Cogeneration of a synthesis gas and electricity through internal reforming of methane by carbon dioxide in a solid oxide fuel cell system

The electrocatalytic internal reforming of CH⁴ by CO² was carried out in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system to produce a syngas and electricity. To develop a high-performance anode catalyst for the electrocatalytic internal reforming, the anode catalyst was investigated in the reforming of CH⁴ by CO₂. It was found that the NiO-YSZ-CeO₂ catalyst showed a higher activity than did the NiO-YSZ-MgO catalyst in the temperature range 650∼850 °C. The CO ₂ conversion was 100 % above 800 °C and the yield of H ₂ was 50 %. The reaction rates of CO₂ and CH₄ under the closed-circuit conditions were more stable than those of the open-circuit. The anode catalyst prepared with CeO₂ showed particularly significant electrochemical performances. The performance of electrochemical reforming is significantly increased by improving the contact between the cell and the current collector. The open circuit voltage (OCV) over a single cell (NiO-YSZ-CeO₂ |YSZ| (La,Sr)MnO₃) was 1.1 V, a power density of 54 mW/cm² was obtained at a current density of 100 mA/cm².