Co-Oxidation Modeling for a Syngas-Supplied Microtubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

This paper presents a multiphysical model for a microtubular solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) using syngas as fuel. The proposed control-oriented syngas fuel cell model includes both hydrogen and carbon monoxide co-oxidation phenomena and is demonstrated through the electrochemical, fluidic, and thermal dynamic characteristics of the fuel cell. The developed model is validated experimentally under different operating conditions regarding different reaction temperatures, species partial pressures, and entire working range of current densities. As an important part of the model, the co-oxidation phenomenon of hydrogen and carbon monoxide is discussed in details. The developed model can be used in embedded applications such as real-time simulation, which can help to design and test the control and online diagnostic strategy for fuel cell power generation system in the industrial applications.