Operation of a carbonate fuel cell power plant on propane

FUEL 206

Joseph Daly, jdaly@fce.com, FuelCell Energy, Inc, 3 Great Pasture Road, Danbury, CT 06813 and George Steinfeld, gsteinfeld@fce.com, FuelCell Energy, 3 Great Pasture Road, Danbury, CT 06813.
The ability to operate highly efficient, pollution-free, distributed-generation power plants on propane is of interest in remote sites such as islands and national parks. Propane as a main or back up fuel can serve secure power for critical power operations such as data centers, military bases and hospitals.

FuelCell Energy (FCE) operated a 250 kW carbonate direct fuel cell test stack for 1500 hours, generating 300,000 kilowatt-hours net AC electricity using HD-5 grade propane as fuel. A commercial FCE fuel cell power plant was later modified for propane operation and was operated on propane for over 3,900 hours achieving high electrical efficiency (45.7% – 47.1 % lower heating value) over a broad range of power outputs. Performance was comparable to natural gas operation.