Comparison of the electrochemical performances of MCDCFC using hand and ball milled biomass carbon fuels
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The electrochemical performances of a single cell molten carbonate electrolyte direct carbon
fuel cell (MCDCFC) using miscanthus and switchgrass biomass carbon fuels subjected to hand
and ball milling treatments are presented in this paper. Conventional direct carbon fuel cell
(DCFC) uses carbon derived from coal, a fossil fuel with adverse consequences on the
environment. This paper explores a more benign carbon fuel source which is the biomass to
power the DCFC. The performances of the hand milled (HM) carbon fuels were slightly higher
than those of the ball milled (BM) carbon fuels. At 800oC for the open circuit voltage,
miscanthus fuel (1.03 V) has higher values for the HM and switchgrass fuel (0.77 V) for the BM.
Higher peak power densities were observed for switchgrass fuel (21.60 and 12.32 mW/cm2) for
both the HM and BM. Switchgrass fuel (74 mA/cm2) gave the maximum current density for both
the HM and BM. Miscanthus fuel (0.72 V) show higher voltage at peak power generation for the
HM and switchgrass fuel (0.39 V) for the BM. The peak power efficiency evaluated show that
miscanthus fuel (70%) gave higher values for the hand milled and equal values for both carbon
fuels (51%) for the ball milled.
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TP Chemical technology