Methane Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell

Molten carbonate fuel cells mcfcs are currently being developed for natural gas biogas produced as a result of anaerobic digestion or biomass gasification and coal based power plants for electrical utility industrial and military applications.

Methane molten carbonate fuel cell.

This new one needs only about 500 which is even a notch cooler than automobile combustion engines which. Molten carbonate fuel cells mcfcs are high temperature fuel cells that operate at temperatures of 600 c and above. When the waste heat is captured and used overall fuel efficiencies can be over 85. The molten carbonate fuel cells mcfcs utilizing traditional fuels represent a suitable technological progress in comparison with pure hydrogen fed mcfcs.

Molten carbonate fuel cells mcfcs use a molten carbonate salt suspended in a porous ceramic matrix as the electrolyte. Unlike many other types of fuel cells mcfcs are capable of internal reforming whereby they convert other fuels to hydrogen directly. 18 2 3 molten carbonate fuel cells. Molten carbonate fuel cells when coupled with a turbine can reach efficiencies approaching 65 considerably higher than the 37 42 efficiencies of a phosphoric acid fuel cell plant.

The more investigated fuel for such an application is the methane which has the advantages of low cost and large availability. Methane fuel cells usually require temperatures of 750 to 1 000 degrees celsius to run. Salts commonly used include lithium carbonate potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate.