Experimental Characterization of the Poisoning Effects of Methanol-Based Reformate Impurities on a PBI-Based High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell

Samuel Simon Araya, Søren Juhl Andreasen and Søren Knudsen Kær
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Samuel Simon Araya: Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Pontoppidanstræde 101, Aalborg East 9220, Denmark
Søren Juhl Andreasen: Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Pontoppidanstræde 101, Aalborg East 9220, Denmark
Søren Knudsen Kær: Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Pontoppidanstræde 101, Aalborg East 9220, Denmark

Energies, 2012, vol. 5, issue 11, 1-17

Abstract: In this work the effects of reformate gas impurities on a H 3 PO 4 -doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane-based high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) are studied. A unit cell assembly with a BASF Celtec ® -P2100 high temperature membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of 45 cm 2 active surface area is investigated by means of impedance spectroscopy. The concentrations in the anode feed gas of all impurities, unconverted methanol-water vapor mixture, CO and CO 2 were varied along with current density according to a multilevel factorial design of experiments. Results show that all the impurities degrade the performance, with CO being the most degrading agent and CO 2 the least. The factorial analysis shows that there is interdependence among the effects of the different factors considered. This interdependence suggests, for example, that tolerances to concentrations of CO above 2% may be compromised by the presence in the anode feed of CO 2 . Methanol has a poisoning effect on the fuel cell at all the tested feed ratios, and the performance drop is found to be proportional to the amount of methanol in feed gas. The effects are more pronounced when other impurities are also present in the feed gas, especially at higher methanol concentrations.

Keywords: high temperature PEM fuel cell; methanol; CO 2; CO; Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) (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: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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