Researchers advance fuel cell technology

Date:
June 8, 2020
Source:
Washington State University
Summary:
Researchers have made a key advance in solid oxide fuel
cells (SOFCs) that could make the highly energy-efficient and
low-polluting technology a more viable alternative to gasoline
combustion engines for powering cars.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Washington State University researchers have made a key advance in solid
oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) that could make the highly energy-efficient
and low- polluting technology a more viable alternative to gasoline
combustion engines for powering cars.


==========================================================================
Led by PhD graduate Qusay Bkour and Professor Su Ha in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, the researchers
have developed a unique and inexpensive nanoparticle catalyst that
allows the fuel cell to convert logistic liquid fuels such as gasoline to electricity without stalling out during the electrochemical process. The research, featured in the journal, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental,
could result in highly efficient gasoline-powered cars that produce low
carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming.

"People are very concerned about energy, the environment, and global
warming," said Bkour. "I'm very excited because we can have a solution
to the energy problem that also reduces the emissions that cause global warming." Fuel cells offer a clean and highly efficient way to convert
the chemical energy in fuels directly into electrical energy. They
are similar to batteries in that they have an anode, cathode and
electrolyte. However, unlike batteries which only deliver electricity
they have previously stored, fuel cells can deliver a continuous flow
of electricity as long as they have fuel.

Because they run on electrochemical reactions instead of making a piston
do mechanical work, fuel cells can be more efficient than the combustion engines in our cars. When hydrogen is used as fuel, their only waste
product is water.

Despite the great promise of hydrogen fuel cell technology, however,
storing high-pressure hydrogen gas in fuel tanks creates significant
economic and safety challenges. There is little hydrogen gas
infrastructure in the U.S., and the technology's market penetration is
very low.

"We don't have readily available fuel cells that can run on a logistic
liquid fuel such as gasoline," Bkour said.

Unlike pure hydrogen fuel cells, the developed SOFC technology can run
on a wide variety of liquid fuels, such as gasoline, diesel, or even
bio-based diesel fuels, and doesn't require the use of expensive metals
in their catalysts. Cars powered by gasoline SOFCs could use existing
gas stations.

Fuel cells that run on gasoline, however, tend to build up carbon within
the cell, stopping the conversion reaction. Other chemicals that are
common in liquid fuels, such as sulfur, also stop the reactions and
deactivate the fuel cell.

"The carbon-induced catalyst deactivation is one of the main problems associated with the catalytic reforming of liquid hydrocarbons,"
Bkour said.

For their SOFC fuel cell, the WSU team used an inexpensive catalyst
made from nickel and then added nanoparticles of the element,
molybdenum. Testing their molybdenum-doped catalyst, their fuel cell
was able to run for 24 hours straight without failing. The system was
resistant to carbon build-up and sulfur poisoning. In contrast, a plain nickel-based catalyst failed in an hour.

Liquid fuel cell technology has tremendous opportunities for various
power- hungry markets, including transportation applications. The
researchers are now making bridges with the automotive industry to build
fuel cells that can run under real-world and longer-lasting conditions.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Washington_State_University. Original written by Tina Hilding. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Qusay Bkour, Fanglin Che, Kyung-Min Lee, Chen Zhou, Nusnin Akter,
Jorge
Anibal Boscoboinik, Kai Zhao, Jake T. Gray, Steven R. Saunders,
M. Grant Norton, Jean-Sabin McEwen, Taejin Kim, Su Ha. Enhancing
the partial oxidation of gasoline with Mo-doped Ni catalysts
for SOFC applications: An integrated experimental and DFT
study. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020; 266: 118626 DOI:
10.1016/j.apcatb.2020.118626 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200608092956.htm

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