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Due to a high conductivity of about 0.1 S·cm−1, Li-Na-K carbonate eutectic and Sm-doped ceria composite material is a good electrolyte candidate for hybrid fuel cells operating between 500 °C and 600 °C. The present paper aims at a deeper understanding of the species and mechanisms involved in the ionic transport through impedance spectroscopy and thermal analyses, in oxidizing and reducing atmospheres, wet and dry, and during two heating/cooling cycles. Complementary structural analyses of post-mortem phases allowed us to evidence the irreversible partial transformation of molten carbonates into hydrogenated species, when water and/or hydrogen are added in the surrounding atmospheres. Furthermore, this modification was avoided by adding CO2 in anodic and/or cathodic compartments. Finally, a mechanistic model of such composite electrical behavior is suggested, according to the surrounding atmospheres used. It leads to the conclusions that cells based on this kind of electrolyte would preferably operate in molten carbonate fuel cell conditions, than in solid oxide fuel cell conditions, and confirms the name of "Hybrid Fuel Cells" instead of Intermediate Temperature (or even Low Temperature) Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a mathematical model of a molten carbonate fuel cell with a catalyst in the anode channel. The modeled system is fueled by methane. The system includes a model of the steam reforming process occurring in the anode channel of the MCFC fuel cell and the model of the cell itself. A reduced order model was used to describe the operation of the molten carbonate fuel cell, whereas a kinetic model describes the methane steam reforming. The calculations of the reforming were done in Aspen HYSYS software. Four values of the steam-to-carbon ratio (2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5) were used to analyze the performance of the reforming process. In the first phase, the reaction kinetics model was based on data from the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research on the control strategy and dynamic characteristics of the Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell-Micro Gas Turbine (MCFC-MGT) hybrid power system has received much attention. The use of the Hardware-In-the-Loop Simulation (HILS) method to study the MCFC-MGT hybrid power system, where the MCFC is the model subsystem and the MGT is the physical subsystem, is an effective means to save development cost and time. The difficulty with developing the MCFC-MGT HILS system is the transfer of the mass, energy, and momentum between the physical subsystem and the model subsystem. Hence, a new Simulation–Stimulation (Sim–Stim) interface model of the MCFC-MGT HILS hybrid power system to achieve a consistent mass, energy, and momentum with the prototype system of the MCFC-MGT hybrid power system is proposed. In order to validate the Sim–Stim interface model before application in an actual system, both a real-time model of the MCFC-MGT hybrid power system and the MCFC-MGT HILS hybrid power system based on the Sim–Stim interface model were developed in the Advanced PROcess Simulation (APROS) platform. The step-up and step-down of the current density, which were strict for the Sim–Stim interface model, were studied in these two models. The results demonstrated that the Sim–Stim interface model developed for the MCFC-MGT HILS hybrid power system is rapid and reasonable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]