Protonic ceramic fuel cell
A protonic ceramic fuel cell or PCFC is a
Some PCFCs operate at high enough temperatures that fuels can be electrochemically oxidized at the anode, not needing the intermediate step of producing hydrogen through reforming process[citation needed]. In this setting, gaseous molecules of the hydrocarbon fuel are absorbed on the surface of the anode in the presence of water vapor, with carbon dioxide as the primary reaction product; hydrogen atoms are efficiently stripped off to be turned into H+ ions then moving into the electrolyte to the other side (cathode) where they react with oxygen in the air to produce water. Other PCFCs operate at lower temperatures and utilize chemical catalysts in addition to electrochemical catalysts to produce hydrogen for the reduction reaction.[4]
Applications and commercial development
PCFCs operating at intermediate temperature of 200 - 400 degrees Celsius have been proposed for heavy duty trucking.[7] Remote power applications using PCFCs have been demonstrated at Canadian oil wells.[8]
See also
References
Further reading
- Service, Robert F. (March 12, 2019). "New fuel cell could help fix the renewable energy storage problem". Science. S2CID 242193448. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- Duan, Chuancheng, et al. "Readily processed protonic ceramic fuel cells with high performance at low temperatures." Science 349.6254 (2015): 1321-1326.
- Duan, Chuancheng, et al. "Highly durable, coking and sulfur tolerant, fuel-flexible protonic ceramic fuel cells." Nature557.7704 (2018): 217.
- Duan, Chuancheng, et al. "Highly efficient reversible protonic ceramic electrochemical cells for power generation and fuel production." Nature Energy 4.3 (2019): 230.