Long-term stability of Ni–Sn porous metals for cathode current collector in solid oxide fuel cells

Ni–Sn porous metals with different concentrations of Sn were prepared as potential current collectors for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The weight increase of these species was evaluated after heat-treatment under elevated temperatures in air for thousands of hours to evaluate the long-term oxidation resistance. Ni–Sn porous metals with 5–14 wt% of Sn exhibited excellent oxidation resistance at 600 °C, although oxidation became significant above 700 °C. Intermetallic Ni₃Sn was formed at 600 °C due to phase transformation of the initially solid solutions of Sn in Ni in the porous metals. For the porous metal with 10 wt% of Sn, the oxidation rate constant at 600 °C in air was estimated to be 8.5 × 10^?14 g² cm^?4 s^?1 and the electrical resistivity at 600 °C was almost constant at approximately 0.02 Ω cm² up to an elapsed time of 1000 h. In addition, the gas diffusibility and the power-collecting ability of the porous metal were equivalent to those of a platinum mesh when applied in the cathode current collector of a SOFC operated at 600 °C. Ni–Sn porous metals with adequate contents of Sn are believed to be promising cathode current collector materials for SOFCs for operation at temperatures below 600 °C.     

Bio-oil Production from an Oilseed By-product: Fixed-bed Pyrolysis of Olive Cake

Abstract

A study of pyrolysis of olive cake at the temperature range from 400°C to 700°C has been carried out. The experiments were performed in a laboratory scale tubular reactor under nitrogen atmosphere. The yields of derived gases, liquids, and char were determined in relation to pyrolysis temperature and sweeping gas flow rates, at heating rates of about 300°C min^?1. As the pyrolysis temperature was increased, the percentage mass of char decreased whilst gas product increased. The oil products increased to a maximum value of ～39.4 wt% of dry ash free biomass at a pyrolysis temperature of about 550°C in a nitrogen atmosphere with flow rate of 100 mL min^?1 and with a heating rate of 300°C min^?1. Results showed that the bio-oil obtained under the optimum conditions is a useful substitute for fossil fuels or chemicals.     

Production of Solid Fuel from Ipomoea carnea Wood

Abstract

Ipomoea carnea woody stems were pyrolyzed in a laboratory-scale reactor in the temperatures ranging from 350° to 600°C and at constant heating rate of 5°C/min. Yield, density, ash content, volatile matter, fixed carbon content and calorific value of the charcoal samples produced were evaluated. Charcoal yield ranged from 24.23% to 37.89 wt% and calorific value varied from 17.29 to 33.47 MJ/Kg. Conversion of charcoal fines to solid fuel improved combustion quality. Mass balance experiments of pyrolytic decomposition products of I. carnea yielded much higher percentages of non-condensable liquid (59.2–61.8 wt%) as compared to those of tar (4.2–4.8 wt%) and gas (7.3–8.2 wt%) fractions.     

Chemical stability and electrical properties of Ba1−xCaxCe0.8Gd0.2O3−δ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.06) proton conductor

The effect of Ca content on chemical stability and electrical properties of Ba_1?xCa_xCe_0.8Gd_0.2O_3?δ (BCCG, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.06) proton conducting electrolyte is investigated in this work. The BCCG pellets were fabricated via a solid-state reaction method and high-temperature sintering at 1600 °C for 10 h in air. In XRD patterns, BCCG exhibited an orthorhombic phase, and the diffraction peaks of calcium-modified BaCe_0.8Gd_0.2O_3?δ (BCG)-based samples shifted toward the high-angle side compared to BCG, indicating that Ca²⁺ occupies the A site. The chemical stability showed that adding a small amount of Ca²⁺ improves the stability against water while it deteriorates the stability in CO₂-containing atmosphere. The highest conductivity was obtained for 1% Ca substitution (x = 0.01, BCCG1), where it increased from 1.1 × 10^?3 to 2.8 × 10^?3 S cm^?1 at 400 °C and from 1.7 × 10^?2 to 3.1 × 10^?2 S cm^?1 at 800 °C compared to that of x = 0. The partial conductivities were greater for BCCG1 compared with BCG material. Proton conductivity was dominant for BCCG1 sample at 600 °C.     

Enhancing the flash-sinterability of BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.2O3-δ proton-conducting electrolyte by nickel oxide doping for possible application in SOFCs

In the present work, effects of nickel oxide doping on flash-sinterability of BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3-δ compound were investigated. A single-phase BZCY7 powder was synthesized by the solid-state reaction route. The effects of using 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 wt% of NiO additive on flash sintering of BZCY7 samples were examined. It was revealed that using 0.5 wt% of NiO additive can reduce the onset temperature of flash sintering in all the applied electric fields in the range of 100–500 V/cm and significantly enhances the sinterability of the BZCY7 compound. Microstructural investigations, using field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray mapping, showed that NiO doping can lead to larger grain sizes, while no detectable segregation or second phase was observed. Utilizing electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, the total conductivity of samples at 600 and 700 °C was measured as 4.4 × 10^?3 and 7.0 × 10^?3 S/cm for the undoped BZCY7, and 8.6 × 10^?3 and 1.4 × 10^?2 S/cm for the 0.5 wt% NiO doped BZCY7 sample, respectively. The activation energies of conduction were determined as 0.37 and 0.41 eV for the doped and undoped samples, which represent the presence of predominant and facile protonic conduction.     

A survey of five year intensive R&D work in Belgium on advanced alkaline water electrolysis

A Belgian hydrogen research programme, aimed at the development of a new concept in advanced alkaline water electrolysis, has been carried out at the Nuclear Research Centre (S.C.K./C.E.N.) Mol, under the auspices of the Commission of the European Communities. An inorganic ion-exchanger membrane, based on polyantimonic acid, has up to now shown its chemical stability for up to 10,000 hours in alkaline solutions at 120°C, and its ion conducting and gas separating properties under electrolysis for 5000 hours. Electrocatalysts based on non-noble metals, deposited onto a perforated nickel plate, have been investigated. Nickel sulphide at the cathode and spinel oxides based on nickel and/or cobalt at the anode were investigated. Multicells (1–5 kW) were assembled using the so called Inorganic-Membrane-Electrolyte (I.M.E.) Technology. Hydrogen is produced under pressure (0.3–0.5 MPa) and performances are measured at current densities up to 10 kAm^?2 and temperatures up to 120° in 15 wt% NaOH. Cell voltages of 1.6 V at 90°C and 1.5 V at 120°C are obtained at 2 kAm^?2. Due to the flat characteristic of the cell voltage-current density relationship, only a 0.2 V increase in cell voltage is observed when increasing the current density by a factor of 5 (from 2 kAm^?2 to 10 kAm^?5). Electrolyte concentrations could be lowered by a factor of two (from 30 wt% to 15 wt%) without any losses in cell performances, due to the intrinsic properties of the polyantimonic-acid based membrane. As a result of the successful laboratory research, a prototype electrolyser unit which produces 25 Nm³ hydrogen per hour under 0.5 MPa pressure is under construction within the association Cobelcon (Consortium of Belgian Industries + S.C.K./C.E.N.).     

Effects of porous support microstructure enabled by the carbon microsphere pore former on the performance of proton-conducting reversible solid oxide cells

Proton-conducting reversible solid oxide cells (PC-RSOCs) have attracted extensive attention due to their high efficiencies as energy conversion devices. Generally, the performance of the cell is affected to a certain extent by the microstructure of the electrodes, which is closely related to the gas diffusion and surface reaction processes. Herein, different contents of the carbon microspheres (CMSs) are used as the pore formers to control the microstructure of the hydrogen electrode. Experimental results reveal that the porosity, line shrinkage, and thermal expansion coefficient of the hydrogen electrode support simultaneously increase with the CMS content. The support with 30 wt% CMS presents high porosity (39.27 vol%) with uniform-size pores. Subsequently, the corresponding single cells were fabricated successfully, particularly, the cell with 30 wt% CMS exhibiting the best electrochemical performance in both fuel cell (0.46 W cm^?2 at 700 °C) and electrolysis cell (1.41 A cm^?2 at 1.3 V and 700 °C) operational modes. Further results demonstrated the highest performance was attributed primarily to the maximal three-phase boundary length, which mainly originates from the high porosity and unique microstructure of the hydrogen electrode.     

No removal in the selective catalitic reduction process over Cu and Fe exchanged type Y zeolites synthesized from coal fly ash

The nitric oxide (NO) removal capacity of ion-exchanged zeolite Y obtained from coal combustion fly ash was evaluated in this work. Zeolite Y was exchanged either with Cu²⁺ or Fe²⁺ to obtain two different catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NOx from flue gas.

The selective catalytic reduction experiments were carried out at temperatures ranging from 50°C to 350°C, water content 0% and 5% and 5% O₂. In the absence of water, a total conversion of NO is obtained at 200°C for both zeolites, but important differences were found between zeolites LY-Cu and LY-Fe in the reduction of NO at temperatures lower than 200°C, and especially in the presence of water, that could be attributed to the different temperatures at which active species Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ are available for both ion-exchanged zeolites at the studied conditions. The greater surface area of zeolite LY-Cu can also contribute to its higher activity.     

High conductive (LiNaK)2CO3Ce0.85Sm0.15O2 electrolyte compositions for IT-SOFC applications

Composite electrolytes of lithium, sodium, and potassium carbonate ((LiNaK)₂CO₃), and samarium doped ceria (SDC) have been synthesized and the carbonate content optimized to study conductivity and its performance in intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC). Electrolyte compositions of 20, 25, 30, 35, 45 wt% (LiNaK)₂CO₃–SDC are fabricated and the physical and electrochemical characterization is carried out using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscope, and current–voltage measurements. The ionic conductivity of (LiNaK)₂CO₃–SDC electrolytes increases with increasing carbonate content. The best ionic conductivity is obtained for 45 wt% (LiNaK)₂CO₃–SDC composite electrolyte (0.72 S cm^?1 at 600 °C) followed by the 35 wt% (LiNaK)₂CO₃–SDC composite electrolyte (0.55 S cm^?1 at 600 °C). The symmetrical cell of the 35 wt% (LiNaK)₂CO₃–SDC composite electrolyte with lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite (LSCF) electrode in air gives an area specific resistance of 0.155 Ω cm² at 500 °C. The maximum power density of the fuel cell using 35 wt% (LiNaK)₂CO₃–SDC composite electrolyte, composite NiO anode and composite LSCF cathode is found to be 801 mW cm^?2 at 550 °C.     

Construction of proton channels and reinforcement of physicochemical properties of oPBI/FeSPP/GF high temperature PEM via building hydrogen bonding network

Composite high temperature proton exchange membranes (HT-PEMs) comprising poly[4,4′-(diphenyl ether)-5,5′-bibenzimidazole] (oPBI), ferric sulfophenyl phosphate (FeSPP) and glass fiber (GF) were prepared by the hot-pressing method. Doping FeSPP as a novel insoluble proton conductor not only provided good proton conductivity at high temperature but also enhanced their methanol blocking property, dimensional stability and oxidative resistance. Good dispersion, construction of proton channels and reinforcement of the physicochemical properties were achieved by building hydrogen bonding network among oPBI, FeSPP and GF. After incorporation of 3wt% GF into the oPBI/FeSPP(30wt%) composite membrane, the tensile strength was enhanced by 370% while the swelling ratio reduced to around 55%. The oxidative stability and methanol resistance were also enhanced while the proton conductivity was slightly affected. The membranes were thermally stable in the working temperature range for HT-PEM fuel cells. The proton conductivity of oPBI/FeSPP(30wt%) and oPBI/FeSPP(30wt%)/GF(3wt%) membranes reached 0.089 and 0.074 S cm^?1 at 180 °C and 100% relative humidity, respectively. At 180 °C, the proton conductivity of oPBI/FeSPP(30wt%) and oPBI/FeSPP(30wt%)/GF(3wt%) was 0.052 and 0.042 S cm^?1 at 50% RH, respectively. oPBI/FeSPP(30wt%)/GF(3wt%) exhibited good selectivity of 3.84 × 10⁵ S s cm^?3 indicating good potential for applications in direct methanol fuel cells.     

Tuning oxygen vacancy of the Ba0·95La0·05FeO3−δ perovskite toward enhanced cathode activity for protonic ceramic fuel cells

Innovation of highly active cathode is of great significance to the development of protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs). Herein, tailoring oxygen vacancies in Zn-doped Ba_0·95La_0·05FeO_3?δ (BLFZ) perovskite is proved to be beneficial for promoting the formation of proton defects. Hydration ability of the triple conducting BLFZ perovskites is confirmed by electrical conductivity relaxation (ECR). The results demonstrate that BLFZ exhibits a proton surface exchange coefficient of 1.34 × 10^?3 cm s^?1 at 600 °C, which greatly extends active sites from the electrolyte/cathode interface to the entire electrode. Mechanism and process elementary steps of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of BLFZ-BaCe_0.7Zr_0·1Y_0.1Yb_0.1O_3?δ (BCZYYb) are detailedly studied. It is found that the rate-determining step of ORR is surface dissociative adsorption of oxygen on BLFZ-BCZYYb cathode. A maximum power density of 673 mW cm^?2 at 700 °C is achieved and BLFZ-BCZYYb based single-cell shows no obvious degradation at 600 °C for 200 h. The good performance is ascribed to the rapid proton diffusion of BLFZ-BCZYYb composite electrode by regulating the oxygen vacancies.     

Electrochemical and thermal properties of SmBa0.5Sr0.5Co2O5+δ cathode impregnated with Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 nanoparticles for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

SmBa_0.5Sr_0.5Co₂O_5+δ (SBSC55) impregnated with nano-sized Ce_0.8Sm_0.2O_1.9 (SDC) powder has been investigated as a candidate cathode for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). The cathode chemical compatibility with electrolyte, thermal expansion behavior, and electrochemical performance are investigated. For compatibility, a good chemical compatibility between SBSC55 and SDC electrolyte is still kept at 1100 °C in air. For thermal dilation curve, it could be divided into two regions, one is the low temperature region (100–265 °C); the other is the high temperature region (265–850 °C). In the low temperature region (100–265 °C), a TEC value is about 17.0 × 10^?6 K^?1 and an increase in slope in the higher temperatures region (265–800 °C), in which a TEC value is around 21.1 × 10^?6 K^?1. There is an inflection region ranged from 225 to 330 °C in the curve of d(δL/L)/dT vs. temperature. The peak inflection point located about 265 °C is associated to the initial temperature for the loss of lattice oxygen and the formation of oxygen vacancies. For electrochemical properties, the polarization resistances (R_p) significantly reduced from 4.17 Ω cm² of pure SBSC55 to 1.28 Ω cm² of 0.65 mg cm^?2 of SDC-impregnated SBSC55 at 600 °C. The single cell performance of SBSC55∣SDC∣Ni-SDC loaded with 0.65 mg cm^?2 SDC exhibited the optimum power density of 823 mW cm^?2 at operating temperature of 800 °C. Based on above-mentioned properties, SBSC55 impregnated with an appropriate SDC is a potential cathode for IT-SOFCs.     

Pore structure and effective diffusion coefficient of catalyzed electrodes in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

For polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells, the pore structure and small effective diffusion coefficient (EDC) of the catalyst layers have significant impact on the cell performance. In this study, both the pore structure and EDC of the catalyst layers are investigated experimentally; the pore structure of the catalyst layer is characterized by the method of standard porosimetry, and the EDC is measured by a modified Loschmidt cell for oxygen-nitrogen mixture through the catalyzed electrodes. It is found that Pt loading has a direct impact on the pore structure and consequently the EDC of the catalyzed electrodes. As the Pt loading is increased, the porosity and mean pore size of the catalyzed electrode decrease, and the EDC decreases accordingly, however, it is increased by 15–25% by increasing the temperature from 25 °C to 75 °C. The EDC of the catalyst layer is about 4.6 × 10^?7 m² s^?1 at 75 °C, compared with 25.0 × 10^?7 m² s^?1 for the uncatalyzed electrode at the same temperature.     

Enhanced properties of SPEEK with incorporating of PFSA and barium strontium titanate nanoparticles for application in DMFCs

Novel blend nanocomposite proton‐exchange membranes were prepared using sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK), perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA), and Ba_0.9Sr_0.1TiO₃ (BST) doped‐perovskite nanoparticles. The membranes were evaluated by attenuated total reflection, X‐ray diffraction spectroscopy, water uptake, proton conductivity, methanol permeability, and direct methanol fuel cell test. The effect of two additives, PFSA and BST, were investigated. Results indicated that both proton conductivity and methanol barrier of the blend nanocomposite membranes improved compared with pristine SPEEK and the as‐prepared blend membranes. The methanol permeability and the proton conductivity of the blend membrane containing 6 wt% BST obtained 3.56 × 10^?7 cm² s^?1 (at 25 °C) and 0.110 S cm^?1 (at 80 °C), respectively. The power density value for the optimum blend nanocomposite membrane (15 wt% PFSA and 6 wt% BST) (54.89 mW cm^‐2) was higher than that of pristine SPEEK (31.34 mW cm^‐2) and SPF15 blend membrane (36.12 mW cm^‐2).     

The effect of sintering aids on BaCe0·7Zr0·1Y0.1Yb0.1O3-δ as the electrolyte of proton-conducting solid oxide electrolysis cells

Proton-conducting solid oxide electrolysis cells (H-SOECs) are attracting attentions of researchers due to their unique advantages. The proton-conducting material BaCe_0·7Zr_0·1Y_0.1Yb_0.1O_3-δ (BZCYYb) has both the advantages of barium ceria-based and barium zirconate-based materials. BZCYYb material usually is synthesized by solid-state reaction (SSR) method, hence the densification of this electrolyte material is the key to restrict the application of H-SOECs. In this paper, effects of adding 1 wt% of different sintering aids (NiO, CuO, ZnO) to BZCYYb on the grain size and the conductivity are investigated. After adding 1 wt% of NiO and CuO sintering aids, BZCYYb electrolyte achieves ideal density. The electrical conductivity of four samples (BZCYYb without adding sintering aid, BZCYYb with 1 wt% NiO, CuO, ZnO, respectively) is tested under different steam concentrations of air, nitrogen, hydrogen, and nitrogen-hydrogen mixture. The conductivity increased after the sintering aid is added. With the increase of steam concentration, the conductivity decreased slightly and then increased due to electron holes under oxygen atmosphere with steam at high temperature. In other atmospheres, the conductivity increases with the steam concentration. In the atmosphere of 20 vol% H₂O-Air and H₂, the conductivity of the BZCYYb samples with 1 wt% CuO is about 1.087 × 10^?2 S cm^?1 and 9.02 × 10^?3 S cm^?1 at 650 °C, and the conductivity of the BZCYYb samples with 1 wt% NiO is 1.277 × 10^?2 S cm^?1 and 8.24 × 10^?3 S cm^?1, respectively. However, compared with NiO, CuO has advantages in promoting hydration reaction and proton conduction of BZCYYb electrolyte.     

Electrochemical behavior and performances of Ni-BaZr0·1Ce0·7Y0.1Yb0.1O3−δ cermet anodes for protonic ceramic fuel cell

High performance Ni-BCZYYb cermet anode were prepared at 1300 °C using electrolyte powders prepared by combustion and commercial NiO. The cermets are porous (39 vol% of porosity), show a high electronic conductivity (1097 S cm^?1) and sufficient mechanical properties. The electrochemical behavior of the Ni-BCZYYb/BZCYYb-ZnO/Ni-BCZYYb symmetrical cell elaborated by co-pressing and co-sintering was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The impedance spectroscopy study show that the electrode reaction involves three steps. The total polarization Area Specific Resistance decreases by about one order of magnitude when increasing the temperature from 450 to 600 °C or the H₂ concentration from 5 to 100 vol% to reach 0.049 Ω cm² at 600 °C under pure hydrogen.     

Phosphorylated chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) based proton exchange membranes modified with propylammonium nitrate ionic liquid and silica filler for fuel cell applications

In our previous work, phosphorylated chitosan was modified through polymer blending with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) polymer to produce N-methylene phosphonic chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) (NMPC/PVA) composite membranes. The aim of this work is to further investigate the effects of a propylammonium nitrate (PAN) ionic liquid and/or silicon dioxide (SiO₂) filler on the morphology and physical properties of NMPC/PVA composite membranes. The temperature-dependent ionic conductivity of the composite membranes with various ionic liquid and filler compositions was studied by varying the loading of PAN ionic liquid and SiO₂-PAN filler in the range of 5–20 wt%. As the loading of PAN ionic liquid increased in the NMPC/PVA membrane matrix, the ionic conductivity value also increased with the highest value of 0.53 × 10^?3 S cm^?1 at 25 °C and increased to 1.54 × 10^?3 S cm^?1 at 100 °C with 20 wt% PAN. The NMPC/PVA-PAN (20 wt%) composite membrane also exhibited the highest water uptake and ion exchange capacity, with values of 60.5% and 0.60 mequiv g^?1, respectively. In addition, in the single-cell performance test, the NMPC/PVA-PAN (20 wt%) composite membrane displayed a maximum power density, which was increased by approximately 14% compared to the NMPC/PVA composite membrane with 5 wt% SiO₂-PAN. This work demonstrated that modified NMPC/PVA composite membranes with ionic liquid PAN and/or SiO₂ filler showed enhanced performance compared with unmodified NMPC/PVA composite membranes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.     

Effect of low thermal conductivity wick on the performance of compact loop heat pipe

The existing work deals with the evaluation of compact loop heat pipe by means of a low thermal conductivity sintered chrysotile wick to avoid large heat leaks as of the evaporator to the compensation chamber. Accordingly, a wick with low thermal conductivity (0.068–0.098 W/mK) chrysotile powder of a mean particle diameter of 3.4 μm is fabricated through sintering. Nine chrysotile wicks are sintered with different compositions of binders (bentonite and dextrin) and pore-forming agent NaCl at sintering temperatures of 500°C, 600°C, and 700°C with a sintering time of 30 min. The wick properties, for instance, porosity, permeability, wettability, and capillary rise are studied owing to sintering temperature. Consequently, it is observed that a pure chrysotile powdered wick at a sintering temperature of 600°C exhibits a high porosity of 61.8% with permeability 1.04 × 10⁻¹³ m² and a capillary rise of 4.5 cm in 30 s and is considered optimal. This optimal wick is used for performance evaluation in compact loop heat pipe and a decrease of 36.1% in thermal resistance is found when compared with copper mesh wick in a loop heat pipe. The lowermost thermal resistance originates to be 0.147 K/W at 120 W with wall temperature 57.7°C. This indicates that loop heat pipe with sintered chrysotile wick can operate at lower heat loads efficiently when compared with copper mesh wick and as heat load increases a chance of dry out condition occurs. The highest evaporative heat transfer coefficient obtained is 65.7 kW/m² K at a minimum heat load.     

Study on Ce and Y co-doped BaFeO3-δ cubic perovskite as free-cobalt cathode for proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells

The use of triple-conducting (electron, proton, oxide ion) cathodes is an effective strategy for significantly decreasing cathode polarization of proton-conducting SOFCs. In this study, a new triple-conducting BaFe_0.8Ce_0.1Y_0.1O_3-δ (BFCY) perovskite cathode is prepared by Pechini sol-gel process and its properties are evaluated comprehensively. High-temperature XRD measurement demonstrates that the codoping of Ce and Y can stabilize the cubic perovskite of BFCY in investigated temperature range from room temperature to 900 °C. BFCY material exhibits a moderate average thermal expansion coefficient of 22.08 × 10^?6 K^?1 smaller than cobalt-based cathode and good chemical compatibility with BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3-δ (BZCY) electrolyte after the calcining treatment at 1000 °C. XPS analysis indicates the existence of Ce^3+/4+ and Fe^3+/4+ ions and abundant oxygen vacancies in BFCY powder surface. Thermal gravimetric analysis reveals that a larger number of oxygen deficiencies -are generated at elevated temperatures, which favors the catalytic activity on oxygen reduction. The maximum value of BFCY electrical conductivity remains at 1.55 S cm^?1 at 600 °C in humidified air. BCFY (BaCe_0.8Fe_0.1Y_0.1O_3-δ) material is introduced in order to construct BFCY-BCFY composite cathode with the good cathode/electrolyte interface adhesion. For the single cell with BFCY-BCFY composite cathode, the polarization resistance as low as 0.05 Ω cm² and peak power density as high as 750 mW cm^?2 are reached at 700 °C, respectively, demonstrating the great potential of BFCY oxides as proton-conducting SOFC cathode.     

Influence of Carbonization Conditions on the Properties of Coconut Shell Chars

The changes in chemical, physical, and mechanical properties of fully matured coconut shell chars in relation to carbonization temperature (range: 400–950°C) and time (range: zero–3 h) have been studied. These properties were found to be more susceptible to carbonization temperature than to time. The results indicated an increase in fixed carbon content and true specific gravity of shell chars with rise of carbonization temperature and soak time. The majority of volatilization occurred up to about 800°C. The calorific value of shell char increased sharply with rise of carbonization temperature up to 600°C, and thereafter it decreased to 800°C. The porosity of shell char increased with increase of carbonization temperature up to 600°C followed by a decrease with further rise of temperature up to the range studied. Prolonged soaking at carbonization temperatures of 600, 800, and 950°C, in general, led to slight increases in the porosity and calorific values of resulting shell chars. The results showed that the crushing strength of shell char decreased markedly on increasing the preparation temperature up to 600°C, followed by an increase thereafter. An increase in soaking time at carbonization temperatures of 600, 800, and 950°C also influenced the shell char strength.