Technology

• Leading the Way
• The Difference is Copper
• Recent Developments
• Patents, Technical Papers & Presentations

 







 

 




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 






 

 

 

 






 

 

 




 

 



 

OUR DIFFERENCE IS COPPER -

A PROVEN DIFFERENCE THAT WORKS NOW!

Franklin is unique among all SOFC technology companies because Franklin is the only fuel-cell technology company to offer patented, proprietary Copper-Ceria anode technology to enable operation of an SOFC directly on heavy hydrocarbon fuels such as diesel or gasoline without the problems common to the state of the art Nickel SOFC.

THE PROBLEM WITH DIRECT OXIDATION ON NICKEL ANODES:

In the traditional SOFC, Nickel is used in the anode to perform two functions: it’s the catalyst that breaks the fuel down, and it’s also the conductor of electrons. The problem with Nickel is that it is such a good catalyst that it catalyzes the carbon in a hydrocarbon fuel and “fouls” – which destroys the cell.
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The photo at the right shows what happens in traditional Nickel-anode SOFC “fouling”: When the carbon in a hydrocarbon fuel comes in contact with the Nickel, it catalyzes and attaches to the Nickel. As more carbon contacts the Nickel it keeps building up, lifting and removing the Nickel from the ceramic material, thereby destroying the cell’s strength and integrity.)
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Next, the common Nickel-based anode is very sensitive to Sulfur, which is contained in all of our readily-available hydrocarbon fuels. In fact, Nickel cannot handle the Sulfur levels in our most common fuels like gasoline, diesel and kerosene.

Therefore, traditional Nickel SOFCs have two major problems that are vital to its ability to work with current hydrocarbon fuels.

To overcome these problems, all current Nickel anode-based technologies require the use of reformers to convert the hydrocarbon fuels into a hydrogen-rich form that can be handled by the Nickel anode. But that adds more problems: The reformers greatly reduce the system’s efficiency and add cost, size, weight, and complexity to the system.

Additionally, a system based on Nickel SOFCs also requires a de-sulfurizer, which again reduces efficiency and adds further to system cost, size and complexity. Depending on the operating conditions, sulfur poisoning of a Nickel anode can occur with sulfur concentrations as low as 5 to 10 ppm, well short of the sulfur levels found in today's fuels.

HOW FRANKLIN’S TECHNOLOGY SOLVES THESE PROBLEMS:

Franklin’s singularly-unique, proven technology solves the problem in several key ways.

First, Franklin’s unique approach was to separate the two functions of Nickel with Copper to handle electronic conductivity and Ceria (CeO2) to act as an oxidation catalyst.

The advantage of Franklin’s proprietary Copper-Ceria anode technology is that it does not “foul” when exposed to hydrocarbon fuels, AND has a Sulfur tolerance as high as 500ppm, resulting in much better system efficiency and fuel flexibility! (Copper is inert to hydrocarbon fuels and does not “foul” like Nickel; Ceria is an excellent catalyst used in automotive applications and has a high Sulfur tolerance.)

Next, Franklin’s DOSOFC (Direct Oxidation Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) technology allows direct oxidation of the hydrocarbon fuel by feeding it directly into the fuel cell with no reforming, de-Sulfurization, or addition of steam - resulting in much greater system simplicity which reduces system size, capital costs, complexity and maintenance. (See diagram to the right.)

THE RESULTS:

• Unmatched fuel flexibility. Franklin’s technology can – and does – run on virtually every commercially-available liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon fuel without requiring fuel-cell modifications one fuel to the next! This unmatched flexibility has already been proven and demonstrated on BP/Amoco 93 octane pump Gasoline, Ethanol, Propane, 2006 commercial Diesel, Natural Gas, Butane, Methane, Hexane, Decane, Dodecane, Hexadecane, JP-8, and others. (Click on chart to the right.)
• No need for the cost, size, weight and efficiency-robbing reformation and de-Sulfurization equipment
• Higher system efficiency – up to two times higher than internal combustion engines, and 56% (LHV) electrical efficiency expected for operation on fuels such as diesel!
• Lower capital costs and maintenance