On the Measured PEMFC Anode and Cathode Reversible Heats

A recently constructed 2D calorimeter was used to measure the work and the total heat production of a single PEM fuel cell that is operated on hydrogen and oxygen at 50 °C and 1 bar. The cells had different membranes and catalyst layers, but the same porous transport layer and micro-porous layer. In this paper the distribution of the reaction entropy between the anode and the cathode, also known as the Peltier heats, was determined. This was done by the use of the measured heat through the anode and the cathode polarisation plates, the measured cell resistance, the measured overpotential and a fuel cell thermal model. The results show that the reaction entropy is almost solely related to the cathode and that the Peltier heat of the anode is near zero.