A solid oxide fuel cell (or SOFC) is an electrochemical conversion device that produces electricity directly from oxidizing a fuel. Fuel cells are characterized by their electrolyte material; the SOFC has a solid oxide or ceramic electrolyte. Advantages of this class of fuel cells include high combined heat and power efficiency, long-term stability, fuel flexibility, low emissions, and relatively low cost. The largest disadvantage is the high operating temperature which results in longer start-up times and mechanical and chemical compatibility issues. Introduction Solid oxide fuel cells are a class of fuel cells characterized by the use of a solid oxide material as the electrolyte. SOFCs use a solid oxide electrolyte to conduct negative oxygen ions from the cathode to the anode. The electrochemical oxidation of the hydrogen, carbon monoxide or other organic intermediates by oxygen ions thus occurs on the anode side. More recently, proton-conducting SOFCs (PC-SOFC) are being developed which transport protons instead of oxygen ions through the electrolyte with the advantage of being able to be run at lower temperatures than traditional SOFCs. They operate at very high temperatures, typically between 500 and 1,000 °C. At these temperatures, SOFCs do not require expensive platinum catalyst material, as is currently necessary for lower temperature fuel cells such as PEMFCs, and are not vulnerable to carbon monoxide catalyst poisoning. However, vulnerability to sulfur poisoning has been widely observed and the sulfur must be removed before entering the cell through the use of adsorbent beds or other means. Solid oxide fuel cells have a wide variety of applications, from use as auxiliary power units in vehicles to stationary power generation with outputs from 100 W to 2 MW. In 2009, Australian company, Ceramic Fuel Cells successfully achieved an efficiency of an SOFC device up to the previously theoretical mark of 60%. The higher operating temperature make SOFCs suitable candidates for application with heat engine energy recovery devices or combined heat and power, which further increases overall fuel efficiency. Because of these high temperatures, light hydrocarbon fuels, such as methane, propane, and butane can be internally reformed within the anode. SOFCs can also be fueled by externally reforming heavier hydrocarbons, such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel (JP-8) or biofuels. Such reformates are mixtures of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, steam and methane, formed by reacting the hydrocarbon fuels with air or steam in a device upstream of the SOFC anode. SOFC power