SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL DEVICE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED SUBSTRATE WITH A HOT AND A COLD PORTION

摘要

The invention provides a solid oxide fuel cell device and a fuel cell system incorporating a plurality of the fuel devices, each device including an elongate substrate having a reaction zone in a first portion of the length for heating to an operating reaction temperature and at least one cold zone in a second portion of the length that remains at a low temperature below the operating reaction temperature when the reaction zone is heated. In one embodiment, an electrolyte is disposed between an anode and a cathode in the reaction zone, and the anode and cathode each have an electrical pathway extending to an exterior surface of the at least one cold zone for electrical connection at low temperature. According to another embodiment, the length of the elongate substrate is the greatest dimension such that the elongate substrate has a coefficient of thermal expansion having only one dominant axis that is coextensive with the length. According to yet another embodiment, fuel and/or air supplies are coupled to the device at a cold end for supplying fuel and/or air to passages within the elongate substrate. The system of the invention further includes a plurality of the devices positioned with their first portions in a hot zone chamber and their cold zones extending outside the hot zone chamber. A heat source is coupled to the hot zone chamber to heat the reaction zones to the operating reaction temperature. According to one embodiement, electrical connections are made to the anodes and cathodes in the cold zones. Methods of use and methods of making are further provided.