Methane on-cell reforming in nickel-iron alloy supported solid oxide fuel cells

Ni0.9Fe0.1-supported solid oxide fuel cells are fabricated by tape casting-screen printing-sintering process; and the activity for CH4 reforming and electrochemical performance are examined with wet (3 vol.% H2O) CH4 as the fuel at 650 °C, in comparison with Ni-supported cells. At a flow rate of 100 ml min−1, the wet CH4 is partially (35 vol.%) reformed to H2, CO and CO2 in the Ni0.9Fe0.1 anode-support, demonstrating a higher reforming activity than that of the Ni anode-support. The maximum power density is 1.01 Wcm−2 at a high limiting current density of 2.6 A cm−2; and cell voltage at 0.4 A cm−2 is slightly decreased from 0.65 to 0.60 V within 50 h durability test. This high performance is attributed to the Ni0.9Fe0.1 anode-support that is more active for CH4 reforming and resistant to carbon deposition than its Ni counterpart.