Fuel cells. Technology status report

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5118983

This report documents the status of the US Department of Energy's Fuel Cells Program as of the end of FY 85. The report consists of (1) an overview of the Fuel Cells Program including a brief discussion of how fuel cells work; (2) a synopsis of the Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC), Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC), and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Programs and their 1985 projects; (3) a discussion of the Fuel Cells Advanced Research and Technology Development (AR and TD) Program and projects; and (4) a summary of the Fuel Cells Systems and Applications Program. A common direction of fuel cell development has been to combine individual cells into groups called ''stacks'' or ''modules'' in order to increase power output. In 1985, the scale-up of PAFC stacks to the 40-kW level continued, and a project involving the manufacturing of 46 power plants was completed. SOFC scale-up proceeded to the 24-cell submodule stage. An MCFC 1-ft/sup 2/ stack demonstrated effective management of electrolyte, control of end-cell shorting, and resistance of separator plates to corrosion during 4000 hours of operation. AR and TD provided information on reaction mechanisms and materials for MCFC's, SOFC's, and PAFC's. Systems and Applications development provided engineering and economic guidelines for MCFC's, SOFC's, and PAFC's, when used in a variety of utility and industrial settings. 3 refs., 32 figs., 4 tabs.

• Research Organization: USDOE Morgantown Energy Technology Center, WV
• OSTI ID: 5118983
• Report Number(s): DOE/METC-86/0241; ON: DE86006619
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
300500* -- Fuel Cells
ACID ELECTROLYTE FUEL CELLS
ANODES
CATALYSTS
CATHODES
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
COMMERCIALIZATION
CONTRACTORS
COORDINATED RESEARCH PROGRAMS
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
DOCUMENT TYPES
EFFICIENCY
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ELECTRODES
ELECTROLYTES
ENERGY SOURCES
FABRICATION
FIELD TESTS
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL CELL POWER PLANTS
FUEL CELLS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
HIGH-TEMPERATURE FUEL CELLS
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN SULFIDES
INORGANIC ACIDS
MANUFACTURING
MATERIALS
MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELLS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NATURAL GAS
PHOSPHORIC ACID
POWER PLANTS
REFORMER PROCESSES
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
REVIEWS
SENSITIVITY
SOLID ELECTROLYTES
SULFIDES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TESTING
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE HEAT UTILIZATION
WASTE PRODUCT UTILIZATION