small amount of CH₄ blended with H₂ is more conducive to electrochemical reactions.