Biogas from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste: dealing with contaminants for a solid oxide fuel cell energy generator

Abstract

The present work investigates electricity production using a high efficiency electrochemical generator that employs as fuel a biogas from the dry anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). The as-produced biogas contains several contaminants (sulfur, halogen, organic silicon and aromatic compounds) that can be harmful for the fuel cell: these were monitored via an innovative mass spectrometry technique that enables for in-line and real-time quantification. A cleaning trap with activated carbons for the removal of sulfur and other VOCs contained in the biogas was also tested and monitored by observing the different breakthrough times of studied contaminants. The electrochemical generator was a commercial Ni anode-supported planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC), tested for more than 300 h with a simulated biogas mixture (CH4 60 vol.%, CO2 40 vol.%), directly fed to the anode electrode. Air was added to promote the direct internal conversion of CH4 to H2 and CO via partial oxidation (POx). The initial breakthrough of H2S from the cleaning section was also simulated and tested by adding ∼1 ppm(v) of sulfur in the anode feed; a full recovery of the fuel cell performance after 24h of sulfur exposure (∼1 ppm(v)) was observed upon its removal, indicating the reliable time of anode exposure to sulfur in case of exhausted guard bed.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion (AD); Direct biogas reforming; Partial oxidation (POx); Proton Transfer Reaction – Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS); SOFC; Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) monitoring.