Fundamental investigations on fuel cells for transportation applications
Very little work on fuel cells for transportation applications has been done to date. Also, approximately 90% of the fuel cell's power losses may be attributed to the oxygen half-cell reaction. Three areas of research concerning fuel cells for transportation applications were investigated in this study: (1) a comparison of oxygen reduction in phosphoric acid (the current fuel cell electrolyte being developed for stationary applications) and in trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, TFMSA (a potential fuel cell electrolyte for transportation applications); (2) the testing of three promising types of fuel cells under simulated vehicular operating conditions; and (3) the design, fabrication, and testing of a 1/2-kilowatt alkaline fuel cell module. The oxygen reduction studies indicated that the oxygen reduction current density on platinum at 0.7 V at room temperature is approximately 200 times greater in TFMSA than in phosphoric acid. The single cell studies were on three fuel cells: (1) phosphoric acid fuel cells obtained from Energy Research Corporation; (2) solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) fuel cells obtained from General Electric; and (3) potassium hydroxide fuel cells constructed using Union Carbide electrodes. These studies showed no adverse effect on fuel cell performance resulting from simulated automobile power requirements. The phosphoric acid fuel cell appears most attractive when reformed methanol is the fuel. The auxiliaries required for start-up of the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell are complex. Further, this cell uses an expensive electrolyte membrane.The potassium hydroxide fuel cell appears most attractive when pure hydrogen is the fuel. The design, fabrication, and testing of a potassium hydroxide module was successfully completed. The initial performance demonstrates that the single cells could be scaled-up without loss of performance. The long-term tests indicated that improvements in the hydrogen electrode are needed.
- OSTI ID:
- 6268532
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
ELECTRIC-POWERED VEHICLES
FUEL CELLS
DESIGN
PERFORMANCE
ACID ELECTROLYTE FUEL CELLS
OXYGEN
PHOSPHORIC ACID
POLYMERS
POTASSIUM HYDROXIDES
REDOX REACTIONS
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ELEMENTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXIDES
INORGANIC ACIDS
NONMETALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POTASSIUM COMPOUNDS
VEHICLES
300501* - Fuel Cells- Design & Development
300502 - Fuel Cells- Performance & Testing
300504 - Fuel Cells- Applications
330300 - Advanced Propulsion Systems- Electric-Powered Systems