The Internal Reforming Fuel Cells as a Clean Energy System for Natural Gas Utilization in the Kingdom

Abstract

The internal reforming fuel cells are very recent technology in the field of energy systems. Internal reforming have the potential of producing hydrogen directly from natural gas inside the cell itself due to the role of the special electrocatalysis applied internally on the porous electrode of the fuel side. The hydrogen and carbon monoxide, produced internally by the in-situ steam reforming of the natural gas, are consumed directly by the fuel cell to produce clean electrical energy instantaneously at the output of the electrochemical cell. Preliminary thermodynamic calculations revealed that very high conversion levels (up to 100%) can be achieved with this new technology of internal reforming due to the direct withdrawal of hydrogen produced in the reforming reaction to be utilized by the cell in the direct power production.This study focuses on the feasibility of internal reforming technology for utilization of natural gas in the Kingdom. This is motivated by the advantages of internal reforming fuel cells which includes energy production at very high efficiency and elimination of pollution problems well known in traditional power plants.