The papers included in this issue of ECS Transactions were originally presented in the symposium ¿Ionic and Mixed Conducting Ceramics 6¿, held during the 213th meeting of The Electrochemical Society, in Phoenix, Arizona from May 18 to 23, 2008.

The papers included in this issue of ECS Transactions were originally presented in the symposium ¿Ionic and Mixed Conducting Ceramics 7¿, held during the 217th meeting of The Electrochemical Society, in Vancouver, Canada, from April 25 to 30, 2010.

This book is intended to bring together into a single book all aspects of mixed conducting ceramic membranes. It provides a comprehensive description of the fundamentals of mixed ionic-electronic conducting (MIEC) membranes from the basic theories and materials to fabrication and characterization technologies. It also covers the potential applications of MIEC membrane technology in industry. This book offers a valuable resource for all scientists and engineers involved in R&D on mixed conducting ceramic membrane technology, as well as other readers who are interested in catalysis in membrane reactor, solid state electrochemistry, solid oxide fuel cells, and related topics. Xuefeng Zhu, PhD, is a Professor at State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. Weishen Yang, PhD, is the team leader for Membrane Catalysis and New Catalytic Materials and a DICP Chair Professor at State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

Progress in the development of oxygen ion and mixed conductors is responsible for innovations in gas sensors, fuel cells, oxygen permeation membranes, oxygen pumps and electrolyzers. Commercialization has been impeded by material stability and compatibility issues, high fabrication costs and an inadequate understanding of the interfacial phenomena controlling the operation of the devices. Here, a group of experts cover all the key topical areas, ranging from fundamentals relating to (a) defects, electrochemical and interfacial processes, (b) catalysis, electrocatalysis and gas reforming, to design and fabrication, including (c) advanced electroceramic processing methods, (d) materials selection and optimization, (e) and applications including scale-up, commercialization and competitive technologies. Readership: Materials scientists, chemists, physicists and chemical and electrical engineers, either first entering the field or active within it.

This book aims to be the reference book in the area of oxyfuel combustion, covering the fundamentals, design considerations and current challenges in the field. Its first part provides an overview of the greenhouse gas emission problem and the current carbon capture and sequestration technologies. The second part introduces oxy-fuel combustion technologies with emphasis on system efficiency, combustion and emission characteristics, applications and related challenges. The third part focuses on the recent developments in ion transport membranes and their performance in both oxygen separation units and oxygen transport reactors (OTRs). The fourth part presents novel approaches for clean combustion in gas turbines and boilers. Computational modelling and optimization of combustion in gas turbine combustors and boiler furnaces are presented in the fifth part with some numerical results and detailed analyses.

Ceramic Membranes for Reaction and Separation is the first single-authored guide to the developing area of ceramic membranes. Starting by documenting established procedures of ceramic membrane preparation and characterization, this title then focuses on gas separation. The final chapter covers ceramic membrane reactors;- as distributors and separators, and general engineering considerations. Chapters include key examples to illustrate membrane synthesis, characterisation and applications in industry. Theoretical principles, advantages and disadvantages of using ceramic membranes under the various conditions are discussed where applicable.

Fuel cell technology is quite promising for conversion of chemical energy of hydrocarbon fuels into electricity without forming air pollutants. There are several types of fuel cells: polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), and alkaline fuel cell (AFC). Among these, SOFCs are the most efficient and have various advantages such as flexibility in fuel, high reliability, simple balance of plant (BOP), and a long history. Therefore, SOFC technology is attracting much attention as a power plant and is now close to marketing as a combined heat and power generation system. From the beginning of SOFC development, many perovskite oxides have been used for SOFC components; for example, LaMnO -based oxide for the cathode and 3 LaCrO for the interconnect are the most well known materials for SOFCs. The 3 current SOFCs operate at temperatures higher than 1073 K. However, lowering the operating temperature of SOFCs is an important goal for further SOFC development. Reliability, durability, and stability of the SOFCs could be greatly improved by decreasing their operating temperature. In addition, a lower operating temperature is also beneficial for shortening the startup time and decreasing energy loss from heat radiation. For this purpose, faster oxide ion conductors are required to replace the conventional Y O -stabilized ZrO 2 3 2 electrolyte. A new class of electrolytes such as LaGaO is considered to be 3 highly useful for intermediate-temperature SOFCs.