Conceptual design of the integration of the reforming process in high temperature fuel cells

The integration of the endothermic reforming reactions and the exothermic electrochemical reactions in a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) is investigated with a mathematical steady state anode model. The dimensionless model consists of only a few equations based on the description of physical phenomena, and is thus easily solved and interpreted. The equations and their derivation are presented and three different applications of the model are demonstrated. It proves to be a useful tool for an intuitive understanding of the interactions of reforming and electrochemical processes, but it can also yield quantitative results for flow sheet design of MCFC with internal reforming. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.