This project addresses an important obstacle to the commercialization of molten carbonate fuel cell stack technology. During the initial heat up, radiant and convective heat is provided externally to the stack from an enclosure furnace and by sensible heat in the manifold regions of the stack via the process gases. Because both of these techniques involve external heating of the stack, the manifold regions melt while the active area is still a solid and sealing problems have resulted. In Phase I, a novel electrolyte configuration will be evaluated which will improve the sealing of the fuel cell stack during initial heat up and conditioning. The feasibility of altering the electrolyte composition to obtain melting in the active area prior to melting of the seals will be demonstrated. Phase I will also include: electrolyte composition selection, evaluation o£ the relative melting characteristic compared to the state-of-the-art composition, and commercial-area tape casting trials for manufacturing a multi-compositional electrolyte.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:The sealing capability of the molten carbonate fuel cell electrolyte matrices should be dramatically improved by replacing the current electrolytes with a multi-compositional electrolyte which would facilitate uniform melting of commercial-area electrolyte matrices.
