Diesel or JP-8 powered solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power plants are envisioned for both critical and non-critical military use such as auxiliary power units (APUs), portable power, tent cities, camp kitchens, and permanent stationary power. The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is leading a team to develop a SOFC power system operating with processed military logistic fuels (i.e., diesel, JP-8) with Versa Power Systems (Littleton, CO) and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) in Champaign, Illinois U.S.A. The program goal is to develop logistic fuel-powered SOFC power systems up to 10-kW capacities for stationary/mobile applications.
The multi-year project has resulted in the design, fabrication and testing of an integrated 3-kW power generation system. New features have been implemented to reduce the number of components and optimize system unit integration and operation. The paper presents the operational data from a 3-kW integrated JP-8 fuel processor-SOFC stack prototype system. The system reforms the 700+ ppmw sulfur laden JP-8 fuel and specifically tailors the methane content of the reformate to facilitate heat management in the stack via direct internal reforming, thus reducing cathode air flow and parasitic power. The steam reforming system is nearly water-neutral via water recovery from the catalytically combusted spent anode exhaust.