In order to remove CO to achieve lower CO content of below 10 ppm in the CO removal step of reformer for polymer electrolyte fuel cell （PEFC） co-generation systems, CO preferential methanation under various conditio...In order to remove CO to achieve lower CO content of below 10 ppm in the CO removal step of reformer for polymer electrolyte fuel cell （PEFC） co-generation systems, CO preferential methanation under various conditions were studied in this paper. Results showed that, with a single kind of catalyst, it was difficult to reach both CO removal depth and CO2 conversion ratio of below 5%. Thus, a two-stage methanation process applying two kinds of catalysts is proposed in this study, that is, one kind of catalyst with relatively low activity and high selectivity for the first stage at higher temperature, and another kind of catalyst with relatively high activity and high selectivity for the second stage at lower temperature. Experimental results showed that at the first stage CO content was decreased from 1% to below 0.1% at 250-300 ℃, and at the second stage to below 10 ppm at 150-185 ℃. CO2 conversion was kept less than 5%, At the same time, influence of inlet CO content and GHSV on CO removal depth was also discussed in this paper.展开更多
This study is to understand the impact of operating condition, especially initial operation temperature （Tini） which is set in high temperature range, on the temperature profile of the interface between PEM （polyme...This study is to understand the impact of operating condition, especially initial operation temperature （Tini） which is set in high temperature range, on the temperature profile of the interface between PEM （polymer electrolyte membrane） and catalyst layer at the cathode （i.e., the reaction surface） in a single PEFC （polymer electrolyte fuel cell）. A 1D multi-plate heat transfer model based on the temperature data of separator measured using thermograph in a power generation experiment was developed to evaluate the reaction surface temperature （Treact）. This study investigated the effects of flow rate, relative humidity and type of supply gas as well as Tini on the temperature distribution on reaction surface. The results obtained in 02 supply case show that, the temperature rise at the segments near the outlet of cell decreases with increasing Tini irrespective of relative humidity of supply gas （RH）, while it is not seen in air supply case. Regarding the segments except near the outlet in 02 supply case, Treact - Tini increases with increasing Tini for 40% RH. The temperature distribution on reaction surface in 02 supply case is wider with increasing Tini as well as decreasing RH, though that in air supply case is relatively even.展开更多
The oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） in the cathode catalyst layer （CCL） of polymer electrolyte fuel cells （PEFC） is one of the major causes of performance loss during operation. In addition, the CCL is the most ...The oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） in the cathode catalyst layer （CCL） of polymer electrolyte fuel cells （PEFC） is one of the major causes of performance loss during operation. In addition, the CCL is the most expensive component due to the use of a Pt catalyst. Apart from the ORR itself, the species transport to and from the reactive sites determines the performance of the PEFC. The effective transport properties of the species in the CCL depend on its nanostructure. Therefore a three-dimensional reconstruction of the CCL is required. A series of two-dimensional images was obtained from focused ion beam- scanning electron microscope （FIB-SEM） imaging and a segmentation method for the two-dimensional images has been developed. The pore size distribution （PSD） was calculated for the three-dimensional geometry. The influence of the alignment and the anisotropic pixel size on the PSD has been investigated. Pores were found in the range between 5 nm and 205 nm. Evaluation of the Knudsen number showed that gas transport in the CCL is governed by the transition flow regime. The liquid water transport can be described within continuum hydrodynamics by including suitable slip flow boundary conditions.展开更多
Abstract： The purpose of this study is to analyze the temperature distribution on the interface between the polymer electrolyte membrane and catalyst layer at the cathode in single cell of polymer electrolyte fuel ce...Abstract： The purpose of this study is to analyze the temperature distribution on the interface between the polymer electrolyte membrane and catalyst layer at the cathode in single cell of polymer electrolyte fuel cell when operated in elevated temperature range than usual. In this study, the interface between the polymer electrolyte membrane and catalyst layer at the cathode is named as reaction surface. This study has considered the 1D multi-plate heat transfer model estimating the temperature distribution on the reaction surface and verified with the 3D numerical simulation model solving many governing equations on the coupling phenomena of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell. The 3D numerical simulation model coverers a half size of actual cell including three straight parts and two turn-back corners, which can display the essential phenomena of single cell. The results from both models/simulations agreed well. The effects of initial operation temperature, flow rate, and relative humidity of supply gas on temperature distribution on the reaction surface have been investigated. Though the effect of flow rate of supply gas on temperature distribution on reaction surface has been small, low relative humidity of supply gas has caused higher temperature on the reaction surface compared to high relative humidity of the supply gas. The temperature rise of reaction surface from initial operation temperature has increased with the increasing in initial operation temperature of cell.展开更多
This study is to understand the impact of operating condition, especially initial operation temperature （Tini） which is set in high temperature range, on the temperature profile of the interface between PEM （polyme...This study is to understand the impact of operating condition, especially initial operation temperature （Tini） which is set in high temperature range, on the temperature profile of the interface between PEM （polymer electrolyte membrane） and catalyst layer at the cathode （i.e., the reaction surface） in a single PEFC （polymer electrolyte fuel cell）. A 1D multi-plate heat transfer model based on the temperature data of separator measured using thermograph in a power generation experiment was developed to evaluate the reaction surface temperature （Treact）. This study investigated the effects of Tini, flow rate and relative humidity of supply gas as well as thickness of PEM on the temperature distribution on reaction surface. As a result, the impact of flow rate of supply gas on the temperature distribution is not significant irrespective of relative humidity conditions as well as PEM type. When operated at high temperature, the temperature distribution is relatively flat in the case of thicker PEM （Nafion 115）, while Treact rises from the inlet to the outlet large and the temperature distribution is wide in the case of thin PEM （Nafion 211） irrespective of relative humidity condition. Since the water transfer through PEM in the case of Nafion 211 is better than Nafion 115 due to thin PEM, the power generation is promoted along the gas flow with the aid of humidification by water produced from electrochemical reaction.展开更多
This study is to understand the impact of operating conditions, especially initial operation temperature (T<sub>ini</sub>) which is set in a high temperature range, on the temperature profile of the interf...This study is to understand the impact of operating conditions, especially initial operation temperature (T<sub>ini</sub>) which is set in a high temperature range, on the temperature profile of the interface between the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and the catalyst layer at the cathode (i.e., the reaction surface) in a single cell of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). A 1D multi-plate heat transfer model based on the temperature data of the separator measured using the thermograph in a power generation experiment was developed to evaluate the reaction surface temperature (T<sub>react</sub>). In addition, to validate the proposed heat transfer model, T<sub>react</sub> obtained from the model was compared with that from the 3D numerical simulation using CFD software COMSOL Multiphysics which solves the continuity equation, Brinkman equation, Maxwell-Stefan equation, Butler-Volmer equation as well as heat transfer equation. As a result, the temperature gap between the results obtained by 1D heat transfer model and those obtained by 3D numerical simulation is below approximately 0.5 K. The simulation results show the change in the molar concentration of O<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>O from the inlet to the outlet is more even with the increase in T<sub>ini</sub> due to the lower performance of O<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction. The change in the current density from the inlet to the outlet is more even with the increase in T<sub>ini</sub> and the value of current density is smaller with the increase in T<sub>ini </sub>due to the increase in ohmic over-potential and concentration over-potential. It is revealed that the change in T<sub>react</sub> from the inlet to the outlet is more even with the increase in T<sub>ini</sub> irrespective of heat transfer model. This is because the generated heat from the power generation is lower with the increase in T<sub>ini </sub>due to the lower performance of O<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction.展开更多
Water management in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is a key topic for PEFC operation. A microporous layer (MPL) has been recently used to improve the water flooding in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) around the ...Water management in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is a key topic for PEFC operation. A microporous layer (MPL) has been recently used to improve the water flooding in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) around the catalyst layer. However, the mechanisms of this MPL are not completely understood because of the difficulty of measuring the water distribution during operation. To clarify the water-accumulation phenomena with the MPL, visualization and measurement of the water distribution in the through-plane direction of a small fuel cell is carried out by using neutron radiography. The parallelism of the neutron flux is optimized by using a collimator to observe the transient change in the water distributions, and two-dimensional water distributions in the through-plane direction of the PEFC can be obtained every 60 s. The differences in the water accumulation processes in the GDL without and with the MPL under the lands and channels are compared. It is observed that the water accumulation in the GDL under the land is greater than that under the channel during the period of early PEFC operation. Water evacuation from the GDL to the channel mainly occurs around the land corners. Furthermore, one-dimensional water distributions are calculated from the visualized water distributions, and the results without and with the MPL in the cathode are compared. The water thickness in the through-plane direction attains its maximum value around the boundary between the catalyst layer and the GDL without the MPL, whereas it is attained between the MPL and the GDL with the MPL. The maximum water accumulation in the GDL under the land without the MPL is higher than that with the MPL.展开更多
基金supported by Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation(NO.D0406001040111)in 2006 as major science and technology programNational Natural Science Foundation of China(NO.20776016)
文摘In order to remove CO to achieve lower CO content of below 10 ppm in the CO removal step of reformer for polymer electrolyte fuel cell （PEFC） co-generation systems, CO preferential methanation under various conditions were studied in this paper. Results showed that, with a single kind of catalyst, it was difficult to reach both CO removal depth and CO2 conversion ratio of below 5%. Thus, a two-stage methanation process applying two kinds of catalysts is proposed in this study, that is, one kind of catalyst with relatively low activity and high selectivity for the first stage at higher temperature, and another kind of catalyst with relatively high activity and high selectivity for the second stage at lower temperature. Experimental results showed that at the first stage CO content was decreased from 1% to below 0.1% at 250-300 ℃, and at the second stage to below 10 ppm at 150-185 ℃. CO2 conversion was kept less than 5%, At the same time, influence of inlet CO content and GHSV on CO removal depth was also discussed in this paper.
文摘This study is to understand the impact of operating condition, especially initial operation temperature （Tini） which is set in high temperature range, on the temperature profile of the interface between PEM （polymer electrolyte membrane） and catalyst layer at the cathode （i.e., the reaction surface） in a single PEFC （polymer electrolyte fuel cell）. A 1D multi-plate heat transfer model based on the temperature data of separator measured using thermograph in a power generation experiment was developed to evaluate the reaction surface temperature （Treact）. This study investigated the effects of flow rate, relative humidity and type of supply gas as well as Tini on the temperature distribution on reaction surface. The results obtained in 02 supply case show that, the temperature rise at the segments near the outlet of cell decreases with increasing Tini irrespective of relative humidity of supply gas （RH）, while it is not seen in air supply case. Regarding the segments except near the outlet in 02 supply case, Treact - Tini increases with increasing Tini for 40% RH. The temperature distribution on reaction surface in 02 supply case is wider with increasing Tini as well as decreasing RH, though that in air supply case is relatively even.
文摘The oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） in the cathode catalyst layer （CCL） of polymer electrolyte fuel cells （PEFC） is one of the major causes of performance loss during operation. In addition, the CCL is the most expensive component due to the use of a Pt catalyst. Apart from the ORR itself, the species transport to and from the reactive sites determines the performance of the PEFC. The effective transport properties of the species in the CCL depend on its nanostructure. Therefore a three-dimensional reconstruction of the CCL is required. A series of two-dimensional images was obtained from focused ion beam- scanning electron microscope （FIB-SEM） imaging and a segmentation method for the two-dimensional images has been developed. The pore size distribution （PSD） was calculated for the three-dimensional geometry. The influence of the alignment and the anisotropic pixel size on the PSD has been investigated. Pores were found in the range between 5 nm and 205 nm. Evaluation of the Knudsen number showed that gas transport in the CCL is governed by the transition flow regime. The liquid water transport can be described within continuum hydrodynamics by including suitable slip flow boundary conditions.
文摘Abstract： The purpose of this study is to analyze the temperature distribution on the interface between the polymer electrolyte membrane and catalyst layer at the cathode in single cell of polymer electrolyte fuel cell when operated in elevated temperature range than usual. In this study, the interface between the polymer electrolyte membrane and catalyst layer at the cathode is named as reaction surface. This study has considered the 1D multi-plate heat transfer model estimating the temperature distribution on the reaction surface and verified with the 3D numerical simulation model solving many governing equations on the coupling phenomena of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell. The 3D numerical simulation model coverers a half size of actual cell including three straight parts and two turn-back corners, which can display the essential phenomena of single cell. The results from both models/simulations agreed well. The effects of initial operation temperature, flow rate, and relative humidity of supply gas on temperature distribution on the reaction surface have been investigated. Though the effect of flow rate of supply gas on temperature distribution on reaction surface has been small, low relative humidity of supply gas has caused higher temperature on the reaction surface compared to high relative humidity of the supply gas. The temperature rise of reaction surface from initial operation temperature has increased with the increasing in initial operation temperature of cell.
文摘This study is to understand the impact of operating condition, especially initial operation temperature （Tini） which is set in high temperature range, on the temperature profile of the interface between PEM （polymer electrolyte membrane） and catalyst layer at the cathode （i.e., the reaction surface） in a single PEFC （polymer electrolyte fuel cell）. A 1D multi-plate heat transfer model based on the temperature data of separator measured using thermograph in a power generation experiment was developed to evaluate the reaction surface temperature （Treact）. This study investigated the effects of Tini, flow rate and relative humidity of supply gas as well as thickness of PEM on the temperature distribution on reaction surface. As a result, the impact of flow rate of supply gas on the temperature distribution is not significant irrespective of relative humidity conditions as well as PEM type. When operated at high temperature, the temperature distribution is relatively flat in the case of thicker PEM （Nafion 115）, while Treact rises from the inlet to the outlet large and the temperature distribution is wide in the case of thin PEM （Nafion 211） irrespective of relative humidity condition. Since the water transfer through PEM in the case of Nafion 211 is better than Nafion 115 due to thin PEM, the power generation is promoted along the gas flow with the aid of humidification by water produced from electrochemical reaction.
文摘This study is to understand the impact of operating conditions, especially initial operation temperature (T<sub>ini</sub>) which is set in a high temperature range, on the temperature profile of the interface between the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and the catalyst layer at the cathode (i.e., the reaction surface) in a single cell of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). A 1D multi-plate heat transfer model based on the temperature data of the separator measured using the thermograph in a power generation experiment was developed to evaluate the reaction surface temperature (T<sub>react</sub>). In addition, to validate the proposed heat transfer model, T<sub>react</sub> obtained from the model was compared with that from the 3D numerical simulation using CFD software COMSOL Multiphysics which solves the continuity equation, Brinkman equation, Maxwell-Stefan equation, Butler-Volmer equation as well as heat transfer equation. As a result, the temperature gap between the results obtained by 1D heat transfer model and those obtained by 3D numerical simulation is below approximately 0.5 K. The simulation results show the change in the molar concentration of O<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>O from the inlet to the outlet is more even with the increase in T<sub>ini</sub> due to the lower performance of O<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction. The change in the current density from the inlet to the outlet is more even with the increase in T<sub>ini</sub> and the value of current density is smaller with the increase in T<sub>ini </sub>due to the increase in ohmic over-potential and concentration over-potential. It is revealed that the change in T<sub>react</sub> from the inlet to the outlet is more even with the increase in T<sub>ini</sub> irrespective of heat transfer model. This is because the generated heat from the power generation is lower with the increase in T<sub>ini </sub>due to the lower performance of O<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction.
文摘Water management in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is a key topic for PEFC operation. A microporous layer (MPL) has been recently used to improve the water flooding in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) around the catalyst layer. However, the mechanisms of this MPL are not completely understood because of the difficulty of measuring the water distribution during operation. To clarify the water-accumulation phenomena with the MPL, visualization and measurement of the water distribution in the through-plane direction of a small fuel cell is carried out by using neutron radiography. The parallelism of the neutron flux is optimized by using a collimator to observe the transient change in the water distributions, and two-dimensional water distributions in the through-plane direction of the PEFC can be obtained every 60 s. The differences in the water accumulation processes in the GDL without and with the MPL under the lands and channels are compared. It is observed that the water accumulation in the GDL under the land is greater than that under the channel during the period of early PEFC operation. Water evacuation from the GDL to the channel mainly occurs around the land corners. Furthermore, one-dimensional water distributions are calculated from the visualized water distributions, and the results without and with the MPL in the cathode are compared. The water thickness in the through-plane direction attains its maximum value around the boundary between the catalyst layer and the GDL without the MPL, whereas it is attained between the MPL and the GDL with the MPL. The maximum water accumulation in the GDL under the land without the MPL is higher than that with the MPL.
