1995 Volume 21 Issue 6 Pages 1104-1109
Degradation phenomena of a reforming catalyst in a direct internal reforming molten carbonate fuel cell (DIR-MCFC), which holds promise for the highest efficiency among several types of fuel cells, were investigated. The initial performance of the DIR-MCFC was the same as that of an external reforming molten carbonate fuel cell (ER-MCFC), but the degradation rate of cell performance was greater than that of an ER-MCFC. It was found that catalyst deactivation due to electrolyte poisoning was the main reason for the high degradation rate. Electrolyte poisoning mainly occurred at the fuel gas inlet through liquid phase poisoning. Ni plating on the Inconel 600 corrugated current collector in the anode gas channel was tested in order to prevent electrolyte poisoning. It was found that Ni plating was effective to improve DIR-MCFC life characteristics by its contact angle to the molten carbonate electrolyte.
