ABSTRACT
A two-dimensional axisymmetric multi-physics field simulation for a methanol-fueled proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cell (CH3OH-SOFC-H) was created in this work. The influence of structural and operating parameters on the performance of the cell was analyzed. Moreover, the cell performance was compared with that of a methanol-oxygen ion-conducting SOFC (CH3OH-SOFC-O) under the same operating conditions. It was found that the anode support enables CH3OH-SOFC-H to exhibit higher performance, with the highest power density being 1493.3 W‧m−2 at 973 K. As the anode flow rate rises, the current density rises and subsequently falls, with a peak of 7623.6 A‧m−2. Meanwhile, as the methanol content in the gas composition and the cathode flow rate increase, so does the current density. CH3OH-SOFC-H has better electrochemical performance at low and medium temperatures, reaching 562.64 W‧m−2 at 773K (66% higher than that of CH3OH-SOFC-O at the same operating conditions). Meanwhile, CH3OH-SOFC-O has better performance at high temperatures. This study provides a theoretical reference for the subsequent application and promotion of CH3OH-SOFC-H.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mr. Pengfei Zhu of Xi’an Jiaotong University for helpful discussions and suggestions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
Data will be made available on request.
Supplemental material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2024.2320751
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Notes on contributors
Yu Xu
Yu Xu is a graduate student at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology. His research interest is the multi-physics simulation of solid oxide fuel cells.
Junjie Shen
Junjie Shen is a faculty member at the School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin University of Technology, where his research focuses on the development of fuel cell systems.
Dechang Zhang
Deichang Zhang is a graduate student at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology.
Tiejian Jin
Tiejian Jin is a graduate student at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology. His research focuses on the durability of solid oxide fuel cell components.
Xiangru Guo
Xiangru Guo is a teacher at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology.
Jianguang Li
Jianguang Li is an employee of Monocarbon Environment Investment (Beijing) Technology Co.,Ltd.
Yichuan He
Yichuan He is a student at the School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin University of Technology.