Chemical activity-based carbon-deposition risk maps for solid oxide fuel cell systems with off-gas recirculation

Here, we present a methodology for the generalized quantification of the carbon (C)-formation risk in hydrocarbon mixtures based on the normalized chemical activity. An open-source computational thermodynamics tool is coupled to a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack model to apply and validate this approach with literature data based on methane-fueled SOFC systems with anode off-gas recirculation. Two- and three-dimensional C-formation risk maps valid for all C-H-O mixtures are proposed for a practical, accurate, and meaningful assessment of the trade-off between C-deposition risk and SOFC performance. Compared to conventional risk evaluation methods such as steam-to-carbon ratio (SCR), oxygen-to-carbon ratio (OCR), or C-H-O ternary-phase diagrams, this approach allows a system-agnostic evaluation of different designs operated at varying conditions at a constant C-formation risk margin. The generalized formulation allows integration into process optimization workflows to obtain high-performance system designs with extended stack operating windows.

HE Victoria;  NAKAJO Arata;  PEREZ-FORTES Mar;  VAN HERLE Jan;  SCHIFFMANN Jurg; 

2025-12-31

ELSEVIER

JRC142908

2666-3864 (online),   

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666386426000123?via%3Dihub,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC142908,   

10.1016/j.xcrp.2026.103106 (online),