Ballard Operating Experience

Ballard assembles and tests stacks, to confirm their characteristics and optimise such water management problems as electrolyte humidity control and cathode water removal, via wettable materials in the porous electrode, to the external air flow. Potential difficulties, exclusive to the water-producing PEFC, can be seen with 100% humidity in the tropics, and with freezing conditions in cool climates. High altitudes can be difficult for all fuel cell types, via low oxygen density. 

Water management is dealt with by Voss etal. (1993 1995). It is shown that the cell voltage-current characteristic can be greatly improved, and the achievable power density increased, with improved water management. The technique is to create a steeper cathode to anode water concentration profile through the cell. The water at the anode is removed by the fuel gas stream, as a result of inducing a pressure drop in the flow plate channel, which can be optimised for best performance. 

POLYMER ELECTROLYTE AND DIRECT METHANOL FUEL CELLS 

Water removal is obviously difficult if the cell needs to operate at zero relative humidity (saturation conditions). The difficulty is eased by the modern trend to increased pressure and 150 °C temperature. See Section 1.9. The result is a dis-equilibrium at the hot exhaust, which facilitates water dispersal. 

Ballard supplies stacks to its end-use partners to gain experience with vehicle and stationary power systems. The stacks, and their associated systems, are, and must be, tested in a breadth of operational exigencies. 

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Fuel cell stacks are assembled by Ballard and tested in application situations such as vehicles and stationary power. Operating experience... 

Have you ever tried to decide which was the best article you ever read For me, the answer comes quickly. It is How to Operate an Amine Plant. by Don Ballard. This article has helped me more than any other. I have gone back to the article time after time to troubleshoot and optimize amine plants. In addition, the article has design tips and shortcut rules of thumb developed by field experience. 

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