Liquid Tin Anode Solid Oxide Fuel Cell for Direct Carbonaceous Fuel Conversion

Abstract

The Liquid Tin Anode Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (LTA-SOFC) is a modified version of SOFC that allows the direct oxidation of carbonaceous fuels. The LTA-SOFC uses many conventional SOFC components but differs from conventional SOFC because its anode is liquid tin allowing directly oxidization of fuel without fuel reforming or other fuel processing. In addition, the anode stores energy, allowing the cell to deliver power in case fuel flow has been interrupted. As a result, the LTA-SOFC requires less components resulting in simpler and more efficient system. This paper describes the basic LTA-SOFC cell architecture and cell/stack test results using carbonaceous fuels such as JP-8, natural gas, coal, bio-mass and plastic feedstock.