Basic Electrochemical Thermodynamic Studies of Fuel Cells and Fuel Cell Hybrids

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Williams ◽  
T. Horita ◽  
K. Yamagi ◽  
N. Sakai ◽  
H. Yokokawa
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Hybrid System ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Oxidation Reaction ◽  
Operating Temperature ◽  
Exergetic Efficiency ◽  
Standard State ◽  
Reversible Work

It is important to understand the maximum possible thermal efficiency a device is capable of obtaining and then what of this it actually achieves. In this paper it is shown that the thermal efficiency is a product of the voltage efficiency and the maximum possible thermal efficiency. One can mathematically demonstrate that for any elemental direct anodic oxidation reaction for a simple hybrid system, any fuel cell, and any operating temperature, any pressure, the maximum reversible work is equal to the free energy of reaction at the standard state. This is useful in defining an intrinsic fuel cell exergetic efficiency. An equation for thermal efficiency as a product of exergetic efficiency and maximum possible thermal efficiency is developed and presented for loosely integrated fuel cell turbine hybrids. From these simple studies alone one would conclude that the efficiency potential of fuel cells is expanded through simple fuel cell turbine hybrids.

scholarly journals Thermodynamic Study of Operation Properties Effect on Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEM)

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim H Tawil ◽  
Farag M Bsebsu ◽  
Hassan Abdulkader
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Gibbs Free Energy ◽  
Operating Temperature ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Heat Output ◽  
Enthalpy Of Reaction ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

The thermodynamic analysis of PEM fuel cell energy production depends on the entropy and enthalpy of reaction with the changing of the operating temperatures that ranges between 50 and 100ºC, the electrical work done will be equal to the Gibbs free energy released. This paper presents a mathematical model of PEM fuel cells, based on physical-chemical procedures of the phenomena occurring inside the fuel cell, and it was theoretically studied the performance at different operation variables and conditions. The C++ program is designed to calculate all thermo-chemical parameters, i.e. enthalpy of formation, Gibbs free energy, work and efficiency for any type of fuel cells. The results are plotted as a function of fuel cell operating temperature. The results shows that the highest value of Gibbs energy is at the lowest operating temperature, and decreases gradually with increasing the temperature, the output voltage is determined by cell’s reversible voltage that arises from potential difference produced by chemical reaction and several voltage losses that occur inside a cell. In addition the results showed that the efficiency of this type of the fuel cells is much higher than the ideal Carnot’s efficiency, it changes between 82% to 85% depends on temperature operation. The heat output (required heat) from the fuel cell increases with increasing the operating temperature, this heat is used for many thermal applications such as buildings space heating.

Parametric Analysis and Optimization of a High Temperature Fuel Cell: Supercritical CO2 Turbine Hybrid System

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Sa´nchez ◽  
R. Chacartegui ◽  
A. Mun˜oz ◽  
T. Sa´nchez
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Hybrid Systems ◽  
Hybrid System ◽  
Operating Temperature ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Brayton Cycle ◽  
Molten Carbonate ◽  
Turbine Inlet Temperature

The integration of high temperature fuel cells — molten carbonate and solid oxide — and gas turbine engines for efficient power generation is not new. Different strategies for integrating both systems have been proposed in the past ten years and there are some field tests being run presently. However, the commercial availability of such power systems seems to be continuously delayed, probably due to cost and reliability problems. The materials used in high temperature fuel cells are expensive and their cost is not decreasing at the expected pace. In fact, it looks as if they had reached stabilization. Therefore, there seems to be agreement that operating at a lower temperature might be the only way to achieve more competitive costs to enter the market, as metallic materials could then be used. From the point of view of conventional hybrid systems, decreasing the operating temperature of the cell would affect the efficiency of the bottoming cycle dramatically, as long as turbine inlet temperature is a critical parameter for the performance of a Brayton cycle. This is the reason why hybrid systems perform better with solid oxide fuel cells operating at 1000 °C than with molten carbonate cells at 650 °C typically. This work presents a hybrid system comprising a high temperature fuel cell, either SOFC or MCFC, and a bottoming Brayton cycle working with supercritical carbon dioxide. A parametric analysis is done where all the parameters affecting the performance of the hybrid system are studied, with emphasis in the bottoming cycle. For the Brayton cycle: pressure ratio, expansion and compression efficiencies, recuperator effectiveness, pressure losses, turbine inlet temperature... For the fuel cell: fuel utilization, current density, operating temperature, etc. From this analysis, optimum operating point and integration scheme are established and, after this, a comparison with conventional hybrid systems using similar fuel cells is done. Results show that, although the fuel cell is not pressurized in the CO2 based system, its performance is similar to the best conventional cycle. Furthermore, if lower operating temperatures are considered for the fuel cell, the new system performs better than any of the conventional.

Fuel-Cell Hybrid Systems to Generate Shipboard Electrical Power

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Sembler ◽  
S. Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Hybrid Systems ◽  
Hybrid System ◽  
Cell Hybrid ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
History Of ◽  
Marine Applications ◽  
Fuel Cell Hybrid

The reduction of shipboard airborne emissions has been receiving increased attention due to the desire to improve air quality and reduce the generation of greenhouse gases. The use of a fuel cell could represent an environmentally friendly way for a ship to generate in-port electrical power that would eliminate the need to operate diesel-driven generators or use shore power. This paper includes a brief description of the various types of fuel cells in use today, together with a review of the history of fuel cells in marine applications. In addition, the results of a feasibility study conducted to evaluate the use of a fuel-cell hybrid system to produce shipboard electrical power are presented.

scholarly journals Electrochemical Performance Improvement of the Catalyst of the Methanol Micro-Fuel Cell Using Carbon Nanotubes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Kazemi Nasrabadi ◽  
Amir Ebrahimi-Moghadam ◽  
Mohammad Hosein Ahmadi ◽  
Ravinder Kumar ◽  
Narjes Nabipour
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Nanotubes ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Carbon Black ◽  
Oxidation Reaction ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Methanol Oxidation Reaction

Due to low working temperature, high energy density and low pollution, proton exchange fuel cells have been investigated under different operating conditions in different applications. Using platinum catalysts in methanol fuel cells leads to increasing the cost of this kind of fuel cell which is considered as a barrier to the commercialism of this technology. For this reason, a lot of efforts have been made to reduce the loading of the catalyst required on different supports. In this study, carbon black (CB) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) have been used as catalyst supports of the fuel cell as well as using the double-metal combination of platinum-ruthenium (PtRu) as anode electrode catalyst and platinum (Pt) as cathode electrode catalyst. The performance of these two types of electro-catalyst in the oxidation reaction of methanol has been compared based on electrochemical tests. Results showed that the carbon nanotubes increase the performance of the micro-fuel cell by 37% at maximum power density, compared to the carbon black. Based on thee-electrode tests of chronoamperometry and voltammetry, it was found that the oxidation onset potential of methanol for CNT has been around 20% less than CB, leading to the kinetic improvement of the oxidation reaction. The current density of methanol oxidation reaction increased up to 62% in CNT sample compared to CB supported one, therefore the active electrochemical surface area of the catalyst has been increased up to 90% by using CNT compared to CB which shows the significant rise of the electrocatalytic activity in CNT supported catalyst. Moreover, the resistance of the CNT supported sample to poisonous intermediate species has been found 3% more than CB supported one. According to the chronoamperometry test results, it was concluded that the performance and sustainability of the CNT electro-catalyst show remarkable improvement compared to CB electro-catalyst in the long term.

Optimum Performance of a Regenerative Gas Turbine Power Plant Operating With/Without a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Haseli
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ◽  
Hybrid System ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Solid Oxide ◽  
Work Output ◽  
Oxide Fuel ◽  
Optimum Pressure

Optimum pressure ratios of a regenerative gas turbine (RGT) power plant with and without a solid oxide fuel cell are investigated. It is shown that assuming a constant specific heat ratio throughout the RGT plant, explicit expressions can be derived for the optimum pressure ratios leading to maximum thermal efficiency and maximum net work output. It would be analytically complicated to apply the same method for the hybrid system due to the dependence of electrochemical parameters such as cell voltage on thermodynamic parameters like pressure and temperature. So, the thermodynamic optimization of this system is numerically studied using models of RGT plant and solid oxide fuel cell. Irreversibilities in terms of component efficiencies and total pressure drop within each configuration are taken into account. The main results for the RGT plant include maximization of the work output at the expenses of 2–4% lower thermal efficiency and higher capital costs of turbo-compressor compared to a design based on maximum thermal efficiency. On the other hand, the hybrid system is studied for a turbine inlet temperature (TIT) of 1 250–1 450 K and 10–20% total pressure drop in the system. The maximum thermal efficiency is found to be at a pressure ratio of 3–4, which is consistent with past studies. A higher TIT leads to a higher pressure ratio; however, no significant effect of pressure drop on the optimum pressure ratio is observed. The maximum work output of the hybrid system may take place at a pressure ratio at which the compressor outlet temperature is equal to the turbine downstream temperature. The work output increases with increasing the pressure ratio up to a point after which it starts to vary slightly. The pressure ratio at this point is suggested to be the optimal because the work output is very close to its maximum and the thermal efficiency is as high as a littler less than 60%.

Ultrafine Co6W6C as an efficient anode catalyst for direct hydrazine fuel cells

2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (80) ◽  
pp. 10415-10418
Author(s):  
Mengrui Zhang ◽  
Jianping Zhu ◽  
Bin Liu ◽  
Yongkang Hou ◽  
Chao Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Oxidation Reaction ◽  
Anode Catalyst ◽  
Catalytic Activities ◽  
Hydrazine Oxidation ◽  
Ternary Carbide

Ultrafine Co6W6C nanoparticles were successfully synthesized, and this ternary carbide exhibit high catalytic activities for hydrazine oxidation reaction in a practical oxygen–hydrazine fuel cell.

Performance Comparison of Internal Reforming Against External Reforming in a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Gas Turbine Hybrid System

2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Liese ◽  
Randall S. Gemmen
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ◽  
Hybrid System ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Performance Comparison ◽  
Solid Oxide ◽  
Oxide Fuel ◽  
Internal Reforming ◽  
Hybrid Configuration

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) developers are presently considering both internal and external reforming fuel cell designs. Generally, the endothermic reforming reaction and excess air through the cathode provide the cooling needed to remove waste heat from the fuel cell. Current information suggests that external reforming fuel cells will require a flow rate twice the amount necessary for internal reforming fuel cells. The increased airflow could negatively impact system performance. This paper compares the performance among various external reforming hybrid configurations and an internal reforming hybrid configuration. A system configuration that uses the reformer to cool a cathode recycle stream is introduced, and a system that uses interstage external reforming is proposed. Results show that the thermodynamic performance of these proposed concepts are an improvement over a base-concept external approach, and can be better than an internal reforming hybrid system, depending on the fuel cell cooling requirements.

Performance Analysis on SOFC-HCCI Engine Hybrid System

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Ho Park ◽  
Young Duk Lee ◽  
Sang Gyu Kang ◽  
Kook Young Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Hybrid Systems ◽  
Hybrid System ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Metal Catalyst ◽  
Molten Carbonate ◽  
Hcci Engine ◽  
Ci Engines

Fuel cell systems are currently regarded as a promising type of energy conversion system. Various types of fuel cell have been developed and investigated worldwide for portable, automotive, and stationary applications. In particular, in the case of large-scale stationary applications, the high-temperature fuel cells known as the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) and the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) have been used as a power source due to their higher efficiency compared to low-temperature fuel cells. Because SOFCs have many advantages, including a high power density, low corrosion, and operability without a metal catalyst, many efforts to develop a SOFC hybrid system have been undertaken. SOFC hybrid systems with a gas turbine or engine show improved system efficiency through their utilization of waste heat and unreacted fuel. Especially, the internal combustion engine has the advantage of robustness, easy maintenance, and a low cost compared to gas turbines, this type is more adaptable for use in a hybrid system with a SOFC. However, the engine should be operated stably at a high air fuel ratio because the SOFC anode exhaust gas has a low fuel concentration. The homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine has both the advantages of SI and CI engines. Moreover, the lean burn characteristics of the HCCI engine make it a strong candidate for SOFC hybrid systems. The objective of this work is to develop a novel cycle composed of a SOFC and a HCCI engine. In order to optimize the SOFC-HCCI hybrid system, a system analysis is conducted here using the commercial software Aspen Plus®. The SOFC model is validated with experimental data. The engine model is developed based on an empirical equation that considers the ignition delay time. The performance of the hybrid system is compared with that of a SOFC stand-alone system to confirm the optimization of the system. This study will be useful for the development of a new type of hybrid system which uses a fuel cell and an optimized system.

Compared Thermal Modeling of Anode- and Electrolyte-Supported SOFC-Gas Turbine Hybrid Systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulrazzak Akroot ◽  
Lutfu Namli ◽  
Hasan Ozcan
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Hybrid Systems ◽  
Hybrid System ◽  
Operating Temperature ◽  
Power Production ◽  
Solid Oxide ◽  
System Model ◽  
Oxide Fuel ◽  
System Operation ◽  
And Performance

Abstract In this study, two solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) hybrid systems (anode-supported model (ASM) and electrolyte-supported model (ESM)) is developed in matlab® and compared. The hybrid system model is considered to investigate the impacts of various operating parameters such as SOFC operating temperature and steam/carbon ratio on power production and performance of the hybrid system where it is projected that results can be utilized as guidelines for optimal hybrid system operation. According to the findings, a maximum 695 kW power is produced at 750 °C operating temperature for the anode-supported model, whereas 627 kW power is produced at 1000 °C for the electrolyte-supported model. The highest electrical efficiencies for the anode-supported model and the electrolyte-supported model are 64.6% and 58.3%, respectively. Besides, the lower value of the steam to carbon ratio is favorable for increased power output from the fuel cell and consequently a high SOFC efficiency.

Simulation of Distributive Generation Using Fuel Cell Hybrid Systems

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Wolf ◽  
Shripad Revankar
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Hybrid Systems ◽  
Hybrid System ◽  
Cell Hybrid ◽  
Cell Model ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Parametric Studies ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Fuel Cell Hybrid

Fuel cell hybrid technology has the potential to significantly change our current energy infrastructure. Past studies have shown that the combination of fuel cells and turbines can produce power at remarkably high efficiencies with low levels of pollution. The work presented in this paper is an initial step to further development of a hybrid system model. The fuel cell model discussed is used to perform parametric studies to aid in the optimization of a hybrid system. This paper provides an overview of fuel cell hybrid systems and distributive generation. A fuel cell model is implemented in SIMULINK using basic balance equations. Key issues of modeling specifically high temperature fuel cells are discussed along with their transient response and how it may affect the performance of a distributive generation system.

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