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The coupling between biomass gasification and Solid Oxide Fuel Cells can represent a sustainable and efficient system for electricity production. This work aims to develop a preliminary model for the operation of a tubular, electrolyte-supported fuel cell (SOFC) fed by a syngas mixture. The fuel required by the SOFC system is produced inside the energy generator box from an integrated biomass gasification system. This study stems from the European DB-SOFC project, that proposed the exploitation of the abundant biomasses deriving from agricultural residues for energetic purposes (as from olive oil and wine production). In this study, the main processes have been simulated to find a possible configuration to obtain a power value of 200 W. 25 cells were used in the model to produce the required power. The results showed that at 0.7 V it is possible to achieve 12.3 W, when the biomass gasification was integrated into the SOFC box, while it was possible to achieve 9.6 W when the system was fed by externally produced syngas.

Nowadays the most important issues for commercial SOFC systems are related to their durability and stability of performance both of which are affected by fuel feeding composition. The trace compounds contained in biogenous fuels can interact with SOFC components causing evident drops in performance and severely reducing the lifetime of the entire system. Due to the significant impact on SOFC performance from widely varying fuel inputs, the influence of trace compounds should be investigated in real case studies and practical applications. Anode deactivation and porous blocking electrodes are the main consequences that occur due to the presence of trace compounds impact. This work shows an experimental case study where the anode supported solid oxide fuel cells short stacks are fed with fuels containing trace compounds. These compounds were selected from the biological decomposition of organic matters. In addition, sulphur compounds were selected chlorine, aromatic compounds, terpenes, and carboxyl compounds were selected. The most deleterious impact on the stack was due to the sulphur action. However, chlorine compounds also affected the external part of the cell causing the stack to break due to the corrosion of the sealant.