Passive Regulation of the Water Content at the Anode Chamber under Dead-Ended Conditions: Innovative Design of an Air-Breathing Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Pedro A. Pérez-Guizado, Alba María Fernández-Sotillo and Paloma Ferreira-Aparicio
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Pedro A. Pérez-Guizado: CIEMAT–Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, Departamento de Energía, Avda. Complutense 40, E-28040 Madrid, Spain
Alba María Fernández-Sotillo: CIEMAT–Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, Departamento de Energía, Avda. Complutense 40, E-28040 Madrid, Spain
Paloma Ferreira-Aparicio: CIEMAT–Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, Departamento de Energía, Avda. Complutense 40, E-28040 Madrid, Spain

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-11

Abstract: A passive regulation system for the water content has been developed and evaluated for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. It is of particular relevance for micro-fuel cells, whose volume, weight and extra-consumption of fuel and power for subsidiary components must be kept to a minimum. This solution consists of a self-regulating humidity system implemented at the anode chamber that allows free water exchange with the environment through the surface of a gas-tight membrane. The micro-fuel cell, which is designed according to the patent WO2015025070A1, has been assembled and operated under completely passive conditions. The behavior of the anode humidity regulation system has been analyzed externally and in situ. The external part of the anode, where the humidity exchange with the environment takes place, has been isolated in a closed chamber and a hygrometer has been used to register the relative humidity in the zone near to the water exchange film. The results obtained from the operation of this innovative system are discussed in the light of the water permeation behavior of different Nafion membranes.

Keywords: micro-fuel cell; water permeable membrane; water permeance; Nafion polymer; humidity regulation; self-humidification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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