Basic Principles of Single-Chamber Fuel Cell Operation

Basic Principles of Single-Chamber Fuel Cell Operation 

The SC-FC uses one compartment to convert directly a mixture of fuel and oxidant into electrical energy based on the difference in catalytic activity and selectivity of the electrode materials for the fuel reaction. Considering the CH4-air system, the complete reaction is 

This overall reaction is the sum of two electrochemical reactions at the respective 

In any fuel cell system, the chemical energy of the reactants is converted directly into electrical energy. Thereby, the Gibbs free energy A G is related to the reversible cell potential  

The fuel cell efficiency e can be expressed as the product of thermodynamic efficiency eth, potential efficiency Sp, and current efficiency ee [4,16]  

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