TY - JOUR
T1 - Optimization of catalyst layer thickness for achieving high performance and low cost of high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell
AU - Xia, Lingchao
AU - Ni, Meng
AU - Xu, Qidong
AU - Xu, Haoran
AU - Zheng, Keqing
N1 - Funding Information:
M. Ni thanks the funding support (Project Number: PolyU 152064/18E) from Research Grant Council, University Grants Committee, Hong Kong SAR. K.Q. ZHENG thanks the funding support (Project Number: 51806241) from National Natural Science Foundation of China. L.C. XIA thanks Mrs. Mengxiao Li (Chongqing University) for providing guidance from experimental view.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
PY - 2021/7/15
Y1 - 2021/7/15
N2 - The thickness of catalyst layer (CL) determines the electrochemical performance and the cost of high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC). However, various values (e.g. 100 μm, 50 μm, 10 μm) of CL thickness are reported in the previous studies. To identify the optimal CL thickness to reduce the PEMFC cost without sacrificing the electrochemical performance, it is necessary to first identify the effective reaction thickness (ERT) of both anode and cathode. A numerical non-isothermal 3D model was developed considering the activation loss, concentration loss and ohmic loss at two electrodes, respectively. After model validation, parametric analyses were performed to investigate the effects of temperature, working voltage and flow rate on the performance of the fuel cell, especially on ERT. It is found that the ERT increases with increasing temperature. The working voltage and the cathode flow rate have opposite influences on the ERT of the two electrodes. The ERT highly depends on the ratio of activation loss and concentration loss (ηact+ηconc) to ohmic loss ηohmic. Considering the utilization rate of the catalyst and cell performance, the appropriate CL thicknesses for anode and cathode electrode are 10–17 μm and 15–30 μm, respectively. This study clearly demonstrates that we can reduce the CL cost and maintain high fuel cell performance by carefully controlling the thickness of CL.
AB - The thickness of catalyst layer (CL) determines the electrochemical performance and the cost of high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC). However, various values (e.g. 100 μm, 50 μm, 10 μm) of CL thickness are reported in the previous studies. To identify the optimal CL thickness to reduce the PEMFC cost without sacrificing the electrochemical performance, it is necessary to first identify the effective reaction thickness (ERT) of both anode and cathode. A numerical non-isothermal 3D model was developed considering the activation loss, concentration loss and ohmic loss at two electrodes, respectively. After model validation, parametric analyses were performed to investigate the effects of temperature, working voltage and flow rate on the performance of the fuel cell, especially on ERT. It is found that the ERT increases with increasing temperature. The working voltage and the cathode flow rate have opposite influences on the ERT of the two electrodes. The ERT highly depends on the ratio of activation loss and concentration loss (ηact+ηconc) to ohmic loss ηohmic. Considering the utilization rate of the catalyst and cell performance, the appropriate CL thicknesses for anode and cathode electrode are 10–17 μm and 15–30 μm, respectively. This study clearly demonstrates that we can reduce the CL cost and maintain high fuel cell performance by carefully controlling the thickness of CL.
KW - Active reaction thickness
KW - Effective reaction area
KW - HT-PEMFC
KW - Potential loss ratio
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85105348958&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117012
DO - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117012
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85105348958
SN - 0306-2619
VL - 294
JO - Applied Energy
JF - Applied Energy
M1 - 117012
ER -