Zero Emission Power Plants Using Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Oxygen Transport Membranes

Zero Emission Power Plants Using Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Oxygen Transport Membranes

Abstract

Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. (SWPC) is engaged in the development of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell stationary power systems. SWPC has combined DOE Developmental funds with commercial customer funding to establish a record of successful SOFC field demonstration power systems of increasing size. SWPC will soon deploy the first unit of a newly developed 250 kWe Combined Heat Power System. It will generate electrical power at greater than 45% electrical efficiency.

The SWPC SOFC power systems are equipped to operate on lower number hydrocarbon fuels such as pipeline natural gas, which is desulfurized within the SOFC power system. Because the system operates with a relatively high electrical efficiency, the CO2 emissions, ~1.0 lb CO2/ kW-hr, are low. Within the SOFC module the desulfurized fuel is utilized electrochemically and oxidized below the temperature for NOx generation. Therefore the NOx and SOx emissions for the SOFC power generation system are near negligible. The byproducts of the power generation from hydrocarbon fuels that are released into the environment are CO2 and water vapor. This forward looking DOE sponsored Vision 21 program is supporting the development of methods to capture and sequester the CO2, resulting in a Zero Emission power generation system.

To accomplish this, SWPC is developing a SOFC module design, to be demonstrated in operating hardware, that will maintain separation of the fuel cell anode gas, consisting of H2, CO, H2O and CO2, from the vitiated air. That anode gas, the depleted fuel stream, containing less than 18% (H2 + CO), will be directed to an Oxygen Transport Membrane (OTM) Afterburner that is being developed by Praxair, Inc.. The OTM is supplied air and the depleted fuel. The OTM will selectively transport oxygen across the membrane to oxidize the remaining H2 and CO. The water vapor is then condensed from the totally1.5.DOC
oxidised fuel stream exiting the afterburner, leaving only the CO2 in gaseous form. That CO2 can then be compressed and sequestered, resulting in a Zero Emission power generation system operating on hydrocarbon fuel that adds only water vapor to the environment.

Praxair has been developing oxygen separation systems based on dense walled, mixed electronic, oxygen ion conducting ceramics for a number of years. The oxygen separation membranes find applications in syngas production, high purity oxygenproduction and gas purification. In the SOFC afterburner application the chemical potential difference between the high temperature SOFC depleted fuel gas and the supplied air provides the driving force for oxygen transport. This permeated oxygen subsequently combusts the residual fuel in the SOFC exhaust.

A number of experiments have been carried out in which simulated SOFC depleted fuel gas compositions and air have been supplied to either side of single OTM tubes in laboratory-scale reactors. The ceramic tubes are sealed into high temperature metallic housings which precludes mixing of the simulated SOFC depleted fuel and air streams. In early tests, although complete oxidation of the residual CO and H2 in the simulated SOFC depleted fuel was achieved, membrane performance degraded over time. The source of degradation was found to be contaminants in the simulated SOFC depleted fuel stream. Following removal of the contaminants, stable membrane performance has subsequently been demonstrated. In an ongoing test, the dried afterburner exhaust composition has been found to be stable at 99.2% CO2, 0.4% N2 and 0.6%O2 after 350 hours online. Discussion of these results is presented.

A test of a longer, commercial demonstration size tube was performed in the SWPC test facility. A similar contamination of the simulated SOFC depleted fuel stream occurred and the performance degraded over time. A second test is being prepared.

Siemens Westinghouse and Praxair are collaborating on the preliminary design of an OTM equipped Afterburner demonstration unit. The intent is to test the afterburner in conjunction with a reduced size SOFC test module that has the anode gas separation features incorporated into the hardware.

Download full seminar papers At
http://www.enjineer.com/forum