Development of next generation proton-conducting solid oxide cells (P-SOC) towards environment-friendly power-to-X (PtX) reactions

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K20490
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0401:Materials engineering, chemical engineering, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: SHI NAI 九州大学, エネルギー研究教育機構, 学術研究員 (10906217)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-08-30 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: proton ceramic cells / olefin production / CO2 reduction / fuel cell / catalysts / membrane reactor

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Overall, we have accomplished the proposed targets listed below (1) We have successfully fabricated 2 P-SOC configurations with effective area ranging from 0.5~12 cm2. (2) The Pt/Nb2O5 catalyst was found to be suitable for propane dehydrogenation in P-SOCs. (3) External electricity promotes propane dehydrogenation and CO2 reduction, as confirmed by on-line GC and mass spectroscopy. (4) Stable operation of the cell was achieved for 100 hours at 300 oC and 140 cyclic currents operation at 600 oC. (5) Propane dissociation is the rate-limiting step among anodic step reactions. (6) The in-situ FT-IR results suggested that Ni-BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.1Yb0.1O3-δ heterogenous catalyst promotes the formation of CH4. The project successfully achieved the objectives and provided valuable insights into the electrode reaction mechanisms and rate-limiting steps through electrochemical characterizations and spectroscopy techniques.

Free Research Field

Materials Science and Engineering

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

This work is the first trail to realize olefin production using P-SOC at a low temperature of 300 oC, we also obtained remarkable electrochemical performance comparing to reported literature results. This work should pave a new way for the chemical synthesis.