Journal Archive

The ability of fuel cells to use hydrocarbon fuels efficiently is important if they are to compete with battery power. Solid oxide fuel cells, particularly zirconia fuel cell devices, are generally well suited to utilise a variety of fuels. They are commercially attractive, especially in remote locations where battery supply and maintenance costs are prohibitive but where fuel, particularly butane, is readily available. Butane can be safely stored at high energy density and is thus a useful fuel for zirconia fuel cells in remote areas. Partial oxidation would be the preferred route to reform butane, but this requires a suitable catalyst. Ruthenium is an excellent partial oxidation catalyst, giving nearly total reformation of butane and producing high levels of hydrogen. However, problems such as carbon deposition and catalyst optimisation need to be addressed. Here, work with a zirconia fuel cell successfully fuelled by butane and using a ruthenium catalyst under controlled reaction conditions is discussed.