ABSTRACT
Flame Fuel Cells (FFCs) based on bunsen burners were used by M. Horiuchi et al. to combust n-butane, kerosene, paraffin wax, and wood, proving that electricity can be produced from various types of fuels in FFCs. This chapter reviews the structures and characteristics of McKenna flat-flame burners, Hencken burners, and porous media burners used in FFCs. Operational parameters such as equivalence ratios, inlet gas flow rates, and distances between the burner and the solid oxide fuel cell dominates the FFC performances. The experimental results showed that the highest efficiency of the tested FFC was only 0.45% when the flame speed was 30 cm/s and the fuel/air ratio was 1.1. Fuel-rich combustion burners are one of the most important components of FFCs because the uniformity and stability of the flame are dominating factors for proper operation of the cell. Porous combustors are used for the combustion of low heating value gases in ultralean conditions or for hydrogen production in fuel-rich combustion.
