A citricultura, introduzida no Brasil na época da colonização e explorada comercialmente a partir dos anos 30 do século passado, é um setor de grande importância para o agronegócio brasileiro. Atualmente, o Brasil detém 50% da produção mundial de laranja e cerca de 85% de toda exportação mundial, representando uma captação de divisas de cerca de 2,5 bilhões de dólares por ano, devido principalmente à exportação do suco de laranja. Apesar do suco ser o principal produto de exportação da citricultura, vários subprodutos com valor comercial são obtidos durante seu processo de produção, tais como os óleos essenciais cítricos. Esses subprodutos localizam-se na casca da fruta e são obtidos durante o processo de extração do suco de laranja por prensagem a frio. Devido ao uso intensivo de pesticidas na citricultura e que muitas vezes se acumula na casca da fruta é comum à obtenção de óleos essenciais com resíduos de pesticidas, o que reduz seu preço de mercado internacional e limita sua inserção em mercados exigentes como o Europeu, Japonês e Americano, por exemplo. Este trabalho propõe o desenvolvimento de metodologias eletroanalíticas para a determinação de alguns pesticidas amplamente utilizados na citricultura brasileira e que têm sido encontrados nos óleos essenciais produzidos pelas indústrias de processamento. Inicialmente, foram realizados testes para avaliação da eletroatividade de três pesticidas (piridafention, cihexatina e bromopropilato) amplamente utilizados no Brasil, mas que são proibidos na maioria dos países importadores, sendo, portanto, de importância estratégica. Utilizando-se a técnica de voltametria cíclica verificou-se que o piridafention apresenta resposta sobre o eletrodo compósito de grafite-poliuretana (GPU), a cihexatina apresentou eletroatividade sobre o eletrodo de filme de bismuto e o bromopropilato não foi eletroativo nas superfícies eletródicas testadas. Varreduras realizadas com voltametria cíclica mostraram que o piridafention apresenta um pico de redução em -0,80 V (vs. EECS) sobre eletrodo compósito de GPU em meio ácido (tampão Britton-Robinson 0,1 mol L-1) com características de processo irreversível. Em seguida, desenvolveu-se uma metodologia eletroanalítica, utilizando a técnica de voltametria de onda quadrada (SWV), com a otimização do pH da solução (1,0) e demais parâmetros da SWV como a frequência (80 s-1), amplitude do pulso (50 mV) e incremento de varredura (ΔEi = 5 mV). Curvas analíticas foram obtidas no intervalo de 1,46 a 17,1 µmol L-1, apresentando boa linearidade, com coeficiente de determinação (r2) de 0,998. Os limites de detecção (LD) e de quantificação (LQ) obtidos foram de 0,27 µmol L-1 e 0,92 µmol L-1, respectivamente. A precisão da metodologia desenvolvida foi avaliada por meio da repetibilidade e a reprodutibilidade e a exatidão determinada pelo erro relativo. Os testes de recuperação realizados pelo método de adição de padrão forneceram valores de 98%. A metodologia eletroanalítica desenvolvida para determinação do piridafention foi aplicada em amostras de óleo essencial de laranja, contaminadas com três níveis de concentração 1,5, 2,9 e 5,9 µmol L-1. Foram avaliados quatro procedimentos de extração líquido-líquido, utilizando água Milli-Q como extrator: i) agitação manual da mistura (10 mL de óleo e 10 mL de água) por 4 minutos com repetição do procedimento por 3 vezes; ii) agitação magnética da mistura (5 mL de óleo e 50 mL de água) por 20 minutos em uma única etapa, à temperatura ambiente; iii) agitação magnética da mistura (5 mL de óleo e 50 mL de água) por 20 minutos em uma única etapa, à temperatura de 45°C; iv) agitação da mistura em mesa orbital com tempo de agitação variando de 5 até 180 minutos. Os melhores resultados foram obtidos com o procedimento utilizando a agitação por mesa orbital (iv), sendo recomendado, portanto, para extração do piridafention em amostras de óleo essencial de laranja. No caso da cihexatina, os testes realizados visando à determinação de uma metodologia eletroanalítica mostraram uma baixa reprodutibilidade do eletrodo filme de bismuto inviabilizando a sua aplicação na eletroanálise da cihexatina. Entretanto, devido à importância da cihexatina e do bromopropilato recomenda-se a realização de mais estudos eletroquímicos com o objetivo de se estabelecer novos métodos de análise. / The citrus production introduced in Brazil during the colonization period and commercially exploited since 1930, is very important for the Brazilian agribusiness. Currently, Brazil is responsible for 50% of the total world citrus production and for about 85% of the citrus world exportation trade, representing an income of about 2.5 billion dollars for the country yearly. The orange juice is the major product of the citrus industry, but other commercially valuable byproducts can be obtained during the manufacturing process, such as the citrus essential oils. These byproduct, located at the orange fruit exocarp, are extracted during the juice production process by cold pressing. Due to the use of pesticides in the citrus production, these agrochemicals can be occasionally presented in extracted essential oil products as unwished residues, which significantly reduce their values in the international market and restrict their insertion in exigent markets as the European, Japanese and North American, for instance. This study aim to develop electroanalytical methodologies for the determination of some pesticides widely employed in the Brazilian citrus production and that has been found in the essential oils produced by the processing industries. Preliminar tests were conducted to evaluate the electroactivity of three pesticides (pyridaphention, cyhexatin and bromopropylate) widely applied in Brazil, but not regulated for use in most of the importing countries. Using the cyclic voltammetry technique, these experiments showed that pyridaphenthion presented a good electrochemical response on the graphite-polyurethane composite electrode (GPU), cyhexatin showed electroactivity on thin bismuth film electrode and bromopropylate was not electroactive on the tested electodes. Studies conducted using cyclic voltammetry showed that pyridaphenthion presents a reduction peak in -0.8 V (vs. ESCE) on GPU in acidic medium (Britton - Robinson buffer 0.1 mol L- 1(BR)) with features of an irreversible process. The electroanalytical methodology for pyridaphenthion analysis was developed using square wave voltammetry (SWV) with optimization of pH (1.0) and the SWV scanning parameters, as pulse frequency (80 s-1), amplitude (50 mV), and increment (ΔEi = 5 mV). An analytical curve was obtained for concentrations ranging from 1.46 a 17.1 µmol L-1, showing good linearity expressed in the determination coefficient (r2) of 0.998. The detection limit (LOD) and quantification limit (LOQ) obtained were 0.27 µmol L-1 and 0.92 µmol L-1, respectively. The precision was evaluated by means its repeatability and reproductibility, while accuracy was assessed by means relative error. Recovery experiments conducted using the standard addition method provided a concentration recovering level of 98%. The electroanalytical methodology developed for pyridaphenthion was applied in citrus essential oil samples spiked with three concentration levels 1.5, 2.9 and 5.9 µmol L-1. Four liquid-liquid extraction procedures were evaluated using only Milli-Q purified water as extracting agent: i) manual stirring of the mixture (10 mL of essential oil and 10 mL of water) during 4 minutes, repeating the procedure three times; ii) magnetic stirring of the mixture (5 mL of essential oil and 50 mL of water) during 20 minutes, in a single step, at room temperature; iii) magnetic stirring of the mixture (5 mL of essential oil and 50 mL of water) during 20 minutes, in a single step, at 45o C; iv) orbital shaking of the mixture (5 mL of essential oil and 50 mL of water) for different period of times varying from 5 to 180 minutes. The best results were obtained with the procedure using the orbital shaking table (iv), which is, therefore, recommended for extraction of pyridaphention residues in citrus essential oils samples. For the cyhexatin, studies carried out aiming to determine an electroanalytical methodology, showed low reproducibility of the bismuth film, preventing its application in the electroanalysis of cyhexatin. However, due to the importance of these pesticides in citrus essential oils production it is recommended additional studies regarding the electrochemistry and electroanalysis of these chemicals.

Au cours des dernières années, la production excédentaire et sans cesse croissante de bioglycérol a provoqué une chute spectaculaire de son prix. Au cours des dernières années, un grand nombre de processus chimiques et biologiques ont été élaborés pour transformer le bioglycérol en divers produits à haute valeur ajoutée, tels que la dihydroxyacétone, l'acide glycolique, le 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO), 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO), l'acide glycérique, l'acide lactique, le carbonate de glycérol etc. Malheureusement, ces procédés souffrent de nombreux inconvénients comme par exemple, un coût élevé de production. Par conséquent, dans cette étude, une synthèse simple et robuste, basée sur un processus électrochimique a été introduite afin de convertir le bioglycérol en une grande variété de composés à haute valeur ajoutée. Cette étude rapporte pour la première fois l'utilisation de la résine Amberlyst-15 comme milieu réactionnel et comme catalyseur d'oxydo-réduction pour la conversion électrochimique du glycérol. La performance électrochimique du système composé par la résine Amberlyst-15 et l’électrode au platine (Pt), a été comparée à celle utilisant un milieu électrolytique conventionnel acide (H2SO4) ou alcalin (NaOH). D'autres paramètres tels que la température de réaction (température ambiante à 80 °C) et l’intensité du courant appliqué (1,0 A à 3,0 A) ont également été examinés. Dans les conditions expérimentales optimales, ce nouveau procédé électrocatalytique permet de convertir le glycérol, soit en acide glycolique, avec un rendement de 45% et une sélectivité élevée de 65%, soit en acide glycérique, avec un rendement de 27% et une sélectivité de 38%. D’autre part, deux autres électrodes ont été préparées et testées dans la réaction de transformation du glycérol : une électrode au charbon actif (ACC) et une électrode composite au noir de carbone et diamant CBD). A notre connaissance, il n’existe pas dans la littérature d’étude de transformation électrochimique du glycérol utilisant ce type d’électrodes. Dans ce travail, nous avons montré que le glycérol peut être oxydé en divers composés d’oxydation mais peut également être réduit avec succès en acide lactique,1,2-PDO et 1,3-PDO. Trois paramètres de fonctionnement, tels que la quantité de catalyseur (6.4 -12.8% w/v), la température de réaction [température ambiante (27°C) à 80 °C] et l’intensité du courant appliqué (1,0 A à 3,0 A), ont été testés. L'étude a révélé que, pour une quantité de catalyseur 9.6% w/v Amberlyst-15, un courant de 2,0 A et une température de 80 °C, la sélectivité en acide glycolique peut atteindre jusqu'à 72% et 68% (avec un rendement de 66% et 58%) en utilisant respectivement l’électrode ACC et l’électrode CBD. L'acide lactique a aussi été obtenu avec une sélectivité de 16% et un rendement de 15% en utilisant l’électrode ACC et une sélectivité de 27% pour un rendement de 21% dans le cas de l'électrode CBD. Enfin, l'électrooxydation et l'électro-réduction du glycérol a été effectuée dans une cellule à deux compartiments séparés par une membrane échangeuse de cations (Nafion 117). L’étude s’est focalisée sur l’électro-réduction. Trois cathodes (Pt, ACC et CDB) ont été évaluées dans les conditions suivantes : 2.0 A, 80 °C et 9.6% w/v Amberlyst-15. Les trois électrodes ont permis de réduire le glycérol en 1,2-PDO. Nous avons obtenu une sélectivité de 61% avec l’électrode au Pt et une sélectivité de 68% avec L’électrode CBD. En fait, c’est l’électrode ACC qui a démontré les meilleures performances puisqu’elle a permis de réduire le glycérol en 1,2-PDO avec une sélectivité élevée de 85%. Enfin, la réaction conduit aussi à la formation d’acétol et de diéthylèneglycol. Les mécanismes de formation des différents produits obtenus à partir de chaque réaction sont proposés. / The price of crude glycerol has significantly decreased worldwide because of its oversupply. Many chemical and biological processes have been proposed to transform glycerol into numerous value-added products, such as glycolic acid, 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO), 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO), glyceric acid, and lactic acid. However, these processes suffer from several drawbacks, including high production cost. Therefore, in this study, a simple and robust electrochemical synthesiswas developed to convert glycerol into various value-added compounds. This study reports for the first time the use of Amberlyst-15 as a reaction mediumand redox catalyst for electrochemical conversion of glycerol. In the first part, the electrochemical performance of Amberlyst-15 over platinum (Pt)electrode was compared with that of conventional acidic (H2SO4) and alkaline (NaOH) media. Other parameters such as reaction temperature [room temperature (27°C) to 80 °C] and applied current (1.0 A to 3.0 A) were also examined. Under the optimized experimental condition, this novel electrocatalytic method successfully converted glycerol into glycolic acid after 8 h of electrolysis, with a yield of 45% and selectivity of 65%, as well as to glyceric acid after 3 h of electrolysis, with a yield of 27% and selectivity of 38%. In the second part of this study, two types of cathode electrodes, namely, activated carbon composite(ACC) and carbon black diamond (CBD) electrodes, were used in electrochemical conversion of glycerol. To the best of our knowledge, electrochemical studies of glycerol conversion using these electrodes have not been reported yet. Glycerol was also successfully reduced to lactic acid, 1,2-PDO, and 1,3-PDO, in addition to oxidation compounds (e.g. glycolic acid). Three operating parameters, namely, catalyst amount (6.4% to 12.8% w/v), reaction temperature [room temperature (27 °C) to 80 °C], and applied current (1.0 A to 3.0 A), were tested. In the presence of 9.6% w/v Amberlyst-15 at 2.0 A and 80 °C, the selectivity of glycolic acid can reach 72% and 68% (with yield of 66% and 58%) for ACC and CBD electrodes, respectively. Lactic acid was obtained as the second largest compound, withselectivity of 16% and yield of 15% for the ACC electrode and 27% selectivity and 21% yield for the CBD electrode. Finally, electro-oxidation and electroreduction of glycerol were performed in a two-compartment cell separated by a cation exchange membrane (Nafion 117). This study only focused on the electroreduction region. Three cathode electrodes (Pt, ACC, and CBD) were evaluated under the following conditions: 2.0 A, 80 °C, and 9.6% w/v Amberlyst-15. ACC demonstrated excellent performance in the electroreduction study and successfully reduced glycerol to 1,2-PDO, with a high selectivity of 85%. The selectivity of 1,2-PDO on Pt and CBD was 61% and 68%, respectively. Acetol and diethylene glycol were also obtained. The reaction mechanisms underlying the formation of these products are then proposed.

A citricultura, introduzida no Brasil na época da colonização e explorada comercialmente a partir dos anos 30 do século passado, é um setor de grande importância para o agronegócio brasileiro. Atualmente, o Brasil detém 50% da produção mundial de laranja e cerca de 85% de toda exportação mundial, representando uma captação de divisas de cerca de 2,5 bilhões de dólares por ano, devido principalmente à exportação do suco de laranja. Apesar do suco ser o principal produto de exportação da citricultura, vários subprodutos com valor comercial são obtidos durante seu processo de produção, tais como os óleos essenciais cítricos. Esses subprodutos localizam-se na casca da fruta e são obtidos durante o processo de extração do suco de laranja por prensagem a frio. Devido ao uso intensivo de pesticidas na citricultura e que muitas vezes se acumula na casca da fruta é comum à obtenção de óleos essenciais com resíduos de pesticidas, o que reduz seu preço de mercado internacional e limita sua inserção em mercados exigentes como o Europeu, Japonês e Americano, por exemplo. Este trabalho propõe o desenvolvimento de metodologias eletroanalíticas para a determinação de alguns pesticidas amplamente utilizados na citricultura brasileira e que têm sido encontrados nos óleos essenciais produzidos pelas indústrias de processamento. Inicialmente, foram realizados testes para avaliação da eletroatividade de três pesticidas (piridafention, cihexatina e bromopropilato) amplamente utilizados no Brasil, mas que são proibidos na maioria dos países importadores, sendo, portanto, de importância estratégica. Utilizando-se a técnica de voltametria cíclica verificou-se que o piridafention apresenta resposta sobre o eletrodo compósito de grafite-poliuretana (GPU), a cihexatina apresentou eletroatividade sobre o eletrodo de filme de bismuto e o bromopropilato não foi eletroativo nas superfícies eletródicas testadas. Varreduras realizadas com voltametria cíclica mostraram que o piridafention apresenta um pico de redução em -0,80 V (vs. EECS) sobre eletrodo compósito de GPU em meio ácido (tampão Britton-Robinson 0,1 mol L-1) com características de processo irreversível. Em seguida, desenvolveu-se uma metodologia eletroanalítica, utilizando a técnica de voltametria de onda quadrada (SWV), com a otimização do pH da solução (1,0) e demais parâmetros da SWV como a frequência (80 s-1), amplitude do pulso (50 mV) e incremento de varredura (ΔEi = 5 mV). Curvas analíticas foram obtidas no intervalo de 1,46 a 17,1 µmol L-1, apresentando boa linearidade, com coeficiente de determinação (r2) de 0,998. Os limites de detecção (LD) e de quantificação (LQ) obtidos foram de 0,27 µmol L-1 e 0,92 µmol L-1, respectivamente. A precisão da metodologia desenvolvida foi avaliada por meio da repetibilidade e a reprodutibilidade e a exatidão determinada pelo erro relativo. Os testes de recuperação realizados pelo método de adição de padrão forneceram valores de 98%. A metodologia eletroanalítica desenvolvida para determinação do piridafention foi aplicada em amostras de óleo essencial de laranja, contaminadas com três níveis de concentração 1,5, 2,9 e 5,9 µmol L-1. Foram avaliados quatro procedimentos de extração líquido-líquido, utilizando água Milli-Q como extrator: i) agitação manual da mistura (10 mL de óleo e 10 mL de água) por 4 minutos com repetição do procedimento por 3 vezes; ii) agitação magnética da mistura (5 mL de óleo e 50 mL de água) por 20 minutos em uma única etapa, à temperatura ambiente; iii) agitação magnética da mistura (5 mL de óleo e 50 mL de água) por 20 minutos em uma única etapa, à temperatura de 45°C; iv) agitação da mistura em mesa orbital com tempo de agitação variando de 5 até 180 minutos. Os melhores resultados foram obtidos com o procedimento utilizando a agitação por mesa orbital (iv), sendo recomendado, portanto, para extração do piridafention em amostras de óleo essencial de laranja. No caso da cihexatina, os testes realizados visando à determinação de uma metodologia eletroanalítica mostraram uma baixa reprodutibilidade do eletrodo filme de bismuto inviabilizando a sua aplicação na eletroanálise da cihexatina. Entretanto, devido à importância da cihexatina e do bromopropilato recomenda-se a realização de mais estudos eletroquímicos com o objetivo de se estabelecer novos métodos de análise. / The citrus production introduced in Brazil during the colonization period and commercially exploited since 1930, is very important for the Brazilian agribusiness. Currently, Brazil is responsible for 50% of the total world citrus production and for about 85% of the citrus world exportation trade, representing an income of about 2.5 billion dollars for the country yearly. The orange juice is the major product of the citrus industry, but other commercially valuable byproducts can be obtained during the manufacturing process, such as the citrus essential oils. These byproduct, located at the orange fruit exocarp, are extracted during the juice production process by cold pressing. Due to the use of pesticides in the citrus production, these agrochemicals can be occasionally presented in extracted essential oil products as unwished residues, which significantly reduce their values in the international market and restrict their insertion in exigent markets as the European, Japanese and North American, for instance. This study aim to develop electroanalytical methodologies for the determination of some pesticides widely employed in the Brazilian citrus production and that has been found in the essential oils produced by the processing industries. Preliminar tests were conducted to evaluate the electroactivity of three pesticides (pyridaphention, cyhexatin and bromopropylate) widely applied in Brazil, but not regulated for use in most of the importing countries. Using the cyclic voltammetry technique, these experiments showed that pyridaphenthion presented a good electrochemical response on the graphite-polyurethane composite electrode (GPU), cyhexatin showed electroactivity on thin bismuth film electrode and bromopropylate was not electroactive on the tested electodes. Studies conducted using cyclic voltammetry showed that pyridaphenthion presents a reduction peak in -0.8 V (vs. ESCE) on GPU in acidic medium (Britton - Robinson buffer 0.1 mol L- 1(BR)) with features of an irreversible process. The electroanalytical methodology for pyridaphenthion analysis was developed using square wave voltammetry (SWV) with optimization of pH (1.0) and the SWV scanning parameters, as pulse frequency (80 s-1), amplitude (50 mV), and increment (ΔEi = 5 mV). An analytical curve was obtained for concentrations ranging from 1.46 a 17.1 µmol L-1, showing good linearity expressed in the determination coefficient (r2) of 0.998. The detection limit (LOD) and quantification limit (LOQ) obtained were 0.27 µmol L-1 and 0.92 µmol L-1, respectively. The precision was evaluated by means its repeatability and reproductibility, while accuracy was assessed by means relative error. Recovery experiments conducted using the standard addition method provided a concentration recovering level of 98%. The electroanalytical methodology developed for pyridaphenthion was applied in citrus essential oil samples spiked with three concentration levels 1.5, 2.9 and 5.9 µmol L-1. Four liquid-liquid extraction procedures were evaluated using only Milli-Q purified water as extracting agent: i) manual stirring of the mixture (10 mL of essential oil and 10 mL of water) during 4 minutes, repeating the procedure three times; ii) magnetic stirring of the mixture (5 mL of essential oil and 50 mL of water) during 20 minutes, in a single step, at room temperature; iii) magnetic stirring of the mixture (5 mL of essential oil and 50 mL of water) during 20 minutes, in a single step, at 45o C; iv) orbital shaking of the mixture (5 mL of essential oil and 50 mL of water) for different period of times varying from 5 to 180 minutes. The best results were obtained with the procedure using the orbital shaking table (iv), which is, therefore, recommended for extraction of pyridaphention residues in citrus essential oils samples. For the cyhexatin, studies carried out aiming to determine an electroanalytical methodology, showed low reproducibility of the bismuth film, preventing its application in the electroanalysis of cyhexatin. However, due to the importance of these pesticides in citrus essential oils production it is recommended additional studies regarding the electrochemistry and electroanalysis of these chemicals.

The performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) at the cell and system levels is studied using computer simulation. At the cell level, a new model combining the cell micro and macro models is developed. Using this model, the microstructural variables of porous composite electrodes can be linked to the cell performance. In this approach, the electrochemical performance of porous composite electrodes is predicted using a micro-model. In the micro-model, the random-packing sphere method is used to estimate the microstructural properties of porous composite electrodes from the independent microstructural variables. These variables are the electrode porosity, thickness, particle size ratio, and size and volume fraction of electron-conducting particles. Then, the complex interdependency among the multi-component mass transport, electron and ion transports, and the electrochemical and chemical reactions in the microstructure of electrodes is taken into account to predict the electrochemical performance of electrodes. The temperature distribution in the solid structure of the cell and the temperature and species partial pressure distributions in the bulk fuel and air streams are predicted using the cell macro-model. In the macro-model, the energy transport is considered for the cell solid structure and the mass and energy transports are considered for the fuel and air streams. To demonstrate the application of the cell level model developed, entitled the combined micro- and micro-model, several anode-supported co-flow planar cells with a range of microstructures of porous composite electrodes are simulated. The mean total polarization resistance, the mean total power density, and the temperature distribution in the cells are predicted. The results of this study reveal that there is an optimum value for most of the microstructural variables of the electrodes at which the mean total polarization resistance of the cell is minimized. There is also an optimum value for most of the microstructural variables of the electrodes at which the mean total power density of the cell is maximized. The microstructure of porous composite electrodes also plays a significant role in the mean temperature, the temperature difference between the hottest and coldest spots, and the maximum temperature gradient in the solid structure of the cell. Overall, using the combined micro- and micro-model, an appropriate microstructure for porous composite electrodes to enhance the cell performance can be designed. At the system level, the full load operation of two SOFC systems is studied. To model these systems, the basic cell model is used for SOFCs at the cell level, the repeated-cell stack model is used for SOFCs at the stack level, and the thermodynamic model is used for the balance of plant components of the system. In addition to these models, a carbon deposition model based on the thermodynamic equilibrium assumption is employed. For the system level model, the first SOFC system considered is a combined heat and power (CHP) system that operates with biogas fuel. The performance of this system at three different configurations is evaluated. These configurations are different in the fuel processing method to prevent carbon deposition on the anode catalyst. The fuel processing methods considered in these configurations are the anode gas recirculation (AGR), steam reforming (SR), and partial oxidation reformer (POX) methods. The application of this system is studied for operation in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and in single-family detached dwellings. The evaluation of this system for operation in a WWTP indicates that if the entire biogas produced in the WWTP is used in the system with AGR or SR fuel processors, the electric power and heat required to operate the plant can be completely supplied and the extra electric power generated can be sold to the electrical grid. The evaluation of this system for operation in single-family detached dwellings indicates that, depending on the size, location, and building type and design, this system with all configurations studied is suitable to provide the domestic hot water and electric power demands. The second SOFC system is a novel portable electric power generation system that operates with liquid ammonia fuel. Size, simplicity, and high electrical efficiency are the main advantages of this environmentally friendly system. Using a sensitivity analysis, the effects of the cell voltage at several fuel utilization ratios on the number of cells required for the SOFC stack, system efficiency and voltage, and excess air required for thermal management of the SOFC stack are studied.

The performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) at the cell and system levels is studied using computer simulation. At the cell level, a new model combining the cell micro and macro models is developed. Using this model, the microstructural variables of porous composite electrodes can be linked to the cell performance. In this approach, the electrochemical performance of porous composite electrodes is predicted using a micro-model. In the micro-model, the random-packing sphere method is used to estimate the microstructural properties of porous composite electrodes from the independent microstructural variables. These variables are the electrode porosity, thickness, particle size ratio, and size and volume fraction of electron-conducting particles. Then, the complex interdependency among the multi-component mass transport, electron and ion transports, and the electrochemical and chemical reactions in the microstructure of electrodes is taken into account to predict the electrochemical performance of electrodes. The temperature distribution in the solid structure of the cell and the temperature and species partial pressure distributions in the bulk fuel and air streams are predicted using the cell macro-model. In the macro-model, the energy transport is considered for the cell solid structure and the mass and energy transports are considered for the fuel and air streams. To demonstrate the application of the cell level model developed, entitled the combined micro- and micro-model, several anode-supported co-flow planar cells with a range of microstructures of porous composite electrodes are simulated. The mean total polarization resistance, the mean total power density, and the temperature distribution in the cells are predicted. The results of this study reveal that there is an optimum value for most of the microstructural variables of the electrodes at which the mean total polarization resistance of the cell is minimized. There is also an optimum value for most of the microstructural variables of the electrodes at which the mean total power density of the cell is maximized. The microstructure of porous composite electrodes also plays a significant role in the mean temperature, the temperature difference between the hottest and coldest spots, and the maximum temperature gradient in the solid structure of the cell. Overall, using the combined micro- and micro-model, an appropriate microstructure for porous composite electrodes to enhance the cell performance can be designed. At the system level, the full load operation of two SOFC systems is studied. To model these systems, the basic cell model is used for SOFCs at the cell level, the repeated-cell stack model is used for SOFCs at the stack level, and the thermodynamic model is used for the balance of plant components of the system. In addition to these models, a carbon deposition model based on the thermodynamic equilibrium assumption is employed. For the system level model, the first SOFC system considered is a combined heat and power (CHP) system that operates with biogas fuel. The performance of this system at three different configurations is evaluated. These configurations are different in the fuel processing method to prevent carbon deposition on the anode catalyst. The fuel processing methods considered in these configurations are the anode gas recirculation (AGR), steam reforming (SR), and partial oxidation reformer (POX) methods. The application of this system is studied for operation in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and in single-family detached dwellings. The evaluation of this system for operation in a WWTP indicates that if the entire biogas produced in the WWTP is used in the system with AGR or SR fuel processors, the electric power and heat required to operate the plant can be completely supplied and the extra electric power generated can be sold to the electrical grid. The evaluation of this system for operation in single-family detached dwellings indicates that, depending on the size, location, and building type and design, this system with all configurations studied is suitable to provide the domestic hot water and electric power demands. The second SOFC system is a novel portable electric power generation system that operates with liquid ammonia fuel. Size, simplicity, and high electrical efficiency are the main advantages of this environmentally friendly system. Using a sensitivity analysis, the effects of the cell voltage at several fuel utilization ratios on the number of cells required for the SOFC stack, system efficiency and voltage, and excess air required for thermal management of the SOFC stack are studied.