Effectiveness of paper-structured catalyst for the operation of biodiesel-fueled solid oxide fuel cell

• A model biodiesel fuel (BDF) was applied as an alternative fuel for SOFC.
• Novel paper-structured catalyst (PSC) containing Mg/Al-hydrotalcite was synthesized.
• PSC exhibited fuel conversion comparable to SOFC anode with less than 1/100 Ni weight.
• Long-term stability of SOFC fueled by BDF was achieved by the application of PSC.

Mg/Al-hydrotalcite (HDT)-dispersed paper-structured catalyst (PSC) was prepared by a simple paper-making process. The PSC exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the steam reforming of model biodiesel fuel (BDF), pure oleic acid methyl ester (oleic-FAME, C19H36O2) which is a mono-unsaturated component of practical BDFs. The PSC exhibited fuel conversion comparable to a pelletized catalyst material, here, conventional Ni–zirconia cermet anode for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with less than one-hundredth Ni weight. Performance of electrolyte-supported cell connected with the PSC was evaluated in the feed of oleic-FAME, and stable operation was achieved. After 60 h test, coking was not observed in both SOFC anode and PSC.

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