Biogas trace compounds impact on high-temperature fuel cells short stack performance

Nowadays the most important issues for commercial SOFC systems are related to their durability and stability of performance both of which are affected by fuel feeding composition. The trace compounds contained in biogenous fuels can interact with SOFC components causing evident drops in performance and severely reducing the lifetime of the entire system. Due to the significant impact on SOFC performance from widely varying fuel inputs, the influence of trace compounds should be investigated in real case studies and practical applications. Anode deactivation and porous blocking electrodes are the main consequences that occur due to the presence of trace compounds impact. This work shows an experimental case study where the anode supported solid oxide fuel cells short stacks are fed with fuels containing trace compounds. These compounds were selected from the biological decomposition of organic matters. In addition, sulphur compounds were selected chlorine, aromatic compounds, terpenes, and carboxyl compounds were selected. The most deleterious impact on the stack was due to the sulphur action. However, chlorine compounds also affected the external part of the cell causing the stack to break due to the corrosion of the sealant.