There are various types of fuel cells each classified according to the type of electrolyte used in the cell. IN the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) the electrolyte consists of a solid nonporous metal oxide. A major advantage of the SOFC over other types of fuel cells is its high exhaust temperature. Current SOFC’s operate near 1000° C with recent developments moving that figure towards 700° C.
Solid oxide fuels cells (SOFCs) potentially offer an efficient fuel flexible low emission and relatively low cost means of producing electricity. One of the most popular methods for producing the cathode of the current generation of fuel cells involves the use of organic solvent based inks. Inks used in the manufacture of solid oxide fuel cells have some problems in use. They can be volatile so have a short usage life due to evaporation; many of the solvents used also pose a risk to workers unless handled carefully.
Abstract of US Patent 7090891 - Method for fabricating nanostructured solid oxide fuel cells and cell components: A method of fabricating a nanostructured solid oxide fuel cell includes dispersing ceria and doped ceria nanoparticles in a first colloidal solution atomizing the first colloidal solution into a spray depositing the spray onto a substrate to form a thin film electrolyte dispersing a nanocomposite powder including ceria and CuO in the first solution forming a second colloidal solution atomizing the second colloidal solution into a second spray and depositing the second spray over
The University of Florida is seeking companies interested in commercializing fuel-cell technology with improved range of use. Fuel cells combine oxygen and fuel to chemically generate electricity without combustion. The domestic market for this innovative energy source could grow to $975 million by the year 2012 according to some studies. Of the many existing fuel-cell technologies solid-oxide fuel cells have the distinct advantage of being able to use fuels other than hydrogen allowing for greater flexibility.
Background: Currently there is a surge in interest in fuel cell research as companies across the globe race to take advantage of the high energy capacity that fuel cells provide in comparison to other portable electrochemical systems. Many approaches to fuel cell technology use strong acid electrolytes. Such systems suffer from corrosion problems which limit their functional life. Despite significant research in the area there remains a need for higher-performance proton carriers for use in fuel cells.
The technology is a hybrid process that utilizes both sulfur-tolerant and high power density planar solid fuel cell (PSOFC) stacks to produce power at a higher efficiency. The sulfurtolerant PSOFC stack uses anode materials that selectively convert Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) present in fuel streams to non-poisoning sulfur compounds. The remaining gas balances which are nearly free of H2S are used as fuel inlet to the conventional PSOFC stack.
The Nanox SOFC is a room temperature fuel cell in which nano-structured oxides such as YSZ (yttria stabilized zirconia) or SDC (samaria doped ceria) are used as electrolytes. Due to the configuration as concentration cell only water is used and produced during operation of the fuel cell. Commercial Opportunities Conventional solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) need operation temperatures above 800 ðC. In contrast the Nanox SOFC works at room temperature.
Fuel cells make it possible to efficiently convert the energy stored in several kinds of gases, among which hydrogen and methane, into electricity. Although the concept, according to which fuel cells operate, was already discovered in 1839 by William Grove, the first development only started in 1932 through Francis Bacon’s exploratory work. It was only in the early 1960s that significant efforts were put into fuel cell development, when NASA decided that fuel cells were to become the principal replacement for batteries in spacecraft (Bacon, 1969 and Schoots et al., 2010).
This patented electrolyte fabrication method is designed for deposition of low-cost ultra-thin metal oxide film on a porous substrate. The simple clean process prevents gas crossover and generates a low-resistance electrolyte that can operate temperature below 500oC. This electrolyte could be used to create a high efficiency solid oxide fuel cell. Applications: Solid oxide fuel cells - fabrication of ultra-thin film electrolyte.
Background: Fuel cells are promising energy sources with higher theoretical energy densities than batteries. Despite the significant effort invested in the development of micro-scale fuel cells by numerous institutes and companies active fuel-cell systems below a few centimeters in size have not been reported. Most existing miniature fuel cells are passive systems with poor fuel utilization.