MECH2211

FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY AND HYDROGEN

STORAGE SYSTEMS

 Hydrogen storage is a key enabling technology for the advancement of

hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in applications including

 Stationary power,

 Portable power

 Transportation.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Course Objectives:

 To introduce the basic concepts of fuel cell, and electrochemical energy conversion states.

 Familiarize regarding various cell types and advantages

 Explain the performance and design characteristics and operating issues for various Fuel
cells.

 Enable the student regarding the working of fuel cell and its economics

 Create awareness about the applications of fuel cell in automobiles

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Course Outcomes:

 Acquaint knowledge of fuels cells regarding their construction, performance and

operational issues [L1]

 Study the operating characteristics of fuel cell [L2]

 Train the students to apply fundamental knowledge of thermodynamics, fluid

mechanics and heat transfer in design, construction of fuel cell [L3]

 Develop the application of fuel cell in automobiles plants. (L4)

 Carryout experiments on metal hydrides for hydrogen storage [L5].

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 Module – 1

Introduction:
 Basic structure, critical functions of components

 Fuel cell stacking- fuel cell systems

 Types advantages and disadvantages

 Applications and status Fuel Cell Performance:

 Thermodynamic aspects of Electrochemical Energy conversion

 Cell efficiency – Factors affecting the efficiency of Electrochemical Energy

conversion.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 Module – 2

Alkaline Fuel cells (AFC):

 Principle of operation – modules- fuel cell stacks

 General performance characteristics

 Attempts towards advancements

 Ammonia as AFC fuel System issues Electrodes

 Materials and manufacturing Stacks and systems

 Factors affecting the performance of PAFC.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 Module - 3
Types of fuel cells:

 Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC)

 Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells:
 Cell components- Anode and Cathode materials- Interconnects seals- Configurations
 performance- Environmental impacts –
 General principle- Cell components-
 Mechanisms of Electrode reactions.
 Direct Methanol Fuel cells and Proton Exchange and Membrane Fuel Cells (PEM):
 Catalyst and Non catalyst aspects-
 Methanol cross over- Catalyst aspects and scale up-Engineering aspects –
 Scientific aspects and challenges-
 Modelling-
 Milestones in technology development-
 Approaches and challenges to high temperature operations.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 Module - 4

Hydrogen production technologies:

 Hydrogen as a future energy carrier,

 Properties,

 Chemical production of hydrogen,

 steam reforming of methanol, natural gas, coal gas etc, shift conversion and
thermal decomposition,

 purification (removal of CO and CO2),

 desulphurization,

 Electrolytic hydrogen production,

 Electrolyser Configurations
Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,
 Module - 5

Hydrogen storage technologies:

 Basic principles,

 compressed gas storage,

 Cryogenic liquid storage, Solid state Storage,

 Adsorption in compounds

 metal hydrides,

 hydride heat pumps and compressors.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 Textbook/s

1. Viswanathan.B and Aulice Scibion (2008), Fuel Cells: Principles and applications, CRC Press

2. Ryan O'Hayre, Suk‐Won Cha, Whitney Colella, Fritz B. Prinz (2016), Fuel Cell Fundamentals,
John Wiley & Sons. Print ISBN:9781119113805

3. Principles of Fuel Cells by Xianguo Li, Taylor & Francis

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 What is Fuel cell?
⚫ A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that
converts energy produced from a chemical
reaction into electrical energy.
⚫ More specifically it is an electrochemical device that
combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity,
with water and heat as its by- product.
⚫ Chemical Energy  Electrical Energy.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 What are the main components of fuel cells?

A fuel cell consists of two electrodes—a negative electrode (or anode) and
a positive electrode (or cathode)—sandwiched around an electrolyte.

A fuel, such as hydrogen, is fed to the anode, and air is fed to the cathode.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 Fuel cell systems

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 CONSTRUCTION
Working Principle
 A fuel cell is a device that uses
hydrogen and oxygen to create
electricity by an electrochemical
process.

 A single fuel cell consists of an

electrolyte sandwiched between two
thin electrodes (a porous anode and
cathode)

 Hydrogen, is fed to the anode where

a catalyst separates hydrogen's
negatively charged electrons from
positively charged ions (protons)

 At the cathode, oxygen combines

with electrons and, in some cases,
with species such as protons or
water,Engineering,
Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical resulting in water or hydroxide
ions, respectively
  Anode- Negative post of the fuel cell. Conducts the electrons that are freed
from the hydrogen molecules so that they can be used in an external circuit.
Etched channels disperse hydrogen gas over the surface of catalyst.

 Cathode- Positive post of the fuel cell. Etched channels distribute oxygen to the
surface of the catalyst. Conducts electrons back from the external circuit to the
catalyst Recombine with the hydrogen ions and oxygen to form water.

 Electrolyte- Proton exchange membrane. Specially treated material, only

conducts positively charged ions. Membrane blocks electrons.

 Catalyst- Special material that facilitates reaction of oxygen and hydrogen

Usually platinum powder very thinly coated onto carbon paper. Rough & porous
maximizes surface area exposed to hydrogen or oxygen
 The platinum-coated side of the catalyst faces the PEM.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

  A fuel cell generates electrical power by continuously converting the chemical
energy of a fuel into electrical energy by way of an electrochemical reaction.

 The fuel cell itself has no moving parts, making it a quiet and reliable source
of power. Fuel cells typically utilize hydrogen as the fuel, and oxygen (usually
from air) as the oxidant in the electrochemical reaction.

 The reaction results in electricity, by-product water, and by-product heat

 When hydrogen gas is introduced into the system, the catalyst surface of the
membrane splits hydrogen gas molecules into protons and electrons.

 The protons pass through the membrane to react with oxygen in the air
(forming water). The electrons, which cannot pass through the membrane,
must travel around it, thus creating the source of DC electricity.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

  The electrons from the anode side of the cell cannot pass through the
membrane to the positively charged cathode; they must travel around it
via an electrical circuit to reach the other side of the cell. This movement
of electrons is an electrical current.
 The amount of power produced by a fuel cell depends upon several factors, such as fuel cell
type, cell size, the temperature at which it operates, and the pressure at which the gases are
supplied to the cell

 Still, a single fuel cell produces enough electricity for only the smallest
applications. Therefore, individual fuel cells are typically combined in series
into a fuel cell stack. A typical fuel cell stack may consist of hundreds of fuel
cells.
 Fuel cells are classified primarily by the kind of electrolyte they employ.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 This determines the kind of chemical reactions that take place in the cell,

 The kind of catalysts required,

 The temperature range in which the cell operates,
 The fuel required, and other factors.

 There are several types of fuel cells currently under development, each with its
own advantages, limitations, and potential applications.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Fuel Cell Stack

 The fuel cell stack is the heart of a fuel cell power system.

 It generates electricity in the form of direct current (DC) from electrochemical reactions that
take place in the fuel cell.

 A single fuel cell produces less than 1 V, which is insufficient for most applications.

 Therefore, individual fuel cells are typically combined in series into a fuel cell stack.

 A typical fuel cell stack may consist of hundreds of fuel cells.

 The amount of power produced by a fuel cell depends upon several factors, such as fuel cell
type, cell size, the temperature at which it operates, and the pressure of the gases supplied to
the cell.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Advantages over conventional energy sources
 They produce zero or very low emissions, especially Green House Gases (GHGs)
depending on the fuel used.
 Have few moving parts and thus require minimal maintenance, reducing life cycle
costs of energy production.
 Water is the only discharge (pure H2)
 Higher efficiency than conventional engines.
 Excellent part load characteristics.
 Zero emission.
 Long operating period between failures.
 No rotating parts in the main hardware components.
 Negligible noise pollution.
 Modular in design, offering flexibility in size and efficiencies in manufacturing
Can be utilized for combined heat and power purposes, further increasing the
efficiency of energy production
 DISADVANTAGES

⚫ Technology currently expensive.

⚫ Many design issues still in progress.

⚫ Hydrogen often created using “dirty” energy (e.g., coal).

⚫ Pure hydrogen is difficult to handle.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 ⚫ Can be used as power sources in remote areas.
⚫ Can be used to provide off-grid power supplies.

⚫ Can be applicable in both hybrid and electric vehicles.

⚫ Waste water treatment plant and landfill.
⚫ Cellular phone, laptop and computers.

⚫ Hospitals, credit card centres and police stations.

⚫ Buses, Car, Planes, Boats, Fork lift, Trains
⚫ Vacuum cleaner.
⚫ Telecommunication, MP3 players, etc.

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

 Classification of Fuel Cells
Based on the type of Electrolyte
1. Alkaline Fuel cell (AFC)
2. Phosphoric Acid Fuel cell (PAFC)
3. Polymer Electrolytic Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC)
Solid Polymer Fuel Cell (SPFC) and
Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel cell (PEMFC)
4. Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC)
5. Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)
6. Direct Methanol Fuel cells

Based on Types of Fuel and oxidant

1. Hydrogen (pure)-Oxygen (pure) fuel cell

2. Hydrogen rich gas-air fuel cell
3. Ammonia –air fuel cell
4. Synthesis gas- air fuel cell
5. Hydro carbon (gas)- air fuel cell

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,
 Fuel Cell Technology Status Analysis

 National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL’s) analysis of fuel cell technology

provides objective and credible information about new fuel cell technologies
with a focus on performance, durability, and price.

As demand for fuel cells grows, U.S. manufacturers are developing these
technologies for a variety of applications.

NREL helps the development community understand the current status of fuel
cell technologies, identify areas for improvement, and set realistic price
expectations for small-volume production.

Participating fuel cell developers securely share pricing information about their
fuel cell products and/or raw fuel cell test data—related to operations,
maintenance, and safety—with NREL via the National Fuel Cell Technology
Evaluation Center (NFCTEC).

NREL engineers perform uniform durability analyses on the detailed data and
then report on their findings, providing proprietary data analysis results to
individual developers and aggregated results to the public.

Dr.P.https://www.learnpick.in/prime/documents/ppts/details/3786/fuel-cell-
Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,
 Thermodynamics of Fuel cells and V.I.
Characteristics of Fuel Cells

Dr.P. Gandhi, Asst. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,