Cleaner, more-efficient electricity from carbon fuels
Nature Communications
2011년6월22일
A new anode for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) that could reduce the emissions and improve the efficiency of conversion of readily available fuels to electricity is described in Nature Communications this week.
SOFCs powered by gasifed coal are twice as efficient as current coal-fired power plants and can potentially reduce CO2 emissions by 50%. However, existing anodes used in SOFCs are prone to a build up of carbon (due to a process called coking), which reduces their performance. Meilin Liu and colleagues report a new barium oxide/nickel anode that efficiently oxidises fuel with minimum carbon build-up. Coking is prevented as the anode absorbs water that promotes carbon removal, making it possible to use carbon-containing fuels at relatively low temperatures.
Unlike previous efforts to make new anodes, which have identified materials that are either too expensive or incompatible owing to high complexity, the barium oxide/nickel anode is simple and contains no expensive rare elements.
doi: 10.1038/ncomms1359
리서치 하이라이트
-
8월11일
Ecology: Forest responses to climate changeNature
-
8월10일
Environment: Sharks, skates and rays at risk in protected areasNature Communications
-
8월9일
Ecology: Climate change can aggravate over half of known human pathogensNature Climate Change
-
8월4일
Environment: Extreme flooding and drought make risk management difficultNature
-
8월3일
Environment: Salt may inhibit lightning in sea stormsNature Communications
-
7월29일
Environment: Costs of amphibian and reptile invasions exceeded US$ 17 billion between 1986 and 2020Scientific Reports
