Comprehensive
review of methane conversion in solid oxide fuel cells:
Prospects for efficient electricity generation from natural gas
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Type
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Journal
Article
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Author
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Turgut
M. Gür
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URL
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Volume
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54
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Pages
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1-64
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Publication
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Progress
in Energy and Combustion Science
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Date
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May
2016
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Abstract
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Combined
with its significantly smaller carbon-footprint than coal, natural gas has
increasingly become the preferred choice to generate electrical power even at
the expense of converting existing coal fired power plants to run on natural
gas. However, most natural gas combustion-based power plants currently
operate at efficiencies in the low 30%. Conversion of natural gas in solid
oxide fuel cells (SOFC) promises to increase system level conversion
efficiencies to above 60%, doubling the current efficiencies and
significantly reducing the CO2 emissions by a factor of 2.
Such dramatic improvements in conversion efficiency and ease of CO2 capture are currently out of reach for the combustion-based power generation technologies. Equally importantly, the CO2 produced from methane conversion leaves the fuel cell in a highly concentrated form. As nitrogen is blocked off by the impervious ceramic electrolyte of the SOFC from entering the process stream, methane oxidation produces a flue stream that is primarily made of the oxidation products CO2 and steam. The latter can easily be condensed out to capture CO2, thus eliminating the need for expensive and energy intensive post separation operations otherwise required to separate CO2 from N2 for storage purposes. So if successfully developed and deployed widely, natural gas conversion in SOFCs will greatly reduce CO2 emissions, help mitigate climate change, and minimize the environmental impact of power generation. Authors critically review the current state of understanding in methane catalysis and oxidation with particular emphasis for electrochemical conversion in SOFCs. |
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