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Performance degradation and process engineering of the 10 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack

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  • Chu, Tiankuo
  • Zhang, Ruofan
  • Wang, Yanbo
  • Ou, Mingyang
  • Xie, Meng
  • Shao, Hangyu
  • Yang, Daijun
  • Li, Bing
  • Ming, Pingwen
  • Zhang, Cunman

Abstract

Insufficient durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) remains one of the important factors hindering their large-scale commercial applications. To investigate the degradation mechanism, we describe the durability test of 10-kW metal plate fuel cell stack containing 30 cells under dynamic driving cycles. After 600 h of testing, the mean voltage decay percentage of the stack under the rated current densities of 1000 mA cm−2 is 2.67%. A semi-empirical model is introduced to predict the remaining useful life of the stack, and the result satisfies the 5000 h target set by the department of energy (DOE). Three cells with the highest, moderate, and lowest rate of decay are disassembled and characterized by electrochemical and physical methods. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that the cross-section of the cathode catalyst layer (CL) of the 30# MEA has the lowest thickness of 8.45 μm compared with the fresh sample and other samples. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows serious agglomeration of the 30# catalyst. These observations led to serious performance degradation in the 30# cell. The defects in the design of the stack structure leads to the attenuation of the consistency of the stack and further explains stack performance degradation.

Suggested Citation

  • Chu, Tiankuo & Zhang, Ruofan & Wang, Yanbo & Ou, Mingyang & Xie, Meng & Shao, Hangyu & Yang, Daijun & Li, Bing & Ming, Pingwen & Zhang, Cunman, 2021. "Performance degradation and process engineering of the 10 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:219:y:2021:i:c:s0360544220327304
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.119623
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ahmad Baroutaji & Arun Arjunan & John Robinson & Tabbi Wilberforce & Mohammad Ali Abdelkareem & Abdul Ghani Olabi, 2021. "PEMFC Poly-Generation Systems: Developments, Merits, and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-31, October.
    2. Saka, Kenan & Orhan, Mehmet Fatih, 2022. "Analysis of stack operating conditions for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    3. Li, Bing & Wan, Kechuang & Xie, Meng & Chu, Tiankuo & Wang, Xiaolei & Li, Xiang & Yang, Daijun & Ming, Pingwen & Zhang, Cunman, 2022. "Durability degradation mechanism and consistency analysis for proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    4. Xiao, Biao & Zhao, Junjie & Fan, Lixin & Liu, Yang & Chan, Siew Hwa & Tu, Zhengkai, 2022. "Effects of moisture dehumidification on the performance and degradation of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    5. Meng, Kai & Zhou, Haoran & Chen, Ben & Tu, Zhengkai, 2021. "Dynamic current cycles effect on the degradation characteristic of a H2/O2 proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    6. Yin, Cong & Song, Yating & Liu, Meiru & Gao, Yan & Li, Kai & Qiao, Zemin & Tang, Hao, 2022. "Investigation of proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack with inversely phased wavy flow field design," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    7. Yang, Yange & Li, Xiang & Chu, Tiankuo & Li, Bing & Zhang, Cunman, 2022. "Property evolution of gas diffusion layer and performance shrink of fuel cell during operation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 596-603.
    8. Huang, Weifeng & Niu, Tong & Zhang, Caizhi & Fu, Zuhang & Zhang, Yuqi & Zhou, Weijiang & Pan, Zehua & Zhang, Kaiqing, 2023. "Experimental study of the performance degradation of proton exchange membrane fuel cell based on a multi-module stack under selected load profiles by clustering algorithm," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    9. Chen, Dongfang & Pei, Pucheng & Ren, Peng & Song, Xin & Wang, He & Zhang, Lu & Wang, Mingkai, 2022. "Analytical methods for the effect of anode nitrogen concentration on performance and voltage consistency of proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    10. Yang, Yange & Zhou, Xiangyang & Li, Bing & Zhang, Cunman, 2021. "Failure of cathode gas diffusion layer in 1 kW fuel cell stack under new European driving cycle," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    11. Chu, Tiankuo & Wang, Qinpu & Xie, Meng & Wang, Baoyun & Yang, Daijun & Li, Bing & Ming, Pingwen & Zhang, Cunman, 2022. "Investigation of the reversible performance degradation mechanism of the PEMFC stack during long-term durability test," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    12. Chu, Tiankuo & Xie, Meng & Yu, Yue & Wang, Baoyun & Yang, Daijun & Li, Bing & Ming, Pingwen & Zhang, Cunman, 2022. "Experimental study of the influence of dynamic load cycle and operating parameters on the durability of PEMFC," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PD).
    13. Zijun Li & Jianguo Wang & Shubo Wang & Weiwei Li & Xiaofeng Xie, 2023. "Liquid Water Transport Characteristics and Droplet Dynamics of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells with 3D Wave Channel," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-19, August.
    14. Yang, Yange & Li, Xiang & Tang, Fumin & Ming, Pingwen & Li, Bing & Zhang, Cunman, 2022. "Power evolution of fuel cell stack driven by anode gas diffusion layer degradation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).

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