JET VAPOR DEPOSITION OF CORROSION RESISTANT COATINGS ON CRITICAL MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELL COMPONENTS

MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELLS (MCFCS) REPRESENT A PROMISING ENERGY TECHNOLOGY THAT CONVERTS CHEMICAL ENERGY EFFICIENTLY FROM FUEL GAS DIRECTLY INTO ELECTRICITY. OF THE LEADING FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGIES UNDER DEVELOPMENT, MCFCS ARE THE NEAREST TO LARGE SCALE, COMMERCIAL IMPLEMENTATION. A MAJOR CHALLENGE, HOWEVER, IS TO INCREASE THE LONGEVITY OF MCFC CELL "STACK" STRUCTURES IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE CELL PERFORMANCE AND IMPROVE THE COST PERFORMANCE OF MCFC SYSTEMS. CURRENT MCFC TECHNOLOGY IS LIMITED BY PREMATURE CORROSION OF CRITICAL CELL COMPONENTS. PHASE I OF THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INNOVATIVE, PATENTED, CLEAN, NON-POLLUTING, JET VAPOR DEPOSITION (JVD) PROCESS AS A COST-EFFECTIVE MEANS OF DEPOSITING HIGH PERFORMANCE ALUMINUM AND NICKEL CORROSION-PROTECTIVE COATINGS ON CRITICAL MCFC COMPONENTS. IN PHASE I, SAMPLES THAT HAVE BEEN COATED USING THE JVD PROCESS ARE BEING EVALUATED FOR CORROSION RESISTANCE TO MOLTEN CARBONATE. DEVELOPMENT, TESTING, EVALUATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INNOVATIVE JVD COATING PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURE OF ADVANCED MCFC SYSTEMS WILL BE STUDIED IN COOPERATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL FUEL CELLS CORPORATION.