Improving the stability and long-term operation of PEMFCs


Аuthors

Agapov K. V.1, Dunikov D. O.2, Klimova M. A.2, Kuzmin K. D.1*

1. InEnergy LLC, 2nd Kotlyakovsky per. 18, Moscow, 115201, Russia
2. National Research University “Moscow Power Engineering Institute”, 14, Krasnokazarmennaya str., Moscow, 111250 Russia

*e-mail: k.kuzmin@inenergy.ru

Abstract

An experimental system was created and experiments were performed to study the performance of a fuel cell with polymer electrolyte with a nominal power of 40 W at a cold start. It was found that the rapid output to the rated power at a negative air temperature adversely affects to the stack. The water inside solidifies and blocks the transport of gases, and the conductivity of a membrane falls. Therefore, at the start of the fuel cell, it is first necessary to warm up the entire stack to a positive temperature and melt the water contained inside. This paper proposes the next way to solve this problem: thermoelectric heater was installed inside the system. This allowed maintaining a positive temperature of the output line and removing part of the water vapor during the purge together with unreacted hydrogen. In addition, due to heat dissipation, the air coming from the environment is slightly heated before entering to the cathode. In cold starts, it is important to ensure the smoothness of the load increase. In our work, the initial value of the current was 0.05 A, but it is possible to start with the values above. As a result, it becomes possible successfully perform a cold start of a solid polymer fuel cell, while the internal components of the stack will not be damaged due to a violation of the start mode. To ensure a smooth and safe increase in power, it is preferable to use a hybrid power plant consisting of a fuel cell and batteries. Batteries work power fluctuations and smooth the peaks of consumption. Low-voltage batteries with a voltage of 19.2 V were enough to ensure a smooth start of the fuel cell. After the start, the fuel cell, in turn, begins to charge the batteries and provide electricity to the model consumer – electronic load. The experiments confirmed the stable operation of the created hybrid power plant based on fuel cells.

Keywords:

hydrogen, proton-exchange membrane fuel cell; cold start; improve the stability of PEMFC

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