Methane reforming in solid oxide fuel cells: Challenges and strategies

Methane, mainly derived from fossil fuels, coal and natural gas, is a widely used industrial resource for hydrogen production via the reforming process. However, due to their unsustainability and the high carbon emission during the reforming process, more effective utilization of precious natural resources is desired. Therefore, sustainable resources such as biogas derived from biomass are attracting more and more attention for hydrogen and power production. A renewed interest in the flexible application of biogas in solid oxide fuel cells has recently attracted attention as a green pathway for hydrogen and power production driven by the fast development of fuel cell technology, especially in material technologies. However, the methane reforming process in solid oxide fuel cells suffers from low long-term operability, such as carbon deposition and sulphur poisoning over the anode materials. Therefore, the operational strategies for safe and stable operations are first discussed. Following that, the development of the anode materials to facilitate the methane reforming reaction while mitigating the subsequent insufficient catalyst stability such as deformation and degradation is conducted. Hopefully, this review can provide a practical perspective for sustainable hydrogen and power production in solid oxide fuel cells using biogas.