Name: Surajit Saha, Entry Number: 2022EEZ8194
Introduction to Electric Vehicles (CTL703)
Report on Lecture 29
● Different types of Fuel Cell:
Types Operating temperature Application
(Deg. C)
1. Proton exchange 50-100 (For high Power, CHPC
membrane (PEM) temperature fuel cells 160
deg. C)
2. Alkaline 50-200 Power, CHPC
3. Phosphoric Acid 220 Power, CHPC
4. Molten carbonate 600 CHPC
5. Solid Oxide 500-1000 CHPC
● Catalyst: A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction, or lowers the
temperature or pressure needed to start one, without itself being consumed during the reaction.
Catalysis is the process of adding a catalyst to facilitate a reaction. Examples are, nickel,
platinum, palladium, etc.
● Fuel cell is an example of combined heating, power and cooling.
Low temperature fuel cells: 50-220 deg. C
High temperature fuel cells: >650 deg. C
CO poisoning increases at high temperature. Low temperature fuel cells have current density
of about 1.3 Amp/sq. cm. and power density of about 7 kW/kg.
● Hydrogen-powered vehicles however require extremely pure hydrogen (99.97%, hydrogen
fuel quality specifications listed in ISO 14687), with some contaminants reducing performance
of the fuel cell at levels of only a few nmol/mol. In a hydrogen fuel cell, H2 hydrogen
molecules are split into positively charged protons (blue) and negatively charged electrons
(yellow). The protons pass through an electrolyte membrane, but the electrons must flow
through an external circuit, creating electricity.
● Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells, also called proton exchange membrane
fuel cells, use a proton-conducting polymer membrane as the electrolyte. Hydrogen is typically
used as the fuel. These cells operate at relatively low temperatures and can quickly vary their
output to meet shifting power demands.
● Nafion membrane: Nafion is a brand name for a sulfonated tetrafluoroethylene-based
fluoropolymer-copolymer discovered in the late 1960s by Walther Grot of DuPont. Nafion is
a brand of the Chemours company. It is the first of a class of synthetic polymers with ionic
properties that are called ionomers.
1
● PBI membrane: Polybenzimidazoles (PBIs) and benzimidazole-linked polymers (BILPs)
have exceptional thermal and chemical stability, and hence, their membranes were developed
and used under harsh conditions. In this review, the formation, structures, and properties of
these polymers are studied follow by the fabrication of membranes. Applications, such as gas
separation, organic solvent nanofiltration, water treatment, pervaporation and proton
exchange, are extensively reviewed. The relationship of membrane performance and structure
is established, highlighting the importance of processing protocols and post treatments. Future
directions are provided on the basis of the conclusions.
● Liquid membrane: Liquid-applied membrane (LAM) is a monolithic, fully-bonded, liquid-
based coating suitable for many waterproofing and roofing applications. The coating cures to
form a rubber-like elastomeric waterproof membrane and may be applied over many substrates,
including asphalt, bitumen and concrete.
● Fuel cell stacks:
Gaskets and Spacers: Gas leaks can potentially lead to unused reactant and reduced fuel cell
performance. Gas tightness can be improved by increasing stack compression and by finding a
better gasket material. Many types of gasket materials can be used in fuel cell stacks.
Bonded Seals: Bonded seals are either rigid or flexible. The rigid type of seal must have a
close thermal expansion coefficient match to the other components around it. If the seal is
flexible, the thermal expansion coefficient can vary to a much larger degree. The bonding
temperature for a flexible seal should be between the operating temperature and the stability
limit for other cell materials. One of the issues with SOFCs is the method of sealing the ceramic
components to obtain no gas leakage.
End Plates: The traditional fuel cell stack is designed with surfaces (bipolar and end plates)
that are parallel to one another with a high degree of precision. The end plate must be
mechanically sturdy enough to support the fuel cell stack, and be able to uniformly distribute
the compression forces to all of the major surfaces of each fuel cell of the fuel cell stack. In
fuel cell stacks containing a large number of fuel cells, the tolerance accumulation can result
in substantial non-parallelism at the terminal end cells of the fuel cell stack.
2
● Fuel cell characteristic curves:
● For analysis of a fuel cell four things have to be taken into account: 1. I-V Polarization, 2.
In-situ EIS, 3. Cross-flow current, 4. In-situ CV.
Fuel cell potential vs. current density curve has three regions, 1. Ionization region, 2. Ohomic
region and 3. Mass transfer region.
3
● Efficiency and MEA life: A conventional combustion-based power plant typically generates
electricity at efficiencies of 33 to 35%, while fuel cell systems can generate electricity at
efficiencies up to 60% (and even higher with cogeneration).
The lifetime data are for MEAs made entirely from base materials, that is, no improved
components are used in the fabrication of these MEAs. One percent of the MEAs (1 MEA in a
stack of 100 cells) are expected to fail at 3,000 to 18,000 hours depending on the load profile.
