Stephen J. McPhail

Fuel Cells in the Waste-to-Energy Chain

Abundance of Waste and Energy Scarcity.- Biomass and Waste as Sustainable Resources.- Anaerobic Digestion.- Biomass and Waste Gasification.- Digesters, Gasifiers and Biorefineries: Plants and Field Demonstration.- Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells.- Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.- Fuel Gas Clean-up and Conditioning.- High-Temperature Fuel Cell Plants and Applications.- Biomethane and Natural Gas.- Electricity and the Grid.- Prospects of Hydrogen as a Future Energy Carrier.- Market and Feasibility Analysis of Non-conventional Technologies.- Concluding Remarks.

Status and Challenges of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells

By analogy with the development of nuclear power and photovoltaics, the position of MCFC technology is evaluated in the context of today’s energy supply. A brief review is presented of the technical status of MCFC materials and challenges left open. At system level, a number of more or less niche applications prove to be promising for approaching early markets and an update is given of some important figures on construction and deployment of MCFC systems worldwide.

Direct bioethanol fuel cells

Abstract: Biomass can be stored and converted into any form of energy. Hydrogen is a ‘clean’ energy source: its combustion produces only water and energy. A new, eco-friendly reservoir of hydrogen is required to achieve clean and sustainable energy production. Ethanol is a suitable biofuel in this respect, being easy to produce and safe to handle, transport and store. Bioethanol plays an important role as a promising renewable energy source due to its useful properties; it can also be converted to hydrogen-rich gas through a simple reforming process, and is potentially ideal for molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs).

High-Temperature Fuel Cell Plants and Applications

High-temperature fuel cells (HTFCs) have real and imminent potential for implementation of clean, high-efficiency conversion of renewable and waste-derived fuels. Thanks to their capability to operate relatively easily on hydrocarbon-based fuels, and to their increased durability and higher tolerance to inevitable contaminants in the alternative fuels utilized, these integrated solutions are constantly spreading world-wide. The modular build-up of HTFCs makes them adamantly suitable to a decentralised energy infrastructure, which relieves dependencies on primary energy carrier imports and encourages local productivity. In the transitional phase from fossil to renewable fuels, utilization of natural gas in HTFCs allows for the immediate implementation in the established grid infrastructure, reduces CO2 emissions and accelerates the development to full maturity necessary for large-scale market penetration.