Abstract
A fuel cell system includes all the necessary components needed to operate a fuel cell stack and deliver electrical current. The fuel cell system typically involves subsystems such as oxidant supply, fuel supply, heat management, water management, power conditioning, and instrumentation and controls. Depending on the available or chosen fuel and oxidant, the fuel cell systems may be categorized as hydrogen–oxygen systems, hydrogen–air systems, and reformate–air systems. From the mass and energy balance it is possible to calculate the achievable oxygen inlet temperatures for various combinations of operating conditions—namely, temperature, pressure, and stoichiometry. Water and heat are the byproducts of the fuel cell operation, and the supporting system must include the means for their removal. For very small power outputs it is possible to design and operate a fuel cell with passive air supply, relying only on natural convection due to concentration gradients. In principle, both air and hydrogen streams must be humidified at the fuel cell inlet. Hydrogen must be humidified to ensure that the electroosmotic drag does not dry out the anode side of the membrane. A control subsystem is needed not only to control the fuel cell operating parameters but also to communicate with the load and other electrical components of the system.
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