scholarly journals n-Hexadecane Fuel for a Phosphoric Acid Direct Hydrocarbon Fuel Cell

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanchen Zhu ◽  
Travis Robinson ◽  
Amani Al-Othman ◽  
André Y. Tremblay ◽  
Marten Ternan
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Phosphoric Acid ◽  
Diesel Fuel ◽  
Cetane Number ◽  
Extensive Study ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Polarization Curves ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Railway Transportation

The objective of this work was to examine fuel cells as a possible alternative to the diesel fuel engines currently used in railway locomotives, thereby decreasing air emissions from the railway transportation sector. We have investigated the performance of a phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) reactor, with n-hexadecane, C16H34 (a model compound for diesel fuel, cetane number = 100). This is the first extensive study reported in the literature in which n-hexadecane is used directly as the fuel. Measurements were made to obtain both polarization curves and time-on-stream results. Because deactivation was observed hydrogen polarization curves were measured before and after n-hexadecane experiments, to determine the extent of deactivation of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). By feeding water-only (no fuel) to the fuel cell anode the deactivated MEAs could be regenerated. One set of fuel cell operating conditions that produced a steady-state was identified. Identification of steady-state conditions is significant because it demonstrates that stable fuel cell operation is technically feasible when operating a PAFC with n-hexadecane fuel.

scholarly journals Recent Progress in the Development of Aromatic Polymer-Based Proton Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raja Rafidah R. S. ◽  
Rashmi W. ◽  
Khalid M. ◽  
Wong W. Y. ◽  
Priyanka J.
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Conductivity ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Proton Exchange Membranes ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Polymer Chains ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Aryl Ether

Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) play a pivotal role in fuel cells; conducting protons from the anode to the cathode within the cell’s membrane electrode assembles (MEA) separates the reactant fuels and prevents electrons from passing through. High proton conductivity is the most important characteristic of the PEM, as this contributes to the performance and efficiency of the fuel cell. However, it is also important to take into account the membrane’s durability to ensure that it canmaintain itsperformance under the actual fuel cell’s operating conditions and serve a long lifetime. The current state-of-the-art Nafion membranes are limited due to their high cost, loss of conductivity at elevated temperatures due to dehydration, and fuel crossover. Alternatives to Nafion have become a well-researched topic in recent years. Aromatic-based membranes where the polymer chains are linked together by aromatic rings, alongside varying numbers of ether, ketone, or sulfone functionalities, imide, or benzimidazoles in their structures, are one of the alternatives that show great potential as PEMs due totheir electrochemical, mechanical, and thermal strengths. Membranes based on these polymers, such as poly(aryl ether ketones) (PAEKs) and polyimides (PIs), however, lack a sufficient level of proton conductivity and durability to be practical for use in fuel cells. Therefore, membrane modifications are necessary to overcome their drawbacks. This paper reviews the challenges associated with different types of aromatic-based PEMs, plus the recent approaches that have been adopted to enhance their properties and performance.

Startup and Steady-State Performance of a New Renewable Hydroprocessed Depolymerized Cellulosic Diesel Fuel in Multiple Diesel Engines

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Bermudez ◽  
Andrew McDaniel ◽  
Terrence Dickerson ◽  
Dianne Luning Prak ◽  
Len Hamilton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Diesel Engine ◽  
Cetane Number ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Engine Operation ◽  
Start Of Injection ◽  
Ignition Quality ◽  
Engine Testing ◽  
Engine Start ◽  
Distillate Fuel

A new hydroprocessed depolymerized cellulosic diesel (HDCD) fuel has been developed using a process which takes biomass feedstock (principally cellulosic wood) to produce a synthetic fuel that has nominally ½ cycloparaffins and ½ aromatic hydrocarbons in content. This HDCD fuel with a low cetane value (derived cetane number from the ignition quality tester, DCN = 27) was blended with naval distillate fuel (NATO symbol F-76) in various quantities and tested in order to determine how much HDCD could be blended before diesel engine operation becomes problematic. Blends of 20% HDCD (DCN = 45), 30%, 40% (DCN = 41), and 60% HDCD (DCN = 37) by volume were tested with conventional naval distillate fuel (DCN = 49). Engine start performance was evaluated with a conventional mechanically direct injected (DI) Yanmar engine and a Waukesha mechanical indirect injected (IDI) Cooperative Fuels Research (CFR) diesel engine and showed that engine start times increased steadily with increasing HDCD content. Longer start times with increasing HDCD content were the result of some engine cycles with poor combustion leading to a slower rate of engine acceleration toward rated speed. A repeating sequence of alternating cycles which combust followed by a noncombustion cycle was common during engine run-up. Additionally, steady-state engine testing was also performed using both engines. HDCD has a significantly higher bulk modulus than F76 due to its very high aromatic content, and the engines showed earlier start of injection (SOI) timing with increasing HDCD content for equivalent operating conditions. Additionally, due to the lower DCN, the higher HDCD blends showed moderately longer ignition delay (IGD) with moderately shorter overall burn durations. Thus, the midcombustion metric (CA50: 50% burn duration crank angle position) was only modestly affected with increasing HDCD content. Increasing HDCD content beyond 40% leads to significantly longer start times.

Effect of Membrane Electrode Assembly Bonding Technique on Fuel Cell Performance and Platinum Crystallite Size

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Buelte ◽  
Daniel Walczyk ◽  
Ian Sweeney
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Phosphoric Acid ◽  
Crystallite Size ◽  
Cycle Time ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Manufacturing Costs ◽  
Cell Technology ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Ultrasonic Bonding

Major efforts are underway to reduce fuel cell manufacturing costs, thereby facilitating widespread adoption of fuel cell technology in emerging applications, such as combined heat and power and transportation. This research investigates new methods for fabricating membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), which are at the core of fuel cell technology. A key manufacturing step in the production of fuel cell MEAs is bonding two electrodes to an ionically conductive membrane. In particular, new MEA bonding methods are examined for polybenzimidazole-based phosphoric acid (PBI/PA) fuel cells. Two new methods of bonding PBI/PA fuel cell MEAs were studied with the goal of reducing cycle time to reduce manufacturing costs. Specifically, the methods included ultrasonic bonding and thermally bonding with advance process control (APC thermal). The traditional method of thermally bonding PBI MEAs requires 30 seconds, whereas the new bonding methods reduce the cycle time to 2 and 8 seconds, respectively. Ultrasonic bonding was also shown to significantly reduce the energy consumed by the bonding process. Adverse effects of the new bonding methods on cell performance and structure were not observed. Average cell voltages at 0.2 A/cm2 for ultrasonic, APC thermal, and thermally bonded MEAs were 650 mV, 651 mV, and 641 mV, respectively. The platinum crystallite size was found to be the same before and after ultrasonic bonding using XRD. Furthermore, changes in the electrode pore structure were not observed in SEM images taken after ultrasonic bonding. The test results show that it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs by switching to faster methods of bonding PBI phosphoric acid fuel cell MEAs.

Lightweight System Design Optimization of High Reliability Compact Air Independent PEMFC Power Systems for Aerial and Space Vehicles

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Utz ◽  
Bob Wynne ◽  
Scott Ferguson ◽  
Mike Miller ◽  
Bob Sievers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Energy Density ◽  
Power Systems ◽  
System Design ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Fuel Cell Stack ◽  
Continuous Power

Demand has increased for high reliability mobile power systems for space and aerial vehicles in military, scientific, and commercial applications. Batteries have traditionally supplied power in these applications, but the desire to extend mission duration and expand vehicle capabilities would require an energy density increase that is difficult for batteries to achieve. The use of pure hydrogen and oxygen reactants with high efficiency membrane electrode assemblies and novel design concepts for the fuel cell stack bipolar plates and balance of plant (BOP) components has the potential to meet the desired system energy density. This paper reviews subsystem and integrated testing of a lightweight PEM fuel cell system design for implementation into an aerial vehicle or space mission. The PEM fuel cell stack is designed for optimum efficiency at 2 kWe of power during standard operation with the capacity to provide over 5 kWe of continuous power. The passive flow control and water management subsystems provide the gas flow and humidification necessary for efficient operation and remove excess water produced by the stack under all operating regimes. Work is in progress to test the fully integrated system under expected operating conditions for potential lightweight PEMFC applications.

Performance Evaluation of Dynamic Model of Compact Heat Exchange Reformer for High-Temperature Fuel Cell Systems

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeongpill Ki ◽  
Daejong Kim
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Heat Exchange ◽  
Dynamic Model ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Thermal Dynamics ◽  
Internal Reforming ◽  
Experimental Apparatus

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems are the most advanced power generation system with the highest thermal efficiency. The current trend of research on the SOFC systems is focused on multikilowatt scale systems, which require either internal reforming within the stack or a compact external reformer. Even if the internal reforming within the SOFC stack allows compact system configuration, it causes significant and complicated temperature gradients within the stack, due to endothermic reforming reactions and exothermic electrochemical reactions. As an alternative solution to the internal reforming, an external compact heat exchange reformer (CHER) is investigated in this work. The CHER is based on a typical plate-fin counterflow or coflow heat exchanger platform, and it can save space without causing large thermal stress and degradation to the SOFC stack (i.e., eventually reducing the overall system cost). In this work, a previously developed transient dynamic model of the CHER is validated by experiments. An experimental apparatus, which comprises the CHER, air heater, gas heater, steam generator, several mass flow controllers, and controller cabinet, was designed to investigate steady state reforming performance of the CHER for various hot air inlet temperatures (thermal energy source) and steam to carbon ratios (SCRs). The transient thermal dynamics of the CHER was also measured and compared with simulations when the CHER is used as a heat exchanger with inert gas. The measured transient dynamics of CHER matches very well with simulations, validating the heat transfer model within the CHER. The measured molar fractions of reformate gases at steady state also agree well with the simulations validating the used reaction kinetics. The transient CHER model can be easily integrated into a total integrated SOFC system, and the model can be also used for optimal design of similar CHERs and provides a guideline to select optimal operating conditions of the CHERs and the integrated SOFC system.

scholarly journals Highly conductive anion exchange membranes based on polymer networks containing imidazolium functionalised side chains

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ebrahim Abouzari-Lotf ◽  
Mohan V. Jacob ◽  
Hossein Ghassemi ◽  
Masoumeh Zakeri ◽  
Mohamed Mahmoud Nasef ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Anion Exchange ◽  
Polymer Networks ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Membrane Electrode Assembly ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Anion Exchange Membranes ◽  
Polyamide 66 ◽  
Syndiotactic Polypropylene

AbstractTwo novel types of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) having imidazolium-type functionalised nanofibrous substrates were prepared using the facile and potentially scalable method. The membranes’ precursors were prepared by graft copolymerization of vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC) onto syndiotactic polypropylene (syn-PP) and polyamide-66 (PA-66) nanofibrous networks followed by crosslinking with 1,8-octanediamine, thermal treatment and subsequent functionalisation of imidazolium groups. The obtained membranes displayed an ion exchange capacity (IEC) close to 1.9 mmol g–1 and ionic (OH-) conductivity as high as 130 mS cm–1 at 80 °C. This was coupled with a reasonable alkaline stability representing more than 70% of their original conductivity under accelerated degradation test in 1 M KOH at 80 °C for 360 h. The effect of ionomer binder on the performance of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) in AEM fuel cell was evaluated with the optimum membrane. The MEA showed a power density of as high as 440 mW cm−2 at a current density is 910 mA cm−2 with diamine crosslinked quaternized polysulfone (DAPSF) binder at 80 °C with 90% humidified H2 and O2 gases. Such performance was 2.3 folds higher than the corresponding MEA performance with quaternary ammonium polysulfone (QAPS) binder at the same operating conditions. Overall, the newly developed membrane was found to possess not only an excellent combination of physico-chemical properties and a reasonable stability but also to have a facile preparation procedure and cheap ingredients making it a promising candidate for application in AEM fuel cell.

High Performance Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Electrodes

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Rajalakshmi ◽  
R. Rajini ◽  
K. S. Dhathathreyan
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Fuel Cell Electrodes ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

Several methods are being attempted to improve the performance of PEM Fuel cell electrodes so that the cost of the overall system can be brought down. The performance can be improved if the utilization of the catalyst in the electrode increases. One of the early successful method was to add a proton conducting polymer, such as NafionR to the catalyst layer. However there is a limit to the amount of NafionR that can be added as too much NafionR affect the gas diffusion. The other method is to increase the surface area of the catalyst used which has also been adequately demonstrated. Alternative methods for providing increased proton conductivity and catalyst utilization are thus of great interest, and a number of them have been investigated in the literature. One method that is being extensively investigated is to introduce the catalyst onto the polymer electrolyte membrane followed by lamination with gas diffusion electrode. In the present work, we have carried out two methods i) screen print the catalyst ink on the NafionR membrane ii) catalyze the NafionR membranes by reducing a suitable platinum salt on the membrane. Standard gas diffusion electrodes were then laminated onto this membrane. The performances of Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEAs) prepared by these routes have been compared with the commercially available Gore catalysed membrane. It was observed that catalysed NafionR membranes show a better performance compared to the catalyst ink screen printed on the NafionR membrane and commercial Gore membrane under identical operating conditions. However MEAs with Gore membrane give a better performance in the iR region compared to the other MEAs prepared using NafionR membrane. The lesser performance with Gore membrane is probably due to the limitations in the lamination method employed.

Least-Squares Parameter Estimation for Catalyst Layer Agglomerate Models

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Dobson ◽  
Marc Secanell
Keyword(s):  
Parameter Estimation ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Least Squares ◽  
Least Squares Method ◽  
Structural Parameters ◽  
Catalyst Layer ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Two Dimensional

A framework is presented to estimate the micro-structural parameters of cathode fuel cell electrodes by means of a nonlinear least-squares method. This work represents the first attempt in the literature to characterize the structure of the catalyst layer by numerical parameter estimation using a two-dimensional membrane electrode assembly model with an ionomer-filled agglomerate catalyst layer approximation. The framework is developed by coupling a two-dimensional model to an optimization based least-squares algorithm in DAKOTA. The algorithm, NL2SOL, minimizes the sum-of-squares of the residuals for any number of data points and parameters. Employing the proposed methodology allows for accurate characterization of the electrode structure and quantification the quality of the curve fit. Extension of this methodology allows for parameter estimation as novel materials are incorporated into fuel cell construction. Results indicate that curves can be fit using micro-structural and electrochemical parameters consistent with values published in the literature. However, the quality of the fit deteriorates for large data sets over the entire range of operating conditions.

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