Fuel cell and Applications

UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF FUEL CELLS 9 Hrs.

Overview of fuel cells – Need of fuel cell, History, Principle and overview of fuel cell, Basic
electrochemistry for all the fuel cells, Low and high temperature fuel cells; Fuel cell
thermodynamics - heat, work potentials, prediction of reversible voltage, Nernst equation;
Effect of temperature, pressure, concentration on Nernst potential fuel cell efficiency,
Concept of electrochemical potential.

1.1. INTRODUCTION
Fuel cells are seen by many people as a key solution for the 21st century, enabling clean
efficient production of power and heat from a range of primary energy sources.
Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that use hydrogen (H2), or H2-rich fuels, together with
oxygen from air, to produce electricity and heat. However there are many variants of this
basic process, depending on the Fuel Cell type and the fuel used.
This technology is very interesting for a many different applications including micro power
generators, auxiliary power generators, stationary power generators, distributed power
generators and portable power generators for transportation, military projects and the
automotive market.
Most fuel cell power systems comprise a number of components:
1. Unit cells, in which the electrochemical reactions take place
2. Stacks, in which individual cells are modularly combined by electrically connecting
the cells to form units with the desired output capacity
3. Balance of plant which comprises components that provide feedstream conditioning
(including a fuel processor if needed), thermal management, and electric power
conditioning among other ancillary and interface functions
1.2. HISTORY OF FUEL CELL

1.3. The Base Structure of Fuel Cells

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device which converts the chemical energy of a fuel and an
oxidant directly into electrical energy. The basic physical structure of a single cell consists of
an electrolyte layer in contact with a porous anode and cathode on either side. In a typical
fuel cell, gaseous fuels are fed continuously to the anode (negative electrode) and an
oxidant (i.e., oxygen from air) is fed continuously to the cathode (positive electrode)
compartment; the electrochemical reactions take place at the electrodes to produce an
electric current (Fig. 1).
In the case of a fuel cell with an acid electrolyte the electrochemical reactions are:

anodic reaction: H2 → 2H+ + 2e-

cathodic reaction: 1/2O2 + 2H+ + 2e- → H2O
overall reaction: H2 + 1/2O2 → H2O + heat (exothermic reaction, ΔH=-286 kJ mol-1)

A fuel cell, although having components and characteristics similar to those of a typical
battery, differs in several respects. The battery is an energy storage device and the available
energy is determined by the chemical reactant stored within the battery itself. The battery
will cease to produce electrical energy when the chemical reactants are consumed (i.e.,
battery discharged). In a secondary battery (fuel cell), the reactants are continuously
supplied from an external source.
The fuel cell, on the other hand, is an energy conversion device that theoretically has the
capability of producing electrical energy for as long as the fuel and oxidant are supplied to
the electrodes. Degradation, primarily corrosion, or malfunction of components are the
limits to the practical operating life of fuel cells.

1.2 Fuel cell concept

1.4 THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF FUEL CELLS

If compared with conventional fossil fuel propelled electric generators, the use of fuel cells
brings about many advantages:
1. Higher volumetric and gravimetric efficiency
2. Low chemical, acoustic, and thermal emissions
3. Modularity and siting flexibility
4. Low maintenance
5. Fuel flexibility (depending on type of fuel cell)
6. No production of pollutants

The problems are the following:

 1. Fuel cells costs for stationary electric generation (€/Wh) are still too high and
unsuitable for the substitution of the technologies based on fossil fuels.
2. The life cycle and the degradation time of many technologies of fuel cells (especially
the high temperature technologies which are the best for electric power generation)
is still not totally known.
3. Hydrogen, which is one the main fuel for fuel cell technologies, is expensive and it
does not still exist a network for its production and distribution.
4. The use of low temperature fuel cells in the car market is limited by the fact that it is
difficult to confine a suitable quantity of hydrogen in small fuel containers and by the
fact that hydrogen is a flammable and potentially explosive gas (especially if
compressed in small containers).
These are the reasons which prevents fuel cells to substitute many others technologies with
lower efficiency and a much higher environmental impact.

1.5. FUEL CELLS TECHNOLOGIES

Actually there are many technologies of fuel cells available on the market, and each one of
those is characterized by: the operative temperature range, the type of fuels which can be
used, the type of catalyst used by the cell and the efficiency ratio of the energy conversion.
The main technologies available on the market are the following (Table ):

1. Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC):

2. Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC)
3. Alkaline Fuel Cells (AFC)
4. Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC)
5. Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC)
6. Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)
1.6. Thermodynamics of Fuel cell

Refer the Table

1.7. Ideal Performance
The Nernst potential, E, gives the ideal open circuit cell potential. This potential sets the
upper limit or maximum performance achievable by a fuel cell. The overall reactions for
various types of fuel cells are presented in Table 2-1. The corresponding Nernst equations
for those reactions are provided in Table

Electrochemical Reactions in Fuel Cells

The Nernst equation provides a relationship between the ideal standard potential (E°) for
the cell reaction and the ideal equilibrium potential (E) at other partial pressures of
reactants and products. For the overall cell reaction, the cell potential increases with an
increase in the partial pressure (concentration) of reactants and a decrease in the partial
pressure of products.
 Fuel Cell Reactions and the Corresponding Nernst Equations

The ideal standard potential (Eo) at 298K for a fuel cell in which H2 and O2 react is 1.229
volts with liquid water product, or 1.18 volts with gaseous water product.

1.8. Effect of temperature, pressure, concentration on Nernst potential fuel cell efficiency
Figure 2-1 shows the relation of E to cell temperature. Because the figure shows the
potential of higher temperature cells, the ideal potential corresponds to a reaction where
the water product is in a gaseous state (i.e., Eo is 1.18 volts).

The impact of temperature on the ideal voltage, E, for the oxidation of hydrogen is also
shown in Table 2-3 for the various types of fuel cells. Each case assumes gaseous products
as its basis.
Ideal Voltage as a Function of Cell Temperature

The open circuit voltage of a fuel cell is also strongly influenced by the reactant
concentrations.The maximum ideal potential occurs when the reactants at the anode and
cathode are pure. In an air-fed system or if the feed to the anode is other than pure dry
hydrogen, the cell potential will be reduced. Similarly, the concentration of reactants at the
exit of the cell will be lower than at the entrance. This reduction in partial pressure leads to
a Nernst correction that reduces the open circuit voltage locally, often by as much as 250
mV in higher-temperature cells. Because the electrodes should be highly conductive and the
electrode within one cell consequently has close to uniform voltage, depressed open circuit
voltage affects the operation of the entire cell. This significantly impacts the achievable cell
operating voltage and consequently system efficiency of especially the higher-temperature
fuel cells.