Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have attracted much attention in the area of power generation due to their high energyefficiency and low pollution emissions. However,when complex fuels such as carbon or hydrocarbons are used directly,traditional SOFCswith solid anodes face challenges such as poor fuel transportation,coking and carbon deposition in anode,which has always been a criticalissue that researchers continue to tackle. Liquid metal anode (LMA) is a new type of SOFC anode with self-repairing and anti-cokingand carbon deposition properties,which exhibits obvious advantages in the conversion of carbon and hydrocarbon fuels. This paper firstbriefly introduces the operating principle of liquid metal anodes,then the reaction characteristics of several common types of existingliquid metal electrodes are summarized. Among them,the metal oxide corresponding to the liquid antimony anode is in a liquid state atthe conventional operating temperature of SOFC (700~800 ℃),which allows for efficient oxygen transport within the electrodethrough natural convection driven by density differences. Therefore,the liquid antimony anode exhibits excellent reaction characteristics, which is the most promising liquid metal electrode for converting various carbon-based fuels. Then,the conversion mechanism of solidcarbon fuels and various types of hydrocarbon fuels in liquid antimony anodes is summarized,and the catalytic effect and impuritytolerance characteristics of liquid metal anodes is reviewed. Finally,considering that the metal-metal oxide self-circulation in the liquidmetal anode will cause theoretical efficiency loss,this paper conducts theoretical calculations and proposes an autothermal reformingstrategy based on liquid metal anodes. Based on this,the liquid metal anode SOFC is conceptualized as an "electrochemical reformer" forcombined gas and electricity production,then the generated H2 and CO are introduced into a downstream conventional SOFC,enablingthe cascade utilization of energy. This approach holds promise for developing a comprehensive power generation technology with widefuel adaptability and high energy efficiency.

谷鑫(2000—),男,河北石家庄人,博士研究生。E-mail:gux21@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn

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GU Xin,JIANG Yidong,SHI Yixiang,et al. Carbon-based fuel conversion and utilization in liquid metal anode solid oxidefuel cells[J].Clean Coal Technology,2025,31(2):192−206.