Fuel electric power output

Electrical power output Heat output (normal load) (with supplementary firing) Gas fuel energy supply Thermal efficiency... 

PEFC) stacks, components and entire systems, in off-grid, and grid-connected configurations, with a capacity of up to 100 kW electrical power output. The facility consists of an automated and computerised fuel cell test station, gas analysers, a multi-axial vibration system which is housed in a walk-in environmental chamber (for controlling temperatures, humidity, shocks and vibrations) and ancillary equipment. The data obtained are complementary to and validate fuel cell simulations and models with reference to operation modes, components and system characteristics 1 ... 

Schouten et al. [113] presented the design of a methanol fuel processor for an electrical power output of 100 W, which was done in the scope of a project funded by the European Union (MiRTH-e). In contrast to [ISMol 3], the processor was composed of three separate devices. 

Figure 2.75 Methanol fuel processor concept for 15 W electrical power output [18] (by courtesy of Springer-Verlag).

Various authors consider appropriate flow sheets for fuel cell systems. Fellows [5] proposes to employ a cascade of fuel cells, operating at different cell voltages, to increase the overall electric power output. According to this concept the exhaust gas... 

Fig.2.n. Conversion diagram with a trajectory for a single cell and a trajectory for a fuel cell cascade in electric parallel configuration. Cell voltages are optimized for maximum electric power output. For quantitative results, see Tab. 2.1. 

According to these calculations, the option of applying fuel cell cascades in order to increase the electric power output and thereby increase the system efficiency is an interesting option. From an economical point of view, the additional hardware installations which are necessary for such a system stand against this configuration, at least for small systems. For large systems - for example in the Megawatt class -... 

Energy carrier Fuel and energy balance Electric power output... 

The efficiency of a fuel cell is the ratio between the electrical power output (3.4) and the total energy lost from the fuel. However, it is possible to exchange heat with the surroimdings, and the energy lost from the fuel may thus be different from AG. For an ideal (reversible) process, the heat added to the system is... 

Stack efficieny is the electrical power output of the fuel cell stack divided by the lower heating value (LHV) per unit time of hydrogen entering the stack. System efficiency is the net electrical power of the system divided by the LHV per unit time of the fuel feed (gasohne for reformer system, hydrogen for direct hydrogen system). ... 

The simpler Pd-based membrane fuel processor appears, therefore, as attractive for these small units with a net electrical power output in the range of 0.5-10kW [152]. 

Delsman et al. investigated the advantages of a microstructured methanol reformer coupled with a catalytic burner for anode off-gas over a conventional fixed-bed system [36]. Two ranges of electrical power output of the corresponding fuel processor-fuel cell system were considered, namely 100 W and 5kW. The calculations revealed a more than 50% lower reactor size and more than 30% less catalyst mass required for the microreactor in case of the 100 W system. For the 5 kW system, the reactor volume was only 30% lower, but the catalyst savings were up to 50%. 

The electrical power output equivalent of the fuel processors that are currently under development world wide covers a wide range, from less than a watt to several megawatts. Portable and small scale mobile fuel cell systems promise to be the first commercial market for fuel cells, according to a market study of Fuel Cell Today in July 2003 [2]. According to the same report, the number of systems built has increased dramatically to up to more than 3000 in 2003. To date, most of these systems have used Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. 

The fuel cell efficiency is defined as the ratio of the electrical power output of the fuel cell Ppuei cell io ihe lower heating value of the fuel converted by the electrochemical... 

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