IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i12p3055-d1675205.html

Controlled Growth of α-Al 2 O 3 Nanofilm on FeCrAl Alloy as an Effective Cr Barrier for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Cathode Air Pre-Heaters

Author

Listed:
  • Kun Zhang

    (Centre for Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Research, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK)

  • Ahmad El-Kharouf

    (Centre for Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Research, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK)

  • Robert Steinberger-Wilckens

    (Centre for Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Research, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK)

Abstract

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems often employ metallic cathode air pre-heaters (CAPHs), frequently made from alloys with high chromium (Cr) content, to recover thermal energy from exhaust gases and pre-heat incoming air and fuel. Cr evaporation from metallic CAPHs can poison SOFC cathodes, reducing their durability. To mitigate this, we investigated controlled pre-oxidation of a FeCrAl alloy (alloy 318) to form a protective alumina scale by self-growing, assessing its impact on and oxidation resistance and Cr retention capability for CAPH applications. The effects of pre-oxidation were investigated across a temperature range of 800 to 1100 °C and dwelling times of 0.5 to 4 h. The formed oxide scales were characterised using gravimetry in combination with advanced analytic techniques, such as SEM/EDX, STEM/EDX, TEM, and XRD. Subsequently, the pre-oxidised FeCrAl alloys were characterised with respect to the oxidation rate and Cr 2 O 3 evaporation in a tubular furnace at 850 °C, with 6.0 L/min air flow and 3 vol% H 2 O to simulate the SOFC cathode environment. TEM analysis confirmed that the FeCrAl alloys formed alumina scales with 10 nm and 34 nm thickness after 1 h of pre-oxidation at 900 and 1100 °C, respectively. The corrosion and Cr 2 O 3 evaporation rates of the FeCrAl alloy at 850 °C in humidified air were shown to be dramatically decreased by pre-oxidation. It was found that the mechanisms of oxidation and Cr 2 O 3 evaporation were found to be controlled by the formation of different alumina phases during the pre-oxidation. Measurements of Cr 2 O 3 evaporation and weight gain revealed that the alloy 318 pre-treated at 1100 °C for 1 h will form an α-Al 2 O 3 scale, leading to a 98% reduction of the oxidation rate and 90% reduction of Cr 2 O 3 evaporation compared to the non-oxidised alloy 318 under simulated SOFC cathode conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Kun Zhang & Ahmad El-Kharouf & Robert Steinberger-Wilckens, 2025. "Controlled Growth of α-Al 2 O 3 Nanofilm on FeCrAl Alloy as an Effective Cr Barrier for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Cathode Air Pre-Heaters," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-20, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:12:p:3055-:d:1675205
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/12/3055/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/12/3055/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhou, Lingfeng & Mason, Jerry H. & Li, Wenyuan & Liu, Xingbo, 2020. "Comprehensive review of chromium deposition and poisoning of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) cathode materials," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    2. Mingfei Li & Jingjing Wang & Zhengpeng Chen & Xiuyang Qian & Chuanqi Sun & Di Gan & Kai Xiong & Mumin Rao & Chuangting Chen & Xi Li, 2024. "A Comprehensive Review of Thermal Management in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: Focus on Burners, Heat Exchangers, and Strategies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-30, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhou, Lingfeng & Liu, Jing & Chen, Dihao & Huang, Chengpeng & Fu, Shaohua & Wang, Yanshun & Wang, Junsen & Wang, Jianbo & Cheng, Y. Frank, 2026. "Hydrogen blending into natural gas networks: global practices, infrastructure compatibility, and end-user implications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 402(PC).
    2. Zheng, Hongxiang & Jiang, Wenchun & Luo, Yun & Song, Ming & Zhang, Xiucheng & Tu, Shan-Tung, 2025. "Electrochemical and mechanical performance degradation mechanisms of solid oxide fuel cell stacks under long-term operation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    3. Pina, Eduardo A. & Sharma, Shivom & Amladi, Amogh & Diethelm, Stefan & Maréchal, François & Van Herle, Jan, 2025. "A novel waterborne Solid Oxide Fuel Cell-based cogeneration system with realistic heat management," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    4. Gao, Jianwei & Si, Xiaoqing & Ding, Hanyue & Yang, Haoran & Xue, Pengpeng & Zhou, Long & Yang, Bo & Li, Chun & Qi, Junlei & Cao, Jian, 2026. "A comprehensive review on tuning Mn-Co and Mn-Cu spinel coatings via strategic doping for advanced solid oxide fuel cell interconnects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    5. Whiston, Michael M. & Lima Azevedo, Inês M. & Litster, Shawn & Samaras, Constantine & Whitefoot, Kate S. & Whitacre, Jay F., 2021. "Paths to market for stationary solid oxide fuel cells: Expert elicitation and a cost of electricity model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    6. Khan, Muhammad Zubair & Saleem, Mohsin & Hanif, Muhammad Bilal & Koh, Jung-Hyuk & Hussain, Iftikhar & Gulshan, Urooba & Latif, Sumaira & Liang, Hanfeng & Ghaffar, Abdul & Shakir, Imran & Lin, Bin, 2026. "Advanced electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for high-performance solid oxide fuel cells: A critical review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 407(C).
    7. Joelle C. W. Mah & Isyraf Aznam & Andanastuti Muchtar & Mahendra Rao Somalu & Jarot Raharjo, 2023. "Synthesis of (Cu,Mn,Co) 3 O 4 Spinel: Effects of Citrate-to-Nitrate Ratio on Its Homogeneity and Electrical Properties," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-11, January.
    8. Feng Zhu & Kang Xu & Yuhe Liao & Liyan Chen & Yangsen Xu & Feng Hu & Fan He & Xirui Zhang & Yu Chen, 2026. "A medium-entropy oxygen electrode enables high-performance and contaminant-tolerant reversible solid oxide cells," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 17(1), pages 1-13, December.
    9. Kim, Namwoo & Oh, Seonguk & Yu, Wonjong & Song, Jaeman, 2025. "Waste heat harvesting from thin-film solid oxide fuel cells via multi-junction near-field thermophotovoltaic integration," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    10. Liu, Yechang & Ning, Zhi & Sun, Chunhua & Zheng, Xuan & Wang, Lintao & Wei, Yongqi & Lv, Ming, 2025. "Experimental study on the operational characteristics and coupling relationships of burners, heat exchangers, and reformers in a kerosene solid oxide fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 382(C).
    11. Mohsen Fallah Vostakola & Bahman Amini Horri, 2021. "Progress in Material Development for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-53, February.
    12. Sikiru, Surajudeen & Olutoki, John Oluwadamilola & Rahman, Md Siddikur & Kandasamy, Muthusamy & Alomayri, Thamer, 2026. "Hybrid enhancement of SOFC anodes: Integrating modulated electrical double layers and phase change materials for carbon-resilient energy conversion," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:12:p:3055-:d:1675205. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.