Enhancement of the performance and reliability of CO poisoned PEM fuel cells

Abstract

CO poisoning is a major issue when reformate is used as a fuel in PEM fuel cells. Normally, it is necessary to reduce the CO to very low levels (∼5 ppm) and to use CO tolerant catalysts, such as Pt–Ru alloys. As an alternative approach, we have studied the use of pulsed oxidation for the regeneration of CO poisoned cells. Results are presented for the regeneration of Pt and Pt–Ru anodes in a PEM fuel cell fed with CO concentrations as high as 10,000 ppm. The results show that periodic removal of CO from the catalyst surface by pulsed oxidation can increase the average cell potential and overall efficiency. Although use of pulsed techniques has been studied before, the careful control of each cell's voltage that this approach requires has limited its use in large fuel cell stacks. When uniform pulsing is done on a stack of fuel cells in series, the variations in voltage across the cells can limit the usefulness of this approach. A novel method that allows each cell in a stack to be separately pulsed under controlled conditions has been developed to overcome this problem. Weak or defective cells in a fuel cell stack can also be supplemented to enhance the power output and reliability of fuel cells. We present the results of experiments and calculations that quantify these benefits, specifically as they relate to PEM fuel cells operating on impure hydrogen produced by reforming fuels.