High Efficiency, Thermally Integrated Bio-fuel Steam Reformer for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Precision Combustion, Inc. (PCI) is proposing an integrated steam reformer and solid oxide fuel cell design capable of very high efficiency and robust transient operation. By virtue of intimate physical integration, without compromising system complexity, the proposed design enables very high thermal efficiency and a readily scalable modular design, made possible by the use of PCI"s high heat flux steam reformer designed to effectively remove heat from the stack. In this Phase I, we will demonstrate operation of a high efficiency reformer with bio-fuels and identify operating maps to minimize start-up and transient time, and through modeling, develop thermally integrated designs for various SOFC systems in both steady state and transient operation. Solid models with sufficient detail to predict volumetric and gravimetric power densities will also be developed. BOP components and parasitic loads will be determined. During the Option period, we will demonstrate stable reformer operation with bio-fuel for 250 hours, and experimentally examine reformer + stack operation at subscale levels. In Phase II we will develop, fabricate, and test the thermally-integrated power generator developed in Phase I on bio-fuels for 1000 hrs, and perform a TRL-5 demonstration of the technology at 10 kWe.