scholarly journals Accelerated Lifetime Testing for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Using Extremely High Temperature and Unusually High Load

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianlu Zhang ◽  
Chaojie Song ◽  
Jiujun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
High Load ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Accelerated Lifetime ◽  
Lifetime Testing ◽  
Exchange Membrane

In this paper, two testing protocols were developed in order to accelerate the lifetime testing of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The first protocol was to operate the fuel cell at extremely high temperatures, such as 300 °C, and the second was to operate the fuel cell at unusually high current densities, such as 2.0 A/cm2. A PEM fuel cell assembled with a PBI membrane-based MEA was designed and constructed to validate the first testing protocol. After several hours of high temperature operation, the degraded MEA and catalyst layers were analyzed using SEM, XRD, and TEM. A fuel cell assembled with a Nafion 211 membrane-based MEA was employed to validate the second protocol. The results obtained at high temperature and at high load demonstrated that operating a PEM fuel cell under certain extremely high-stress conditions could be used as methods for accelerated lifetime testing.

scholarly journals Recent Progress in the Development of Composite Membranes Based on Polybenzimidazole for High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Applications

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Escorihuela ◽  
Jessica Olvera-Mancilla ◽  
Larissa Alexandrova ◽  
L. Felipe del Castillo ◽  
Vicente Compañ
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Composite Membranes ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Exchange Membrane

The rapid increasing of the population in combination with the emergence of new energy-consuming technologies has risen worldwide total energy consumption towards unprecedent values. Furthermore, fossil fuel reserves are running out very quickly and the polluting greenhouse gases emitted during their utilization need to be reduced. In this scenario, a few alternative energy sources have been proposed and, among these, proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are promising. Recently, polybenzimidazole-based polymers, featuring high chemical and thermal stability, in combination with fillers that can regulate the proton mobility, have attracted tremendous attention for their roles as PEMs in fuel cells. Recent advances in composite membranes based on polybenzimidazole (PBI) for high temperature PEM fuel cell applications are summarized and highlighted in this review. In addition, the challenges, future trends, and prospects of composite membranes based on PBI for solid electrolytes are also discussed.

Submicro-pore containing poly(ether sulfones)/polyvinylpyrrolidone membranes for high-temperature fuel cell applications

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (16) ◽  
pp. 8847-8854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhibin Guo ◽  
Ruijie Xiu ◽  
Shanfu Lu ◽  
Xin Xu ◽  
Shichun Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Exchange Membrane

A novel submicro-pore containing proton exchange membrane is designed and fabricated for application in high-temperature fuel cells.

Alloys that form conductive and passivating oxides for proton exchange membrane fuel cell bipolar plates

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1723-1729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Aukland ◽  
Abdellah Boudina ◽  
David S. Eddy ◽  
Joseph V. Mantese ◽  
Margarita P. Thompson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Oxide Films ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Concentrated Solutions ◽  
Exchange Membrane

During the operation of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, a high-resistance oxide is often formed on the cathode surface of base metal bipolar plates. Over time, this corrosion mechanism leads to a drop in fuel cell efficiency and potentially to complete failure. To address this problem, we have developed alloys capable of forming oxides that are both conductive and chemically stable under PEM fuel cell operating conditions. Five alloys of titanium with tantalum or niobium were investigated. The oxides were formed on the alloys by cyclic voltammetry in solutions mimicking the cathode- and anode-side environment of a PEM fuel cell. The oxides of all tested alloys had lower surface resistance than the oxide of pure titanium. We also investigated the chemical durability of Ti–Nb and Ti–Ta alloys in more concentrated solutions beyond those typically found in PEM fuel cells. The oxide films formed on Ti–Nb and Ti–Ta alloys remained conductive and chemically stable in these concentrated solutions. The stability of the oxide films was evaluated; Ti alloys having 3% Ta and Nb were identified as potential candidates for bipolar plate materials.

A New Type of High Temperature Membrane for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinjun Shi ◽  
Jiusheng Guo ◽  
Bor Jang
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Membrane Material ◽  
New Type ◽  
Exchange Membrane

The proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell operated at high temperature is advantageous than the current low temperature PEM fuel cell, in that high temperature operation promotes electro-catalytic reaction, reduces the carbon monoxide poisoning, and possibly eliminates methanol crossover in Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC). However, current commercially viable membranes for PEMFC and DMFC, such as the de-facto standard membrane of Dupont Nafion membrane, only work well at temperatures lower than 80°C. When it is operated at temperatures of higher than 80°C, especially more than 100°C, the fuel cell performance degrades dramatically due to the dehydration. Therefore, high temperature proton exchange membrane material is now becoming a research and development focus in fuel cell industry. In this paper, a new type of high temperature PEM membrane material was investigated. This new type of membrane material was optimally selected from polyether ether ketone (PEEK)-based materials, poly (phthalazinon ether sulfone ketone) (PPESK). The performance of the sulfonated PPESK membrane with degree of sulfonation (DS) of 93% was studied and compared to that of Nafion (®Dupont) 117 membrane. The result showed SPPESK has a comparable performance to Nafion (®Dupont) 117 at low temperature (<80°C) and better performance at high temperature (>80°C). The other advantage of SPPESK is that it has much lower cost than that of Nafion. These characteristics make SPPESK an attractive candidate for high temperature proton exchange membrane material.

Design and Experimental Characterization of a High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Stack

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Radu ◽  
Nicola Zuliani ◽  
Rodolfo Taccani
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Pure Hydrogen ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells based on polybenzimidazole (PBI) polymers and phosphoric acid can be operated at temperature between 120 °C and 180 °C. Reactant humidification is not required and CO content up to 1% in the fuel can be tolerated, only marginally affecting performance. This is what makes high-temperature PEM (HTPEM) fuel cells very attractive, as low quality reformed hydrogen can be used and water management problems are avoided. From an experimental point of view, the major research effort up to now was dedicated to the development and study of high-temperature membranes, especially to development of acid-doped PBI type membranes. Some studies were dedicated to the experimental analysis of single cells and only very few to the development and characterization of high-temperature stacks. This work aims to provide more experimental data regarding high-temperature fuel cell stacks, operated with hydrogen but also with different types of reformates. The main design features and the performance curves obtained with a three-cell air-cooled stack are presented. The stack was tested on a broad temperature range, between 120 and 180 °C, with pure hydrogen and gas mixtures containing up to 2% of CO, simulating the output of a typical methanol reformer. With pure hydrogen, at 180 °C, the considered stack is able to deliver electrical power of 31 W at 1.8 V. With a mixture containing 2% of carbon monoxide, in the same conditions, the performance drops to 24 W. The tests demonstrated that the performance loss caused by operation with reformates, can be partially compensated by a higher stack temperature.

scholarly journals High temperature PEM fuel cell steady-state transport modeling

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viorel Ionescu
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Water Concentration ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Electrochemical Kinetics

AbstractA fuel cell is a device that can directly transfer chemical energy to electric and thermal energy. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are highly efficient power generators, achieving up to 50-60% conversion efficiency, even at sizes of a few kilowatts. There are several compelling technological and commercial reasons for operating H2/air PEM fuel cells at temperatures above 100 °C; rates of electrochemical kinetics are enhanced, water management and cooling is simplified, useful waste heat can be recovered, and lower quality reformed hydrogen may be used as the fuel. All of the High Temperature PEMFC model equations are solved with finite element method using commercial software package COMSOL Multiphysics. The results from PEM fuel cell modeling were presented in terms of reactant (oxygen and hydrogen) concentrations and water concentration in the anode and cathode gases; the polarization curve of the cell was also displayed.

scholarly journals Optimal Estimation of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Parameter Based on Coyote Optimization Algorithm

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2052
Author(s):  
Amlak Abaza ◽  
Ragab A. El-Sehiemy ◽  
Karar Mahmoud ◽  
Matti Lehtonen ◽  
Mohamed M. F. Darwish
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Optimization Algorithm ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Exchange Membrane

In recent years, the penetration of fuel cells in distribution systems is significantly increased worldwide. The fuel cell is considered an electrochemical energy conversion component. It has the ability to convert chemical to electrical energies as well as heat. The proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell uses hydrogen and oxygen as fuel. It is a low-temperature type that uses a noble metal catalyst, such as platinum, at reaction sites. The optimal modeling of PEM fuel cells improves the cell performance in different applications of the smart microgrid. Extracting the optimal parameters of the model can be achieved using an efficient optimization technique. In this line, this paper proposes a novel swarm-based algorithm called coyote optimization algorithm (COA) for finding the optimal parameter of PEM fuel cell as well as PEM stack. The sum of square deviation between measured voltages and the optimal estimated voltages obtained from the COA algorithm is minimized. Two practical PEM fuel cells including 250 W stack and Ned Stack PS6 are modeled to validate the capability of the proposed algorithm under different operating conditions. The effectiveness of the proposed COA is demonstrated through the comparison with four optimizers considering the same conditions. The final estimated results and statistical analysis show a significant accuracy of the proposed method. These results emphasize the ability of COA to estimate the parameters of the PEM fuel cell model more precisely.

scholarly journals Advanced materials for family of fuel cells: a review of polymer electrolyte membrane

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 4853-4863
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Energy Carrier ◽  
Solid Oxide ◽  
Regenerative Fuel Cell ◽  
Exchange Membrane ◽  
Power Curves

Hydrogen is an important energy carrier and a strong candidate for energy storage. It will be a useful tool for storing intermittent energy sources such as sun. Hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier that can be used to power nearly every end-use energy need. By this work, modeling and controlling of ion transport rate efficiency in proton exchange membrane (PEMFC), alkaline (AFC), direct methanol (DMFC), phosphoric acid (PAFC), direct forming acid (DFAFC), direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) and molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC) have been investigated and compared together. Thermodynamic equations have been investigated for those fuel cells in viewpoint of voltage output data. Effects of operating data including temperature (T), pressure (P), proton exchange membrane water content (λ), and proton exchange membrane thickness (d_mem) on the optimal performance of the irreversible fuel cells have been studied. Performance of fuel cells was analyzed via simulating polarization and power curves for a fuel cell operating at various conditions with current densities. SOFC (Solid oxide fuel cell) is usually combined with a dense electrolyte sandwiched via porous cathode and anode and SORFC (Solid oxide regenerative fuel cell) is a subgroup of RFC with solid oxide regenerative fuel cell. SORFC operates at high temperature with high efficiency and it is a suitable system for high temperature electrolysis.

Development of a Space-Rated Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Powerplant

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Hoffman ◽  
Arturo Vasquez ◽  
Scott M. Lazaroff ◽  
Michael G. Downey
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Potential System ◽  
Water Separator ◽  
Oxygen Gas ◽  
Product Water ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Abstract Power systems for human spacecraft have historically included fuel cells due to the superior energy density they offer over battery systems depending on mission length and power consumption. As space exploration focuses on the evolution of reusable spacecraft and also considers planetary exploration power system requirements, fuel cells continue to be a factor in the potential system solutions. Substantial efforts are currently underway in the commercial markets to produce a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell capable of meeting terrestrial power demands in residential, commercial, and automotive applications. However, there are unique characteristics of spaceflight that can only be dealt with through specific engineering solutions. From a systems perspective, removing product water from the cell stack and separating the water from the oxygen gas stream in a PEM fuel cell are two critical functions. One method to remove product water from the cell stack and subsequently separate the product water from the oxygen involves using components with no moving parts — a gas ejector and membrane gas-water separator. Tests are currently underway at the Johnson Space Center to evaluate and refine gas ejectors to satisfy the fuel cell requirement to circulate cathode reactant gas (oxygen) at 1 to 3 times the stoichiometric consumption flow rates in order to adequately remove water from the cathode. A gas-water separator utilizing hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials is also being evaluated to perform the function of separating the water from the oxygen gas stream. Analytical and experimental evaluations are continuing on the fuel cell components, including cell stacks, with the goal of developing a comprehensive design basis for a fuel cell powerplant capable of delivering 20 kW at approximately 28 VDC. Through the select critical component refinement in work at the Johnson Space Center, engineers are improving the readiness and reducing the technical and cost risks of a PEM fuel cell capable of operating in a space environment.

A Parametric Study of PEM Fuel Cell Performances

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Wang ◽  
Attila Husar ◽  
Tianhong Zhou ◽  
Hongtan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Parametric Study ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Polarization Curves ◽  
Exchange Membrane

The effects of different parameters on the performances of proton exchange membrane fuel cells were studied experimentally. Experiments with different fuel cell temperatures, humidification temperatures and backpressures of reactant gases have been carried out. Polarization curves from experimental data are presented and the effects of the parameters on the performance of the PEM fuel cell are discussed. The experimental data obtained in this work are used to validate our 3-D mathematical model. It is found that modeling results agree well with our experimental data.

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