Ammonia-fed solid oxide fuel cells for power generation-A review

Ammonia has been identified as a promising sustainable fuel and hydrogen source for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). This paper aims to provide a literature review on ammonia-fed SOFCs. Both experimental studies and mathematical modeling investigations on NH3-fed SOFC are included and discussed. It is found that NH3 is a technically feasible fuel for direct use in SOFCs and the performance of NH3-fed SOFC is comparable with that of the H2 fed SOFC. Experimental study in literature also demonstrates that both oxygen ion-conducting electrolyte (SOFC-O) and proton-conducting electrolyte (SOFC-H) can be used in NH3-fed SOFC, as the amount of NOx generated in a SOFC-O is negligible. Fabricating thin film electrolyte and developing more reactive electrode materials are important to improve the performance of NH3-fed SOFCs. Mathematical models are useful design tools for understanding the coupled transport and reaction phenomena and for optimizing the SOFC performance. Thermodynamic and pioneering 1D electrochemical models have been developed, validated and demonstrated to be reliable by the present author. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.