Effect of operating pressure on the system efficiency of a methane-fuelled solid polymer fuel cell power source

Virji, Maheboob B.V.; Adcock, Paul; Mitchell, P.J.; Cooley, G.

doi:10.1016/s0378-7753(97)02764-x

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The adiabatic efficiency of the expander is defined to be equal to that of the compressor and the influence of the efficiency of the compressor and expander to the system efficiency is studied. The expander and the compressor are coupled with a shaft so that the compressor will be operated with the energy from the expander, such that extra energy is only required for start-up [12]. The temperature of the exit stream from the expander is high enough so that it can be used to generate steam with an evaporator, E9, and outlet temperature specified to be 120°C.…”

Section: Expander and Compressormentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling of a PEM Fuel Cell System with Propane ATR Reforming

Zhuang

Mao

et al. 2006

Fuel Cells

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Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are promising power sources not only for electric vehicles, but also for portable and stationary applications. In this paper, a 5 kW PEMFC system, suggested for domestic power applications with propane autothermal reforming, is modelled with PRO/II® from SIMSCI. When the fuel cell is operated at 2 atm, 80 °C, a hydrogen conversion of 0.75 and at an air stoichiometry 3.0, with the energies of the compressor and expander coupled with a 75% adiabatic efficiency, the system efficiency is calculated to be 34.8%. Different operating pressures and temperatures are studied; lower system efficiency is shown at higher pressure, lower temperature, and greater air stoichiometry. The simulation shows a significant drop in system efficiency for a lowered compressor and expander adiabatic efficiency. With an increase in this value from 50% to 85%, the system efficiency increases from 23.1% to 40.6%. The simulation reveals that it is critical to design special compressors and expanders for fuel cells with higher adiabatic efficiencies so that higher system efficiency can be achieved.

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Section: Expander and Compressormentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling of a PEM Fuel Cell System with Propane ATR Reforming

Zhuang

Mao

et al. 2006

Fuel Cells

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“…An air supply unit consists of an air blower (or compressor) and a humidifier. The influence of the operating pressure of the cell stack on performance has been investigated [14,[24][25][26]. Another critical parameter is the humidity of the cell inlet air.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of operating characteristics of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell coupled with an air supply system

Myung

Kim

2011

J Mech Sci Technol

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Balance-of-plant components, especially the air supply system, have a critical impact on the operating condition, performance, and reliability of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFCs). Thus, we investigated the performance and operating characteristics of a coupled system integrating a PEMFC and an air supply unit. The performance characteristics of the fuel cell stack were modeled using a semiexperimental correlation, and the operating characteristics of a shell-and-tube type membrane humidifier was modeled using heat and mass transfer principles. The models of both components were validated. A turbo-blower determined the condition of the air supplied to the humidifier and its characteristics were modeled using a performance map. A program was developed to simulate the operation of a PEMFC system consisting of the fuel cell stack and the air supply unit, and its operating characteristics at various conditions were investigated. In particular, the effects of operating conditions (ambient temperature and load) on the performance of both the humidifier and the fuel cell stack were examined, and the variations of critical operating parameters were analyzed.

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“…Performance studies of stationary power generation systems have also been published, and fuel reforming, thermal management, and the use of turbomachinery are major research themes. Virji et al [18] investigated the performance variation of a PEMFC-gas turbine hybrid system including a methane reformer. Clark [19] presented results from a site verification test of a 150 kWclass PEMFC power plant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of thermal management and integration with turbomachinery on the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell systems

Ryu

Park

et al. 2011

J Mech Sci Technol

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Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have many good characteristics for small power sources such as low operating temperature and high power density. In this study, the effects of thermal management on the performance of PEMFC systems using natural gas fuel, and the effects of integrating PEMFC systems with turbomachines, were investigated. Firstly, performance of various system configurations differing in the thermal management of reforming and stack cooling processes was comparatively analyzed. Then, various integrated system combinations with turbomachines (compressors and turbines) were analyzed. We performed a parametric analysis of the influence of turbine inlet temperature and compressor pressure ratio on system performance, and a 10% difference in efficiency among four simple PEMFC systems was predicted. Pressurization of the PEMFC with adequate thermal management may improve system efficiency, while efficiency enhancement from corresponding simple PEMFC systems was hard to achieve in the ambient pressure integrated systems.

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Effect of operating pressure on the system efficiency of a methane-fuelled solid polymer fuel cell power source

Cited by 12 publications

References 4 publications

Modelling of a PEM Fuel Cell System with Propane ATR Reforming

Modelling of a PEM Fuel Cell System with Propane ATR Reforming

Analysis of operating characteristics of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell coupled with an air supply system

Influence of thermal management and integration with turbomachinery on the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell systems

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