A performance analysis of molten carbonate fuel cell MCFC stack

Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs) offer a clean and efficient route for power generation from coal gas and other fuels. A mono-cell with the effective electrode area of 140 X 240mm(2) and a stack consisting of 8 cells are assembled using the components of electrodes (including cathode and anode), matrix, and electrolyte (carbonate sheet) prepared by ourselves. The mono-cell output at different temperatures and effect of thermal cycle times on its performance are investigated. By comparing power density between the mono-cell and the stack at the same operating condition, it could be concluded that the gas flow-field of bipolar plates was reasonable. In the case of ambient pressure and 650degreesC, the power density of the stack fed with air and hydrogen as oxidant and fuel gas at current density 130mA(.)cm(-2) reaches to 0.1 w(.)cm(-2), and the stack gives about 280 watts output at its peak time. After 6 times of thermal cycles, the mono-cell still keeps a relatively high output. The experimental results show that the MCFC stack achieves good characters and has some tolerance to thermal cycle.