ELECTROCHEMICAL DISSOCIATION OF WATER VAPOR IN SOLID OXIDE ELECTROLYTE CELLS .I. THERMODYNAMICS AND CELL CHARACTERISTICS

A recent development in the science and technology of solid oxide electrolyte cells is the application of such cells for the electrochemical dissociation of water vapor. The practical motivaton for this application is the generation of inexpensive and pure hydrogen. The design, fabrication, and performance of zirconia electrolyte water vapor dissociation cells has been considered. Although not of practical value, single-cell devices are important because they provide a convenient means of evaluating cell performance and electrode reactions. Single-cell devices with both oxygen and depolarizedanodes were tested. An analysis of design and materials factors for multicell stacks led to the conclusion that the most feasible system was theat employing discontinuous electrolyte segments and depolarized anodes.