Influence of Operation Conditions on the Carbon Deposition of SOFC Fuelled by Gasified-Syngas with Tar Included

The integration of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) and biomass gasifier is an attractive option for future clean renewable power generations [1]. However, the biosyngas from biomass gasifiers contains several contaminants such as tar, particulates etc. While tar is a contaminant for most of the power generation devices such as IC engines turbines etc, it may become fuel for the SOFCs operated under well designed conditions [2, 3] and hence the gas cleaning unit for tar removal may be built at a reduced cost. In real applications, the influence of tar from biomass gasification on the SOFC performance and durability has not been well established. One of the important problems tar might cause in SOFCs is carbon deposition. This paper presents the results from experimental investigations on the influence of operation conditions on the mitigation of carbon deposition arising from tar (toluene as model-tar) on SOFCs fuelled by gasified-syngas.