Experimental Procedures & First Results of an Innovative Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Test Rig: Parametric Analysis and Stability Test

Abstract

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells are a promising technology for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) are a promising technology For high-efficiency electrochemical conversion of a vast range of fuel gas mixtures, thigh operating temperature conditions (650–900 °C) represent a challenge both at system level and at laboratory testing level, in terms of material properties and performance dynamics. In this work a detailed procedural analysis is presented for an innovative all-ceramic compact SOFC test rig and first experimental testing results are reported in terms of polarization curves obtained under parametric variation of operating conditions (H2 content, air ratio λ and temperature) and short-term voltage stability test under load (140 h at 0.3 A/cm2). The electrochemical characterization results confirm the validity of the used all-ceramic cell holder, showing excellent cell performances in terms of polarization. H2 content has the most impact on SOFC performance, followed by temperature and finally air ratio, whose impact in the analyzed range is hardly seen. From the short-term stability test, the test bench setup reliability is demonstrated, showing no significant performance degradation after 140 continuous hours under load, which confirms the high quality and reproducibility of the results.