Biogas, a renewable fuel produced from organic waste, is commonly used for cooking and heating in rural or developing communities. The focus of this study was to investigate the use of this biogas (50-70% CH4 and 20-50% CO2) in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) to produce electricity. Both humidified and dry biogas compositions were tested and the cell’s outlet gas composition was analyzed with a mass spectrometer. Stable single-cell operation was achieved for 250 hours at 12 watts under humidified biogas at 900°C with minimal degradation. A small school in Chhattisgarh, India uses about 465 kWh of electricity per year. One 25-cell biogas-SOFC stack has the ability to be a primary power source for the school (~2,000 kWh), or be integrated into a solar-SOFC-battery hybrid system.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Jones, Courtney Michelle

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-042516-210526

Advisor

• Datta, Ravindra

Year

• 2016

Sponsor

• Protonex Technology Corportation

Date created

• 2016-04-25

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Chemical Engineering

Rights statement

• In Copyright