A modeling study of lifetime and performance improvements of solid oxide fuel cell by reversed pulse operation

Chromium poisoning of the air electrode is a primary degradation mechanism for solid oxide cells (SOCs) operating under fuel cell mode. Recent experimental findings show that reversed pulse operation for SOCs operated as electrolyser cells can reverse this degradation and extend the lifetime. Here, we use a multiphysics model of an SOC to investigate the effects of reversed pulse operation for alleviating chromium poisoning of the air electrode. We study the effects of time fraction of the operation under fuel cell and electrolysis modes, cyclic operation starting after a certain duration, and fuel cell and electrolysis current densities on the cell lifetime, total power, and hydrogen production. Our modeling shows that reversed pulse operation enhances cell lifetime and total power for all different cases considered in this study. Moreover, results suggest that the cell lifetime, total power, and hydrogen production can be increased by reversed pulse operation at longer operation times under electrolysis mode, cyclic operation starting from the beginning, and lower electrolysis current densities. All in all, this paper documents and establishes a computational framework that can serve as a platform to assess and quantify the increased profitability of SOCs operating under a co-production operation through reversed pulse operation.