Experimental study on the start-up with dry gases from normal cell temperatures in self-humidified proton exchange membrane fuel cells

In this study, the start-up characteristics of PEMFCs (proton exchange membrane fuel cells) was investigated with dry gases from normal cell temperatures above 0 °C. Firstly, the effects of flow arrangements (co-flow and counter-flow) were evaluated at a starting cell temperature of 25 °C. Then, the start-up was successful in both arrangements, but it showed better performance with counter-flow. In addition, the hydrogen concentration was measured and it showed that hydrogen crossover contributes to the membrane hydration and the first phase of dry start-up. However, although the cell temperature rose above 45 °C after start-up form 25 °C with counter-flow arrangement, the restart-up after shut-down failed at a starting cell temperature of 45 °C regardless of flow arrangements. Considering the needs of restart-up, the available starting cell temperature should be improved. For this, after first sub-step of start-up process, relatively low flow rates were maintained to retain produced water without purge so that the membrane can be hydrated sufficiently. With this modified process, denominated as WSP (water storage process) in this study, the dry start-up became successful at a starting cell temperature of 45 °C and the cell performance was remarkably improved especially with counter-flow arrangement.

[1]  Luis A. M. Riascos,et al.  Limit Operating Temperature in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells , 2009 .

[2]  Bo Ki Hong,et al.  Novel technique for measuring oxygen crossover through the membrane in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells , 2013 .

[3]  P. Ghosh,et al.  Modelling of start-up time for high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells , 2011 .

[4]  T. Springer,et al.  Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Model , 1991 .

[5]  A. Oikonomou,et al.  Influence of the water content on the kinetics of counter-ion transport in perfluorosulphonic membranes , 1990 .

[6]  Gaël Maranzana,et al.  Experimental study of the start-up of a fuel cell stack for backup power application , 2012 .

[7]  C. Hochenauer,et al.  Water droplet accumulation and motion in PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell mini-channels , 2012 .

[8]  Junxiao Wu,et al.  Study of the effects of various parameters on the transient current density at polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell start-up , 2009 .

[9]  Min-Soo Kim,et al.  Local measurements of hydrogen crossover rate in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells , 2013 .

[10]  Minoru Inaba,et al.  Gas crossover and membrane degradation in polymer electrolyte fuel cells , 2006 .

[11]  Xianguo Li,et al.  Simultaneous measurement of current and temperature distributions in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell during cold start processes , 2011 .

[12]  Kyoungdoug Min,et al.  Experimental study of the effect of dissolution on the gas diffusion layer in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells , 2011 .

[13]  Chao-Yang Wang,et al.  Effects of operating and design parameters on PEFC cold start , 2007 .

[14]  B. Wetton,et al.  Water Management in PEM Fuel Cells , 2004 .

[15]  Xuan Cheng,et al.  PEM fuel cells operated at 0% relative humidity in the temperature range of 23–120 °C , 2007 .

[16]  Yun Wang,et al.  A review of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: Technology, applications,and needs on fundamental research , 2011 .

[17]  R. Mcdonald,et al.  Effects of Deep Temperature Cycling on Nafion® 112 Membranes and Membrane Electrode Assemblies , 2004 .

[18]  Chao-Yang Wang,et al.  Isothermal Cold Start of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells , 2007 .

[19]  Chao-Yang Wang,et al.  Durability of Membrane Electrode Assemblies under Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Cold-Start Cycling , 2008 .

[20]  Zhigang Shao,et al.  Study on the processes of start-up and shutdown in proton exchange membrane fuel cells , 2009 .

[21]  Min-Soo Kim,et al.  Effects of operating parameters on hydrogen crossover rate through Nafion® membranes in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells , 2013 .

[22]  Felix N. Büchi,et al.  Operating Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Without External Humidification of the Reactant Gases Fundamental Aspects , 1997 .

[23]  Geonhui Gwak,et al.  Numerical investigation of cold-start behavior of polymer-electrolyte fuel-cells from subzero to normal operating temperatures – Effects of cell boundary and operating conditions , 2014 .

[24]  S. Kocha,et al.  Characterization of gas crossover and its implications in PEM fuel cells , 2006 .

[25]  Chao-Yang Wang,et al.  Potentiostatic Start-Up of PEMFCs from Subzero Temperatures , 2008 .

[26]  Harvey G. Stenger,et al.  Flow rate and humidification effects on a PEM fuel cell performance and operation , 2007 .

[27]  M. Kim,et al.  Experimental approaches for distribution and behavior of water in PEMFC under flow direction and differential pressure using neutron imaging technique , 2009 .

[28]  Christoph Ziegler,et al.  Transient Behavior of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell under Dry Operation , 2006 .

[29]  Yanghua Tang,et al.  PEM fuel cell open circuit voltage (OCV) in the temperature range of 23 °C to 120 °C , 2006 .

[30]  Min-Soo Kim,et al.  Experimental study on the self-humidification effect in proton exchange membrane fuel cells containing double gas diffusion backing layer , 2015 .

[31]  Min-Soo Kim,et al.  Experimental study on mitigating the cathode flooding at low temperature by adding hydrogen to the cathode reactant gas in PEM fuel cell , 2013 .

[32]  Shanhai Ge,et al.  Characteristics of subzero startup and water/ice formation on the catalyst layer in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell , 2007 .

[33]  Wei-Mon Yan,et al.  EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON OPTIMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS FOR DIFFERENT FLOW FIELD DESIGNS OF PEM FUEL CELLS , 2006 .

[34]  Gholamreza Karimi,et al.  Cold start characteristics of proton exchange membrane fuel cells , 2011 .

[35]  Hossein Toghiani,et al.  Effect of sub-freezing temperatures on a PEM fuel cell performance, startup and fuel cell components , 2006 .

[36]  In-Hwan Oh,et al.  Characteristics of the PEMFC Repetitively Brought to Temperatures below 0°C , 2003 .

[37]  A. J. Appleby,et al.  Fuel cell technology: Status and future prospects☆☆☆ , 1996 .

[38]  H.-J. Neef,et al.  International overview of hydrogen and fuel cell research , 2009 .

[39]  Kirk W Feindel,et al.  Insights into the distribution of water in a self-humidifying H2/O2 proton-exchange membrane fuel cell using 1H NMR microscopy. , 2006, Journal of the American Chemical Society.