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Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are emerging as a leading solution in sustainable power generation, boasting high power-to-energy density and minimal emissions. With efficiencies potentially exceeding 60% for electricity generation alone and up to 85% when in cogeneration applications, SOFCs significantly outperform traditional combustion-based technologies, which typically achieve efficiencies of around 35–40%. Operating effectively at elevated temperatures (600 °C to 1000 °C), SOFCs not only offer superior efficiency but also generate high-grade waste heat, making them ideal for cogeneration applications. However, these high operational temperatures pose significant thermal management challenges, necessitating innovative solutions to maintain system stability and longevity. This review aims to address these challenges by offering an exhaustive analysis of the latest advancements in SOFC thermal management. We begin by contextualizing the significance of thermal management in SOFC performance, focusing on its role in enhancing operational stability and minimizing thermal stresses. The core of this review delves into various thermal management subsystems such as afterburners, heat exchangers, and advanced thermal regulation strategies. A comprehensive examination of the recent literature is presented, highlighting innovations in subsystem design, fuel management, flow channel configuration, heat pipe integration, and efficient waste heat recovery techniques. In conclusion, we provide a forward-looking perspective on the state of research in SOFC thermal management, identifying potential avenues for future advancements and their implications for the broader field of sustainable energy technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an innovative power generation system that is green, efficient, and promising for a wide range of applications. The prediction and evaluation of the operation state of a solid oxide fuel cell system is of great significance for the stable and long-term operation of the power generation system. Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) technology is widely used to perform preventive and predictive maintenance on equipment. Unlike prediction based on the SOFC mechanistic model, the combination of PHM and deep learning has shown wide application prospects. Therefore, this study first obtains an experimental dataset through short-term degradation experiments of a 1 kW SOFC system, and then proposes an encoder-decoder RNN-based SOFC state prediction model. Based on the experimental dataset, the model can accurately predict the voltage variation of the SOFC system. The prediction results of the four different prediction models developed are compared and analyzed, namely, long short-term memory (LSTM), gated recurrent unit (GRU), encoder–decoder LSTM, and encoder–decoder GRU. The results show that for the SOFC test set, the mean square error of encoder–decoder LSTM and encoder–decoder GRU are 0.015121 and 0.014966, respectively, whereas the corresponding error results of LSTM and GRU are 0.017050 and 0.017456, respectively. The encoder–decoder RNN model displays high prediction precision, which proves that it can improve the accuracy of prediction, which is expected to be combined with control strategies and further help the implementation of PHM in fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CH 4 –CO 2 fueled solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are the high-efficiency and low-carbon power generation technology. However, carbon deposition severely hinders its application. Here, the numerical model considering the complex anode CH 4 internal reforming reactions, H 2 electrochemical reaction, gas diffusion and charge transfer of SOFC using CH 4 –CO 2 fuel has been established. The CH 4 –CO 2 internal reforming and electrochemical reactions of SOFC under different CO 2 /CH 4 ratios and temperatures are studied to reveal the optimal operating conditions. The distributions of different reaction rates, gas components and carbon deposition activity at the anode are analyzed. The results show that the increase of CO 2 concentration can decrease the carbon activity but also cause the decrease of electrochemical performance. It is found that the good comprehensive performances including power density, carbon activity and methane conversion rate can be achieved under the CO 2 /CH 4 molar ratio of 1. The thermodynamic calculation of three different methane reforming modes shows that CH 4 –CO 2 reforming leads to the greatest carbon deposition risk compared with CH 4 –H 2 O and CH 4 –O 2 reforming, implying the importance of anti-carbon for CH 4 –CO 2 fueled SOFC. • Methane-fueled SOFCs are the most energy-efficient and low-carbon technology. • A numerical modeling of SOFCs with different CH 4 –CO 2 mixtures is proposed. • Cell performance and carbon deposition with different CH 4 –CO 2 mixtures were examined. • The cell shows the excellent comprehensive performance with CO 2 /CH 4 of 1. • Anodic synergistic catalysis is necessary for the elimination of CH 4 –CO 2 carbon deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]