High efficiency process for the production of pure oxygen based on the SOFC-SOEC technology

This paper presents a novel system for production of pure oxygen based on the integration of a solid oxide
fuel cell (SOFC) and a solid oxide electrolyzer (SOEC). In the proposed arrangement, the SOFC provides
electricity, heat and H2O in vapour phase to the SOEC which carries out the inverse reactions of the
SOFC, that is the separation of H2O into H2 (used as a fuel for the SOFC) and O2 (representing the yield
of the system). Simulations carried out in different operating conditions show that when the integrated
SOFC–SOEC device runs at low current densities (less than 1000Am−2), pure oxygen can be generated
with an electric consumption comparable to mid-size cryogenic air separation units, and significantly
lower than small scale systems based on the PSA technology.