Operational Aspects for Direct Coupling of Gas Turbine and Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

This contribution gives an overview of the theoretical and experimental investigations that have been carried out at DLR concerning the pressurized operation of SOFC. The influence of pressure on SOFC performance is analyzed and the influence of internal reforming reactions is evaluated. Furthermore, the influence of pressure on degradation mechanisms is theoretically analyzed. Results show that pressure can strongly influence the power density of SOFC. A decrease in SOFC performance caused by reformate gases is mainly due to temperature effects. Nickel oxidation and carbon deposition propensity are both pressure dependent and should be addressed when designing pressurized SOFC systems.