ABSTRACT
Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs) are the most advanced type of fuel cells, and are considered to be technically mature since commercial PAFC units are already available, commonly in 200-kW size range, after nearly 30 years of development. Therefore, PAFCs have been referred to as the first-generation fuel cell technology. Unlike the alkaline fuel cell which was primarily developed for space applications, the PAFC was targeted initially for terrestrial commercial applications with the CO2- containing air as the oxidant gas and hydrocarbons (natural gas in particular) as the primary fuel for power generation. Hydrogen is still the fuel feeding the fuel cell operation and it is produced through the steam reforming of hydrocarbon fuels.
