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Proc. 6 th International Symposium on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC-VI) ed. S. C. Singhal et al., Honolulu, Hawaii, Oct. 17-22, 1999 LBNL-43185 May, 1999 PROMISES AND PROBLEMS WITH METALLIC INTERCONNECTS FOR REDUCED TEMPERATURE SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS Peggy Y. Hou, Keqin Huang † and Wate T. Bakker* Materials Sciences Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, CA 94720 Texas Materials Institute, ETC 9.102 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78713 *Electric Power Research Institute 3412 Hillview Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94304 ABSTRACT The oxidation kinetics and electrical properties of oxide scales thermally grown on the surface of a commercial iron-based alloy have been investigated up to 1000 o C. The effect of surface coating to improve performance was studied, and it was found that a double coating of Y and Ni oxide was most beneficial. While the Y oxide reduced the oxidation rate, the Ni oxide increased the Cr 2 O 3 scale conductivity. Different electrodes were applied to the alloy or to pre-oxidized samples. Some of the electrodes, such as LaSrCoO 3 (LSCo), reacted strongly with the alloy upon oxidation by increasing the oxidation rate and forming a mixed Fe/Co/Cr interlayer that impeded conduction. Application of these electrodes to a pre-oxidized surface eliminated these problems. Preliminary results in reducing atmosphere using Ce 0.8 +Sm 0.2 O 1.9 +Ni and Pt electrodes are also reported. The possibility of using Cr 2 O 3 forming alloys as interconnects for low temperature solid oxide fuel cell is discussed in light of these results. INTRODUCTION The trend in planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) development is towards lower temperature operation. This has several advantages such as the elimination of interdiffusion between electrodes and electrolytes, ease of internal reforming and the use of relatively low cost metallic interconnects and balance of plant components. Several methods to operate at low temperatures have been identified and demonstrated at a single cell level. The most prominent are the use of thin film, conventional doped zirconia electrolytes (1,2) and the use of a recently discovered new electrolyte, doped lanthanum

Abstract not Available.

In this issue of the journal, Preziosi et al. [2004] report the first study to assess differences in the utilization of health care related to the presence of air-conditioning in office workplaces. Although the study was simple and cross-sectional, the data variables from questionnaires, and the findings subject to a variety of questions, the findings are striking enough to deserve clarification. The study used a large random national sample of French women assembled for another purpose (to study antioxidant nutrients and prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease). Participants reported health services and health events in monthly questionnaires over 1 year, and in one questionnaire in the middle of that period also reported whether air-conditioning was in use at their workplace. Fifteen percent of participants reported air-conditioning at work. Analyses adjusting for age and smoking status of participants found increases in most outcomes assessed: use of specific kinds of physicians, sickness absence, and hospital stays. While the increases in odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were statistically significant for only otorhinolaryngology [OR (95% CI) = 2.33 (1.35-4.04)] and sickness absence [1.70 (1.13-2.58)], other increases were notable--dermatology [1.6 (0.98-2.65)]; hospital stay [1.51 (0.92-2.45)], and pneumonology [2.10 (0.65-6.82)]. The least elevated outcomes were for general practice medicine [0.99 (0.65-1.48)] and global medical visits [1.18 (0.67-2.07)]. [Preziosi et al., 2004 ,(Table 2)] Odds ratios for relatively common health outcomes often lie farther from the null than the risk ratios most useful for quantifying the increase in risk. Risk ratios, or prevalence ratios (PRs, the equivalent measure of effect for cross-sectional data), have seldom been used because of the convenience and availability of logistic regression models that estimate odds ratios. With baseline prevalences ranging up to 85.7% in the data from Preziosi et al. [2004], PRs allow a more appropriate estimate of the increase in each outcome associated with the risk factor of air-conditioning. The increase in prevalence was roughly estimated as [100* (crude PR * adjusted OR/crude OR)-100] %. Based on the data in Table 2 of Preziosi et al. [ 2004], estimates for the increased prevalence associated with air-conditioned offices include increases of 120% in otorhinolaryngology visits, and 40% in sickness absence. If these associated increases represented valid causal relationships, it would indicate enormous costs for employers and for society associated with air-conditioning systems, from increased health care and for reduced workplace productivity from sickness absence, in addition to a large burden of disease on workers.

The August 2003 blackout of the northeastern U.S. and CANADA caused great economic losses and inconvenience to New York City and other affected areas. The blackout was a warning to the rest of the world that the ability of conventional power systems to meet growing electricity demand is questionable. Failure of large power systems can lead to serious emergencies. Introduction of on-site generation, renewable energy such as solar and wind power and the effective utilization of exhaust heat is needed, to meet the growing energy demands of the residential and commercial sectors. Additional benefit can be achieved by integrating these distributed technologies into distributed energy resource (DER) systems. This work demonstrates a method for choosing and designing economically optimal DER systems. An additional purpose of this research is to establish a database of energy tariffs, DER technology cost and performance characteristics, and building energy consumption for Japan. This research builds on prior DER studies at the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and with their associates in the Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS) and operation, including the development of the microgrid concept, and the DER selection optimization program, the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM). DER-CAM is a tool designed to find the optimal combination of installed equipment and an idealized operating schedule to minimize a site's energy bills, given performance and cost data on available DER technologies, utility tariffs, and site electrical and thermal loads over a test period, usually an historic year. Since hourly electric and thermal energy data are rarely available, they are typically developed by building simulation for each of six end use loads used to model the building: electric-only loads, space heating, space cooling, refrigeration, water heating, and natural-gas-only loads. DER-CAM provides a global optimization, albeit idealized, that shows how the necessary useful energy loads can be provided for at minimum cost by selection and operation of on-site generation, heat recovery, cooling, and efficiency improvements. This study examines five prototype commercial buildings and uses DER-CAM to select the economically optimal DER system for each. The five building types are office, hospital, hotel, retail, and sports facility. Each building type was considered for both 5,000 and 10,000 square meter floor sizes. The energy consumption of these building types is based on building energy simulation and published literature. Based on the optimization results, energy conservation and the emissions reduction were also evaluated. Furthermore, a comparison study between Japan and the U.S. has been conducted covering the policy, technology and the utility tariffs effects on DER systems installations. This study begins with an examination of existing DER research. Building energy loads were then generated through simulation (DOE-2) and scaled to match available load data in the literature. Energy tariffs in Japan and the U.S. were then compared: electricity prices did not differ significantly, while commercial gas prices in Japan are much higher than in the U.S. For smaller DER systems, the installation costs in Japan are more than twice those in the U.S., but this difference becomes smaller with larger systems. In Japan, DER systems are eligible for a 1/3 rebate of installation costs, while subsidies in the U.S. vary significantly by region and application. For 10,000 m{sup 2} buildings, significant decreases in fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and energy costs were seen in the economically optimal results. This was most noticeable in the sports facility, followed the hospital and hotel. This research demonstrates that office buildings can benefit from CHP, in contrast to popular opinion. For hospitals and sports facilities, the use of waste heat is particularly effective for water and space heating. For the other building types, waste heat is most effectively used for both heating and cooling. The same examination was done for the 5,000 m{sup 2} buildings. Although CHP installation capacity is smaller and the payback periods are longer, economic, fuel efficiency, and environmental benefits are still seen. While these benefits remain even when subsidies are removed, the increased installation costs lead to lower levels of installation capacity and thus benefit.

Thermal and water management are intricately coupled in polymer-electrolyte fuel cells. In this paper, we simulate fuel-cell performance and account for nonisothermal phenomena. The transport of water due to a temperature gradient and its associated effects on performance are described, with the increase of reactant dilution by the water-vapor partial pressure being the most dominant. In addition, simulations are undergone to find the optimum operating temperature and maximum power density as a function of external heat-transfer coefficient. The shape of the optimization curves and the magnitudes of the nonisothermal phenomena are also detailed and explained.

This paper provides a synthesis of current knowledge about the associations of ventilation system types in office buildings with sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms and discusses potential explanations for the associations. Most studies completed to date indicate that relative to natural ventilation, air conditioning, with or without humidification, was consistently associated with a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of one or more SBS symptoms, by approximately 30 to 200%. In two of three analyses from a single study (assessments), symptom prevalences were also significantly higher in air-conditioned buildings than in buildings with simple mechanical ventilation and no humidification. The available data also suggest, with less consistency, an increase in risk of symptoms with simple mechanical ventilation relative to natural ventilation. Insufficient information was available for conclusions about the potential increased risk of SBS symptoms with humidification or recirculation of return air. The statistically significant associations of mechanical ventilation and air conditioning with SBS symptoms are much more frequent than expected from chance and also not likely to be a consequence of confounding by several potential personal, job, or building-related confounders. Multiple deficiencies in HVAC system design, construction, operation, or maintenance, including some which cause pollutant emissions from HVAC systems, may contribute to the increases in symptom prevalences but other possible reasons remain unclear.