Fuel CellsPub Date : 2023-12-01Epub Date: 2023-12-13DOI: 10.1089/acu.2023.0032
Louis A Kazal, Semran Themer
{"title":"Resolution of Trigger Finger with Electroacupuncture.","authors":"Louis A Kazal, Semran Themer","doi":"10.1089/acu.2023.0032","DOIUrl":"10.1089/acu.2023.0032","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Trigger finger (TF; a type of stenosing tenosynovitis) is common, affecting the flexor tendons of the hand, often causing significant pain and functional impairment. Treatment can include splinting, corticosteroid injection, or surgical release. There is little published research on the role of electroacupuncture (EA) for treating TF.</p><p><strong>Case: </strong>After more than 1 year of pain and triggering, a 58 year-old male had locking of his left, fourth ring finger requiring painful manual reduction. EA was performed with 4-6 needles in a rectangular pattern along the radial and ulnar aspects of the A1 pulley of the fourth digit, with 10 Hz delivered in a daisy-chain formation for 45 minutes. Nodule size, frequency of triggering and locking, and severity of pain were assessed before and after 4 treatments over ∼1.5 months.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>This patient's frequency of locking and severity of pain decreased significantly by 50% after his first treatment. Additional clinically significant reductions of locking, pain, and nodule-size were evident after each treatment along with substantial functional gains between visits. After his fourth treatment, he reported 100% resolution of his symptoms with no further pain or triggering. Throughout this time, he continued his usual activities.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>EA alone directed at the A1 pulley may be an effective treatment modality for patients with TF. The authors hypothesize that EA may reduce pain enabling a return to normal function and compression of the nodule, thus eliminating triggering. Further research evaluating the efficacy of EA for TF may help substantiate these results.</p>","PeriodicalId":12566,"journal":{"name":"Fuel Cells","volume":"23 1","pages":"342-345"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10753943/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87480507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fuel CellsPub Date : 2023-11-28DOI: 10.1002/fuce.202300033
Robert Price, Holger Bausinger, Gino Longo, Ueli Weissen, Mark Cassidy, Jan G. Grolig, Andreas Mai, John T. S. Irvine
{"title":"Development and full system testing of novel co-impregnated La0.20Sr0.25Ca0.45TiO3 anodes for commercial combined heat and power units","authors":"Robert Price, Holger Bausinger, Gino Longo, Ueli Weissen, Mark Cassidy, Jan G. Grolig, Andreas Mai, John T. S. Irvine","doi":"10.1002/fuce.202300033","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fuce.202300033","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Over the past decade, the University of St Andrews and HEXIS AG have engaged in a highly successful collaborative project aiming to develop and upscale La<sub>0.20</sub>Sr<sub>0.25</sub>Ca<sub>0.45</sub>TiO<sub>3</sub> (LSCT<sub>A-</sub>) anode “backbone” microstructures, impregnated with Ce<sub>0.80</sub>Gd<sub>0.20</sub>O<sub>1.90</sub> (CG20) and metallic electrocatalysts, providing direct benefits in terms of performance and stability over the current state-of-the-art (SoA) Ni-based cermet solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anodes.</p><p>Here, we present a brief overview of previous work performed in this research project, including short-term, durability, and poison testing of small-scale (1 cm<sup>2</sup> area) SOFCs and upscaling to full-sized HEXIS SOFCs (100 cm<sup>2</sup> area) in short stacks. Subsequently, recent results from short stack testing of SOFCs containing LSCT<sub>A-</sub> anodes with a variety of metallic catalyst components (Fe, Mn, Ni, Pd, Pt, Rh, or Ru) will be presented, indicating that only SOFCs containing the Rh catalyst provide comparable degradation rates to the SoA Ni/cerium gadolinium oxide anode, as well as tolerance to harsh overload conditions (which is not exhibited by SoA anodes). Finally, results from full system testing (60 cells within a 1.5 kW electrical power output HEXIS Leonardo FC40A micro-combined heat and power unit), will be outlined, demonstrating the robust and durable nature of these novel oxide electrodes, in addition to their potential for commercialization.</p>","PeriodicalId":12566,"journal":{"name":"Fuel Cells","volume":"23 6","pages":"482-491"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fuce.202300033","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138515023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Stainless steel bipolar plates with rectangular micro channels by additive manufacturing: Effect channel width on fuel cell performance","authors":"Chul Kyu Jin, Jae Hyun Kim, Bong-Seop Lee, Sung Hwan Bae","doi":"10.1002/fuce.202300100","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fuce.202300100","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Stainless steel bipolar plates (BPs) fabricated using innovative additive manufacturing techniques can improve fuel cell performance and reduce costs. A high current density can be obtained using a low-cost membrane electrode assembly (MEA) with low platinum (Pt) loading at the anode, along with BPs with rectangular micro channels. Three types of BPs of serpentine flow field are designed after varying the width of the rectangular channel. Two types of MEAs are used. First is 0.12 mg cm<sup>−2</sup> Pt loading at anode, and the second is 0.50 mg cm<sup>−2</sup>. Wherein MEA with Pt loading at 0.12 mg cm<sup>−2</sup> is used, a high current density is obtained as the channel width decreases. The BP with 300 µm channels has a current density of 1.205 A cm<sup>−2</sup>, which is higher by 31.4% than that of BP with 500 µm channels and higher by 70.2% than that of the BP with 940 µm channels. However, when the MEA with Pt loading at 0.50 mg cm<sup>−2</sup> is applied to the test, the opposite results are obtained: As the channel width becomes narrow, the current density decreases. In the long-term operation, a similar trend in the current density as that of the short-term operation is observed.</p>","PeriodicalId":12566,"journal":{"name":"Fuel Cells","volume":"24 1","pages":"4-16"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138515033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fuel CellsPub Date : 2023-10-19DOI: 10.1002/fuce.202300059
Konstantin Schwarze, Thomas Geißler, Michael Nimtz, Robert Blumentritt
{"title":"Demonstration and scale-up of high-temperature electrolysis systems","authors":"Konstantin Schwarze, Thomas Geißler, Michael Nimtz, Robert Blumentritt","doi":"10.1002/fuce.202300059","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fuce.202300059","url":null,"abstract":"<p>High-temperature electrolysis (HTE) is a key to link the electricity sector with other industries and to evolve the electricity transition into a full energy transition. After years of development, HTE is now on the threshold to reach market readiness. The present work shows the latest achievements of Sunfire's development based on the results of the project GrInHy2.0 demonstrating hydrogen production (solid oxide electrolysis cell [SOEC]) in an industrial environment and the project SynLink demonstrating co-electrolysis (Co-SOEC) for renewable synthesis gas production. The GrInHy2.0 system is a 720 kW<sub>AC</sub> electrolyzer operating in the iron-and-steel works Salzgitter (Germany). It is now in operation for approx. 14,500 h and achieved a mean degradation rate below 23 mOhm cm<sup>2</sup> kh<sup>−1</sup> and an electrical efficiency of up to 84%<sub>LHV</sub>. It also proved that HTE now reached industrial-relevant availability of over 90%. While the HTE system in Salzgitter consists of eight modules, a single module was tested in co-electrolysis mode within the project SynLink. It demonstrated synthesis gas generation via Co-SOEC with a flexible H<sub>2</sub>/CO ratio between 1 and 4. The work provides insight into how HTE will play a major role in the near future to efficiently produce renewable feedstock for an economy with a drastically reduced carbon footprint.</p>","PeriodicalId":12566,"journal":{"name":"Fuel Cells","volume":"23 6","pages":"492-500"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fuce.202300059","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135728742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fuel CellsPub Date : 2023-10-18DOI: 10.1002/fuce.202300057
Yanting Liu, Florian Wankmüller, Tibor Peter Lehnert, Martin Juckel, Norbert H. Menzler, André Weber
{"title":"Microstructural changes in nickel-ceria fuel electrodes at elevated temperature","authors":"Yanting Liu, Florian Wankmüller, Tibor Peter Lehnert, Martin Juckel, Norbert H. Menzler, André Weber","doi":"10.1002/fuce.202300057","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fuce.202300057","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Durability testing of low temperature solid oxide cells is challenging as degradation phenomena related to microstructural changes like nickel-agglomeration are slow. In the present study, a nickel/gadolinia doped ceria (GDC) fuel electrode with a porous GDC-interlayer towards the zirconia electrolyte was investigated. The electrode, designed for operating temperatures of 600°C, was tested at an elevated temperature of 900°C for up to 1100 h to accelerate aging. Contrary to every expectation, the electrodes showed continuous improvement in electrochemical performance. Impedance spectroscopy, the distribution of relaxation times analysis, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope were applied to correlate electrochemical and microstructural changes. Structural analysis showed a significant Ni agglomeration accompanied by a decrease in triple phase boundary density. Furthermore, a minor particle growth in the GDC-phase decreased the volume-specific double phase boundary GDC/pore. Considering these microstructural changes, the decrease in active reaction sites should have increased the polarization resistance, but a decrease of about 32% was observed. The discrepancy between polarization resistance improvement and microstructural degradation might be attributed to an activation of the GDC-surfaces in the electrode and the porous GDC-interlayer.</p>","PeriodicalId":12566,"journal":{"name":"Fuel Cells","volume":"23 6","pages":"430-441"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fuce.202300057","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135888155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fuel CellsPub Date : 2023-10-06DOI: 10.1002/fuce.202300035
Felix Kullmann, Cedric Grosselindemann, Luis Salamon, Franz-Martin Fuchs, André Weber
{"title":"Impedance analysis of electrolyte processes in a solid oxide cell","authors":"Felix Kullmann, Cedric Grosselindemann, Luis Salamon, Franz-Martin Fuchs, André Weber","doi":"10.1002/fuce.202300035","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fuce.202300035","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the distribution of relaxation times are powerful tools to study polarization processes in solid oxide cells (SOC). Commonly the measured polarization resistance is solely attributed to polarization phenomena in the electrodes whereas the electrolyte is assumed to act as purely ohmic series resistance.</p><p>In this study an electrolyte supported SOC is investigated by impedance spectroscopy from the nominal operating temperature range of 700–900°C down to temperatures as low as 350°C. At such low temperatures the dielectric polarization of the electrolyte is shifted into the accessible frequency range, providing access to additional processes which are deconvoluted and quantified. It is discussed to which extent the additional layers like gadolinia doped ceria diffusion barrier and electrode layers influence the electrolyte processes as grain and grain boundary.</p>","PeriodicalId":12566,"journal":{"name":"Fuel Cells","volume":"23 6","pages":"420-429"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fuce.202300035","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134943833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fuel CellsPub Date : 2023-10-03DOI: 10.1002/fuce.202300028
Jerome Aicart, Alexander Surrey, Lucas Champelovier, Kilian Henault, Chistian Geipel, Oliver Posdziech, Julie Mougin
{"title":"Benchmark study of performances and durability between different stack technologies for high temperature electrolysis","authors":"Jerome Aicart, Alexander Surrey, Lucas Champelovier, Kilian Henault, Chistian Geipel, Oliver Posdziech, Julie Mougin","doi":"10.1002/fuce.202300028","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fuce.202300028","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In the current landscape of high temperature electrolysis, mainly two solid oxide cell (SOC) technologies are being used: electrolyte-supported and cathode-supported SOCs. The geometrical differences, namely the thickness of the electrolyte, can lead to vastly different operating temperatures. Since most phenomena affecting performance and durability remain thermally activated, comparing stack technologies can be a difficult endeavor at best.</p><p>While the most visible goal of the European project MultiPLHY consists of Sunfire GmbH building the first multi-megawatt solid oxide electrolyzer, a work package is being dedicated to stack testing in a laboratory environment. A harmonized protocol was first elaborated to allow comparing different stack technologies. It includes the recording of performance maps, several galvanostatic steps in thermoneutral conditions, as well as load point and thermal cycles. Subsequently, Sunfire operated a pile-up of two 30-cell electrolyte-supported stacks for over 8200 h, while a 25-cell cathode-supported stack was tested at CEA for 6800 h.</p><p>The present article aims at presenting the findings gathered during the implementation of the protocol. This benchmark study puts forward performance maps as well as voltage and stack temperature profiles over time, and discusses some of the difficulties inherent to long-term testing.</p>","PeriodicalId":12566,"journal":{"name":"Fuel Cells","volume":"23 6","pages":"463-473"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135744890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fuel CellsPub Date : 2023-09-17DOI: 10.1002/fuce.202300023
Daniel B. Drasbæk, Peter Blennow, Thomas Heiredal-Clausen, Jeppe Rass-Hansen, Giovanni Perin, Jens V. T. Høgh, Anne Hauch
{"title":"Exploring electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to identify and quantify degradation in commercial solid oxide electrolysis stacks","authors":"Daniel B. Drasbæk, Peter Blennow, Thomas Heiredal-Clausen, Jeppe Rass-Hansen, Giovanni Perin, Jens V. T. Høgh, Anne Hauch","doi":"10.1002/fuce.202300023","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fuce.202300023","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this work, we present a case where electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) on stack level enabled the identification of degradation and failure mechanisms in a 75-cell solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) stack from Topsoe. In a blind test, a defective stack (stack not passing the quality control specifications) prone to degradation was investigated with EIS. The type of stack defects was not known a priori. The purpose of the stack EIS experiment was hence to serve as a proof-of-concept of using EIS on the stack level for identifying degradation mechanisms. An appropriate equivalent circuit model was applied and fitted to the experimentally obtained EIS data, which enabled the quantification of the different electrochemical contributions. We hereby identified which electrochemical contribution(s) to the overall stack resistance caused the stack to degrade. Furthermore, the data was plotted in a degradation space format, which further strengthened the identification of the cause of degradation. In this work, we are exploring and utilizing the potential of advanced EIS characterization and analysis; thereby successfully identifying some of the degradation and failure mechanisms taking place in the SOEC stack. This detailed type of degradation analysis has, to the best of my knowledge, not previously reported on the commercial stack level.</p>","PeriodicalId":12566,"journal":{"name":"Fuel Cells","volume":"23 6","pages":"454-462"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135259372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Oxygen diffusion and surface exchange coefficients measurements under high pressure: Comparative behavior of oxygen deficient versus over-stoichiometric air electrode materials","authors":"Jérôme Laurencin, Jacinthe Gamon, Aurélien Flura, Giuseppe Sdanghi, Sébastien Fourcade, Vaibhav Vibhu, Jean-Marc Bassat","doi":"10.1002/fuce.202300048","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fuce.202300048","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Mixed ionic electronic conductors (MIECs) oxides are used as electrode materials for solid oxide cell (SOC) application, as they combine high electronic conductivity as well as high oxygen diffusivity and oxygen surface exchange coefficients. The ionic transport properties can be directly determined thanks to the isotopic exchange depth profiling (IEDP) method. To date, the reported measurements have been performed at ambient pressure and below. However, for a higher efficiency of hydrogen production at the system level, it is envisaged to operate the cell between 10 and 60 bar. To characterize the MIEC oxides properties in such conditions, an innovative setup able to operate up to a total pressure of 50 bar and 900°C has been developed. The main goal of this study was to compare the behavior of two types of reference materials: the oxygen deficient La-Sr-Fe-Co perovskites, and the overstoichiometric lanthanide nickelates <i>Ln</i><sub>2</sub>NiO<sub>4+</sub><i><sub>δ</sub> (Ln</i> = La, Pr, Nd). Diffusion and surface exchange coefficients obtained under 6.3 bar of oxygen are measured and their evolution discussed in light of the change in oxygen stoichiometries. This analysis allows better understanding of the dependency of the surface exchange coefficient with the oxygen partial pressure.</p>","PeriodicalId":12566,"journal":{"name":"Fuel Cells","volume":"23 6","pages":"366-376"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fuce.202300048","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42000975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fuel CellsPub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.1002/fuce.202300037
Andreas Egger, Sarah Eisbacher-Lubensky, Kathrin Sampl, Vanja Subotić, Christoph Hochenauer, Werner Sitte, Edith Bucher
{"title":"Pr- and Co-substitution in rare earth nickelates: Application as SOEC air electrodes","authors":"Andreas Egger, Sarah Eisbacher-Lubensky, Kathrin Sampl, Vanja Subotić, Christoph Hochenauer, Werner Sitte, Edith Bucher","doi":"10.1002/fuce.202300037","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fuce.202300037","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this work, fundamental material properties of compounds in the system (La,Pr)<sub>2</sub>(Ni,Co)O<sub>4+δ</sub> as well as their performance as air electrodes in solid oxide electrolysis cells were investigated. Nickelates co-doped with Pr and Co were characterized on a material basis by means of X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetry. Conductivity and conductivity relaxation measurements were performed in order to obtain the electronic conductivity as well as the chemical surface exchange coefficient and the chemical diffusion coefficient of oxygen as a function of temperature and oxygen partial pressure. These parameters can be regarded as the most essential properties at the material level required to assess the suitability of mixed ionic-electronic conducting ceramics for application as air electrode in solid oxide cells. The electrode performance of the materials was then tested on fuel electrode-supported button cells at 800°C. The electrodes were applied by screen-printing and the effect of varying the Pr-content and Co-content of the electrode powder was investigated. Cell tests were performed by means of current-voltage measurements in electrolysis mode. While no significant impact of Pr-doping on the investigated material properties was observed, the electrode performance of Pr-containing materials was significantly better than for the Pr-free compound, which has been discussed in detail.</p>","PeriodicalId":12566,"journal":{"name":"Fuel Cells","volume":"23 6","pages":"387-398"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fuce.202300037","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43158860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}