Hydrogen fuel cell applications

Greeley, J. and Mavrikakis, M., Near-surface alloys for hydrogen fuel cell applications, Catal. Today, 111, 52, 2006. 

Of all of the potential materials which can meet these requirements, only perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes have so far found widespread acceptance in low-temperature (65-80 °C) hydrogen fuel-cell applications. The most widely used form of these PFSA-type membranes is produced by DuPont under the trade name Nation. Other PFSA types of PEMs are sold by Asahi Chemical (Flemion and Aciplex) and Solvay Solexis (Hyflon). Gore sells its reinforced PFSA membrane as an integral part of an MEA as its PRIMEA series. Likewise, 3M also sells its own PFSA-type membrane as part of its MEA. One of the best known and basic properties of the current PEMs is that their proton conductivity is a strong function of their level of hydration. 

Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) (Fig. 11.6) is very promising for hydrogen fuel cells application, as it has good thermal stability, mechanical strength, and adequate conductivity [33,91-95]. However, the chemical durability and proton conductivity at low relative humidity (RH) are still to be resolved. 

Rodriguez FJ, Sebastian PJ, Solorza O, Perez R (1998) Mo-Ru-W chalcogenide electrodes prepared by chemical synthesis and screen printing for fuel cell applications. Int J Hydrogen Energy 23 1031-1035... 

Pourier, M. and Sapundzhiev, C., Catalytic decomposition of natural gas to hydrogen for fuel cell applications, Int. J. Hydrogen Energ., 22, 429, 1997. 

The NFPA Research Foundation, in a collaborative project with the DOE and the telecommunications industry, completed a draft report on diffusion of hydrogen leaks from cabinet-enclosed hydrogen storage tanks. The purpose of this research is to establish a better scientific foundation for setback requirements for hydrogen fuel cell systems used in telecommunication applications. 

Tabakova, T., Idakiev, V., Tenchev, K., Boccuzzi, F., Manzoli, M., and Chiorino, A. 2006. Pure hydrogen production on a new gold-thoria catalyst for fuel cell applications. Appl. Catal. B Environ. 63 94—103. 

A critical factor for biotechnology application is the stability of the enzyme electrode. Hydrogenase immobilized into carbon filament material has high level of both operational and storage stability. Even after the half year of storage with periodical testing, the enzyme electrode preserved more than 50 % of its initial activity [9,10], Thus, it is possible to achieve appropriate stability of the enzyme electrode, suitable for hydrogen fuel cells development. 

In the 1990s and beyond 2000, there has been an explosion of interest in metal/ partially reducible oxide catalysts for low temperature water-gas shift, mainly directed at the production/purification of hydrogen in a fuel processor for fuel cell applications. 

C) Metal/Ti02 catalysts. References479 501 cover work on metal/Ti02 catalysts from 1980, which focused primarily on photo-assisted water-gas shift, to the present, which is currently aimed at utilizing the catalyst for hydrogen cleanup steps in fuel processors for fuel cell applications. 

In the world s largest fuel cell application at a chemical manufacturing site, Dow s by-product hydrogen created as a part of Dow s manufacturing processes, will be converted to electricity by a GM fuel cell. The electricity that is generated will power up the plant. Dow could eventually use up to 35 megawatts of power generated by 500 fuel cell units. 

To reach a better CO conversion, it is possible to add a low-temperature shift reactor, which increases the CO2 capture rate (see also Fig. 10.3). If both clean CO2 for storage and clean hydrogen for fuel cell applications are required, a combination of a C02-capture plant (e.g., absorption with Rectisol) and a PSA plant is necessary. If only pure hydrogen is required, a PSA unit would be sufficient (and is standard practice), but the C02 stream would be contaminated by impurities, such as H2, N2 or CO, which have to be removed for geological storage. 

As for the competition between hydrogen and electricity from renewable energies in the transport sector, it is clear that the use of renewable electricity in battery-electric vehicles is by far the most efficient application and yields a much higher C02 reduction than hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, owing to the high discharge rate of... 

---