The experimental analysis of a dead-end H2/O2 PEM fuel cell stack with cascade type design

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) with a dead-ended anode and cathode can reach high hydrogen and oxygen utilization by a relatively simple system. Nevertheless, the accumulation of the water in the anode and cathode channels can lead to a local fuel starvation deteriorating the performance and the durability of PEMFCs. In this study, a novel design for a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel-cell stack was presented which could achieve higher fuel utilization without using hydrogen and oxygen recirculation devices such as hydrogen pumps or ejectors that consume parasitic power and require additional control schemes. The basic concept of the innovatively proposed design was to divide the cells of a stack into several stages by conducting the outlet gas of each stage to a separator and reentering it into the next stage; thereby, a multistage anode and cathode system was prepared. In this relatively ingenious design, a higher gaseous flow rate was maintained at the cell outlet, even under dead-end conditions resulted in a reduced purge-gas emission by avoiding the accumulation of liquid water in the cells. The results revealed that proposed design had the same polarization curve as the open-end mode, leading to an enhanced PEMFC performance.