Design of electrode for solid oxide fuel cells reactor

A solid oxide fuel cell type reactor was tested for producing ethane and ethene as well as electric power by direct oxidation of methane. The design strategy of an anode catalyst was proposed. In order to evaluate the activity of surface oxygen species, Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) technique and pulse reaction technique were applied. The designed anode catalyst was La1.8Al0.2O3 with Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) as a solid electrolyte and La0.85S0.15MnO3 as a cathode. The designed fuel cell type reaction system (air/La0.85Sr0.15MnO3/YSZ/La1.8Al0.2O3/methane) produced both ethene and ethane and electric power effectively. From the viewpoint of energy conversion, this can be regarded as CO2 free combustion of methane. The nebulizer method, one of the direct preparation methods of fine powders from a mist of solution of raw materials, was proposed for the efficient preparation of the electrode structure.