Effect of cylindrical heat pipes on electrochemical hydrogen adsorption within a carbon electrode employed in a modified reversible PEM fuel cell

Abstract

The presented work is a maiden experimental attempt on thermal management of a modified reversible polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (MRPEMFC) using a passive cooling approach to enhance the hydrogen (H)-adsorption capacity of an integrated activated carbon (aC) electrode. In the current study, cylindrical heat pipes (CHPs) are installed on the hydrogen side (H-side) and oxygen side (O-side) bi-polar end plates (BEPs) of the developed cell to maintain a temperature within tolerable limits during the charging operation. The noteworthy achievement with the integration of a CHP on the H-side of the MRPEMFC is a 12 °C reduction in the operating temperature. While, the highest obtained gravimetric H-storage density is recorded 1.52 wt percent (wt%) with the integration of CHPs on H- and O-side BEPs, which is 40% higher than without CHPs. Furthermore, CHPs assisted-MPEMFC is able to supply 0.4 mA constant current for the first 3 min during the discharging operation.