Effects of Gas Composition Just before Fuel Pulses on Power Generation Characteristics at Different Fuel Supply Frequency in Pulse Jet-Rechargeable Direct Carbon Fuel Cells

Pulse Jet - Rechargeable Direct Carbon Fuel Cells (PJ-RDCFCs), in which small amounts of liquid hydrocarbon are supplied by pulse jet, were found to show different power generation characteristics depending on the time interval between fuel pulses (Tint). For the Tint range studied here (1 to 210 sec), both the maximum terminal voltage during a single cycle and the increase rate just after a fuel pulse can be controlled by Tint, and this Tint determines the fuel utilization and partial pressure of H2O and CO2. Thus, the gas composition just before a fuel pulse determines the degree of reforming reaction and chemical species contributing to the electrochemical reaction, which affects the power generation characteristics. Power generation at extremely short Tint (1 sec) revealed that during pulse jetting, the terminal voltage was stable. Its average power density was 445 mW/cm2, which is high for electrolyte-supported SOFCs that use liquid hydrocarbon.