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Cathode Exhaust Gas Recirculation for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Stack
Author(s) -
Becker F.,
Pillath F.,
Kallo J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
fuel cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.485
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1615-6854
pISSN - 1615-6846
DOI - 10.1002/fuce.201700219
Subject(s) - cathode , electrolyte , proton exchange membrane fuel cell , stack (abstract data type) , exhaust gas , materials science , chemical engineering , nuclear engineering , humidity , volumetric flow rate , oxygen , waste management , environmental science , chemistry , fuel cells , electrode , computer science , engineering , mechanics , organic chemistry , programming language , physics , thermodynamics
To ensure the required reliability and efficiency of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) system, an emergency situation in which the supply of ambient air has to be sealed off, is considered. In this case oxygen from a separate gas tank is fed to the fuel cell system. To prevent the loss of oxygen by the exhaust, the cathode gas can be fed back by cathode gas recirculation while oxygen is injected. Thereby the opportunity to feed back the humidity of the exhaust air for additional fuel cell humidification becomes available. The humidification of a PEFC is essential to ensure high protonic conductivity and reduce voltage losses. However, the water content of the inlet gas has to be regulated to prevent the electrodes from flooding. To control the humidity of the system the gas flow rate, the temperature of the fuel cell and the cathode gas can be adjusted. In addition, the enhanced water content in the system allows increasing the operating temperatures. This work focuses on an experimental study of a 12 kW PEFC‐system with cathode gas recirculation and a phenomenological model to optimize the fuel cell humidification depending on the operating parameters.