Numerical investigation of different loads effect on the performance of planar electrode supported SOFC with syngas as fuel

Reducing greenhouse gas emission such as carbon dioxide is the goal of each country. As a developing country with coal as the dominant energy source, China confronts the pressure of saving energy and reducing emission by using coal efficiently and cleanly. Integrated gasification fuel cell (IGFC) hybrid power generation system is one of optimal system for clean coal utilization. In this work, the three-dimensional mathematical models for planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with syngas as fuel was constructed, and its performance was numerically investigated at different loads. Under all calculating conditions, the optimal power density is obtained at current density of 4700 A m−2, where the output voltage is 0.57 V and the power density is 2671.01 W m−2. With the increasing of current density, the temperature increase as well. And also the difference of max- and min-temperature in SOFC enhances. But the ohmic over-potential changes unobvious. Furthermore, the change rate of species is nearly linear with the increment of current density.