A cofuel channel microtubular solid oxide fuel/electrolysis cell

A co-fuel channel microtubular solid oxide fuel/electrolysis cell is successfully fabricated by adding an insulating ceramic connector. The active electrode area of both of the abovementioned cells is approximately 10.73 cm2. Hydrogen-steam mixtures act as either reactants or products in the ceramic tubes. A ring-like anodic current collector is located in the middle of the anode, while silver paste is coated on the cathode as a cathodic current collector. When operating the cells at 750 celcius, 0.6 A cm-2 at 0.6 V and 1.0 A cm-2 at 1.7 V are achieved for the SOFC and SOEC, respectively. By using the co-fuel channel, the power generation of the SOFC is 3.9 W, while the simultaneous power consumption of the SOEC is 18.2 W. After 11 h of operation, no microcracks were observed, and the anode-electrolyte interface structure exhibited no Ni agglomeration or active phase loss.

Automated summary

A co-fuel channel microtubular solid oxide fuel/electrolysis cell is successfully fabricated with the addition of an insulating ceramic connector. The cell demonstrates effective operation at high temperature with specific current and voltage. The use of the co-fuel channel enhances the power generation while increasing power consumption, but the cell structure remains intact.