Performance evaluation of a solid oxide fuel cell coupled to an external biogas tri-reforming process

This study deals with an investigation of the performance of a biogas-fed solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operating in combination with an external tri-reforming system. The tri-reforming process is carried out using a ceria supported Ni catalyst (1.75-wt.% Ni/CeO2), prepared by combustion synthesis. The catalytic tests are carried out at 800 °C with fixed CH4/CO2 molar ratio. Different O2/CH4 and H2O/CH4 molar ratios are investigated to evaluate the influence of different feed compositions on the performance of the integrated SOFC and tri-reforming system. The SOFC can tolerate different percentages of CO, CH4 and CO2 in the reformate stream without the need of steam addition. However, the SOFC performance varies consistently with the different reformate compositions; this effect is strongly related to the tri-reforming catalyst performance. The results indicate that the process using biogas tri-reforming and SOFC is promising for application in small and medium sized stationary power systems.