Low hydrostatic head electrolyte addition to fuel cell stacks

Patent · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:864551

Kothmann, Richard E ^[1]

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1. Churchill Boro, PA

A fuel cell and system for supply electrolyte, as well as fuel and an oxidant to a fuel cell stack having at least two fuel cells, each of the cells having a pair of spaced electrodes and a matrix sandwiched therebetween, fuel and oxidant paths associated with a bipolar plate separating each pair of adjacent fuel cells and an electrolyte fill path for adding electrolyte to the cells and wetting said matrices. Electrolyte is flowed through the fuel cell stack in a back and forth fashion in a path in each cell substantially parallel to one face of opposite faces of the bipolar plate exposed to one of the electrodes and the matrices to produce an overall head uniformly between cells due to frictional pressure drop in the path for each cell free of a large hydrostatic head to thereby avoid flooding of the electrodes. The bipolar plate is provided with channels forming paths for the flow of the fuel and oxidant on opposite faces thereof, and the fuel and the oxidant are flowed along a first side of the bipolar plate and a second side of the bipolar plate through channels formed into the opposite faces of the bipolar plate, the fuel flowing through channels formed into one of the opposite faces and the oxidant flowing through channels formed into the other of the opposite faces.

• Assignee: United States of America as represented by United States (Washington, DC)
• Patent Number(s): US 4383009
• OSTI ID: 864551
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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adding
addition
adjacent
adjacent fuel
associated
avoid
bipolar
bipolar plate
cell
cell stack
cell stacks
cells
channels
channels formed
drop
due
electrodes
electrolyte
electrolyte fill
exposed
fashion
fill
flooding
flow
flowed
flowing
formed
forming
forth
free
frictional
fuel
fuel cell
fuel cells
fuel flow
head
hydrostatic
hydrostatic head
matrices
matrix
matrix sandwiched
opposite
overall
oxidant
oxidant flow
pair
parallel
path
paths
plate
plate exposed
plate separating
pressure
pressure drop
produce
provided
sandwiched
sandwiched therebetween
separating
spaced
spaced electrodes
stack
stacks
substantially
substantially parallel
supply
supply electrolyte
therebetween
uniformly
wetting