{"46208":{"#nid":"46208","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Material Could Expand Applications for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new ceramic material described in this week\u0027s issue of the journal \u003Cem\u003EScience \u003C\/em\u003E could help expand the applications for solid oxide fuel cells -- devices that generate electricity directly from a wide range of liquid or gaseous fuels without the need to separate hydrogen.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThough the long-term durability of the new mixed ion conductor material must still be proven, its development could address two of the most vexing problems facing the solid oxide fuel cells: tolerance of sulfur in fuels and resistance to carbon build-up known as coking.  The new material could also allow solid oxide fuel cells -- which convert fuel to electricity more efficiently than other fuel cells -- to operate at lower temperatures, potentially reducing material and fabrication costs.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The development of this material suggests that we could have a much less expensive solid oxide fuel cell, and that it could be more compact, which would increase the range of potential applications,\u0022 said Meilin Liu, a Regent\u0027s professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  \u0022This new material would potentially allow the fuel cells to run with dirty hydrocarbon fuels without the need to clean them and supply water.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy\u0027s Basic Energy Science Catalysis Science Program.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELike all fuel cells, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) use an electrochemical process to produce electricity by oxidizing a fuel.  As the name implies, SOFCs use a ceramic electrolyte, a material known as yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe fuel cell\u0027s anode uses a composite consisting of YSZ and the metal nickel.  This anode provides excellent catalytic activity for fuel oxidation, good conductivity for collecting current generated, and compatibility with the cell\u0027s electrolyte -- which is also YSZ.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut the material has three significant drawbacks: even small amounts of sulfur in fuel \u0022poison\u0022 the anode to dramatically reduce efficiency, the use of hydrocarbon fuels creates carbon build-up which clogs the anode -- and because YSZ has limited conductivity at low temperatures -- SOFCs must operate at high temperatures.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a result, fuels used in SOFCs, such as natural gas or propane, must be purified to remove sulfur, which increases their cost.  Water in the form of steam must also be supplied to a reformer that converts hydrocarbons to hydrogen and carbon monoxide before being fed to the fuel cells, adding complexity to the overall system and reducing energy efficiency.  And the high-temperature operation means the cells must be fabricated from costly exotic materials, which keeps SOFCs too expensive for many applications.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe new material developed at Georgia Tech addresses all three of those anode issues.  Referred to as BZCYYb as shorthand for its complex composition, the material tolerates hydrogen sulfide in concentrations as high as 50 parts-per-million, does not accumulate carbon -- and can operate efficiently at temperatures as low as 500 degrees Celsius.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe BZCYYb (Barium-Zirconium-Cerium-Yttrium-Ytterbium Oxide) material could be used in a variety of ways: as a coating on the traditional Ni-YSZ anode, as a replacement for the YSZ in the anode and as a replacement for the entire YSZ electrolyte system.  Liu believes the first two options are more viable.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo far, the new material has provided steady performance for up to 1,000 hours of operation in a small laboratory-scale SOFC.  To be commercially viable, however, the material will have to be proven in operation for up to five years -- the expected lifespan of a commercial SOFC.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We don\u0027t see any problems ahead for fabrication or other issues that might prevent scale-up,\u0022 said Liu.  \u0022The material is produced using standard solid-state reactions and is straightforward.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers don\u0027t yet understand how their new material resists deactivation by sulfur and carbon, but theorize that it may provide enhanced catalytic activity for oxidizing sulfur and both cracking and reforming hydrocarbons.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to its tolerance of sulfur and resistance to coking, the BZCYYb material\u0027s conductivity at lower temperature could also provide a significant advantage for SOFCs.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022If we could reduce operating temperatures to 500 or 600 degrees Celsius, that would allow us to use less expensive metals as interconnects,\u0022 Liu noted.  \u0022Getting the temperature down to 300 to 400 degrees could allow use of much less expensive materials in the packaging, which would dramatically reduce the cost of these systems.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeyond its use in fuel cells, the material developed by Liu and his team -- which also included Lei Yang, Shizhong Wang, Kevin Blinn, Mingfei Liu, Ze Liu and Zhe Cheng -- could also be used for fuel reforming to feed other types of fuel cells.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThough the technology for solid oxide fuel cells is currently less mature than that for other types of fuel cells, Liu believes SOFCs will ultimately win out because they don\u0027t require precious metals such as platinum and their efficiency can be higher -- as much as 80 percent with co-generation use of waste heat.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Solid oxide fuel cells offer high energy efficiency, the potential for direct utilization of all types of fuels including renewable biofuels, and the possibility of lower costs since they do not use any precious metals,\u0022 said Liu.  \u0022We are working to reduce the cost of solid oxide fuel cells to make them viable in many new applications, and this new material brings us much closer to doing that.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThis research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy\u0027s Basic Energy Science Catalysis Science Program under grant DE-FG02-06ER15837.  The comments and conclusions in this document are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Abby Vogel (404-385-3364); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:avogel@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eavogel@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETechnical Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Meilin Liu (404-894-6114); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:meilin.liu@mse.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emeilin.liu@mse.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Devices Can Directly Use a Wide Range of Fuels"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"A new ceramic material described in this week\u0027s issue of the journal Science could help expand the applications for solid oxide fuel cells \u201d\u201c devices that generate electricity directly from a wide range of liquid or gaseous fuels without the need to separate hydrogen.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Solid oxide fuel cells could be less costly thanks to a new mate"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2009-10-01 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:14","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-10-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2009-10-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"46209":{"id":"46209","type":"image","title":"Evaluating fuel cells","body":null,"created":"1449174358","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:25:58","changed":"1475894412","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:12","alt":"Evaluating fuel cells","file":{"fid":"101016","name":"tqe33387.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tqe33387.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tqe33387.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1510148,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tqe33387.jpg?itok=vkWWRspR"}},"46210":{"id":"46210","type":"image","title":"Lab-scale fuel cell","body":null,"created":"1449174358","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:25:58","changed":"1475894412","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:12","alt":"Lab-scale fuel cell","file":{"fid":"101017","name":"tsg33387.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tsg33387.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tsg33387.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":914670,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tsg33387.jpg?itok=v3AYvzgj"}},"46211":{"id":"46211","type":"image","title":"Evaluating fuel cells","body":null,"created":"1449174358","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:25:58","changed":"1475894412","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:12","alt":"Evaluating fuel cells","file":{"fid":"101018","name":"tlf33387.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tlf33387.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tlf33387.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1508917,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tlf33387.jpg?itok=yCcs-Usx"}}},"media_ids":["46209","46210","46211"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.mse.gatech.edu\/FacultyStaff\/MSE_Faculty_researchbios\/Liu\/liu.html","title":"Meilin Liu"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.mse.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech School of Materials Science and Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"7070","name":"anode"},{"id":"7071","name":"ceramic"},{"id":"436","name":"electricity"},{"id":"2044","name":"Fuel Cell"},{"id":"170840","name":"sulfur"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}