Real-time analysis of dry start-up characteristics of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell with water storage process under pressurized condition
Young Sang Kim,
Dong Kyu Kim,
Kook Young Ahn and
Min Soo Kim
Energy, 2020, vol. 199, issue C
Abstract:
Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells need humidification for proper operation. A membrane humidifier humidifies the gas supplied to the cell. Additional power is not required; however, the large pressure drop and large volume are disadvantageous. To minimize the role of the humidifier, the pressurized operation and water storage process (WSP) was adapted during dry start-up to accumulate the water generated by the reaction. A segmented cell was used. The relative humidity of the discharged gas was analyzed at the cathode outlet. For extreme dry conditions, dehydrated hydrogen and air at 30 °C and 50 °C, respectively, were used. The fuel cell showed easier hydration in the pressurized operation; the performance of the dry start-up improved under high operating pressure. The WSP was effective for all pressure condition, but its effect could not be maintained for high temperature dry start-up. Because water accumulation in the cell at high pressure facilitates hydration, successful dry start-up is possible at high operating temperatures. The dew point temperature measurement of the outlet gas confirmed that water generated by the chemical reaction accumulated in the cell, rather vaporization and discharge to the outlet. Thus, the role of the humidifier in the fuel cell system was minimized.
Keywords: Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells; Segmented fuel cell; Dry start-up; Water storage process; Current distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)
Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544220303996
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:199:y:2020:i:c:s0360544220303996
DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.117292
Access Statistics for this article
Energy is currently edited by Henrik Lund and Mark J. Kaiser
More articles in Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu (repec@elsevier.com).