Electrochemical Modeling Study of Ethylene Production Based on Proton-conducting Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

An electrochemical model of proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells(H-SOFCs) is built for investigating the electrochemical performance, Faraday efficiency and energy efficiency of co-generation of electric energy and ethylene in H-SOFCs. The simulation results show that ethylene production based on H-SOFCs needs external energy. Increasing the temperature is beneficial for improving the conversion rate of ethane and reducing the polarization loss of fuel cells. For the simulated H-SOFCs, the ohmic and activation over potentials are dominant, and the concentration over potential is almost negligible. The non-negligible electronic conductivity in the proton-conducting electrolyte layer leads to the internal short circuit of the fuel cells and the formation of leakage current. The leakage current density increases with the output voltage, resulting in the decrease of Faraday efficiency and energy efficiency.