Performance of solid oxide fuel cells directly using biogas fuel at high fuel utilizations

Abstract This study examined solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) using a methane (CH4)–carbon dioxide (CO2) mixture as a model biogas fuel, with an emphasis on assessing the effect of anode pore size on electrochemical performance at high fuel utilization. When using a CH4–CO2 mixture at 800 °C in an SOFC incorporating an anode with large pores, peak power densities of 1.15 to 1.62 W cm−2 were obtained, depending on the fuel flow rate. This SOFC could also operate at fuel utilizations up to 66.7%.