Molten carbonate fuel cell research and development

Technical Report · Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6008207

Ong, E T ^[1]

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1. Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, IL (USA)

Successful molten carbonate fuel cell development required the resolution of four significant technical problems: (1) the molten carbonate fuel cell nickel anode had excessive creep, (2) the nickel oxide cathode exhibited an excessively high dissolution rate, (3) electrolyte matrices have been prone to cracking, and (4) a comprehensive definition of component development requirements for the MCFC stack was lacking. This program addressed all of these issues and others. As a result of a series of studies on materials and manufacturing processes, anode creep (shrinkage) has been reduced significantly with the development of oxide-dispersion-strengthened nickel aluminum anodes. By increasing the basicity of the carbonate electrolyte with alkaline-earth additives, nickel dissolution has been reduced by a factor of 2 to 4, thus increasing MCFC cell life. Successful techniques for the simple and low-cost tape casting of MCFC matrices and carbonate layers have been developed, and successful endurance tests have been run on new cell anodes, cathodes, and matrices. 2 refs., 51 figs., 7 tabs.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (USA); Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, IL (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: EPRI
• OSTI ID: 6008207
• Report Number(s): EPRI-GS-7166
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELLS
DESIGN
ANODES
CATALYSTS
CATHODES
CERAMICS
CRACKS
CREEP
EFFICIENCY
ELECTROLYTES
NICKEL OXIDES
TESTING
CHALCOGENIDES
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ELECTRODES
FUEL CELLS
HIGH-TEMPERATURE FUEL CELLS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
NICKEL COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
300501* - Fuel Cells- Design & Development