Experiment and performance evaluation of an integrated low-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell system with an absorption chiller

Abstract

When the typical operation temperature of the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) reaches 333.15–363.15 K, the ratio of electrical energy to waste heat generated by the PEMFC is about 1. In this paper, an absorption chiller with LiBr/[BMIM]Cl/CH3OH as the working pair is proposed to convert the waste heat into cooling capacity. The PEMFC and absorption chiller (AC) systems have been studied from the energy and efficiency point of view. The COP of the integrated system can reach a maximum of 0.85, which is remarkably 0.35 higher than that of the individual PEMFCs. The electrochemical process of the PEMFC and the thermodynamic process of the AC systems are calculated using MATLAB. The results show that the PEMFC operation temperature of 353.15–358.15K is sufficient to drive the AC and meet the requirement of 273.15–283.15K evaporation temperature and 308.15–313.15K condensation temperature. Meanwhile, when the electric power output from the PEMFC is 100 kW, the AC can output approximately 60 kW cooling capacity, which is sufficient to meet the cooling demand of the commercial bus.