Patent Application
20250023069
This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0090766, filed on Jul. 13, 2023, which application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a fuel cell system.
As is well known, a fuel cell system for a fuel cell vehicle includes a fuel cell stack, a fuel supply system configured to supply fuel (hydrogen) to the fuel cell stack, an air supply system configured to supply air (oxygen), which is an oxidizer required for an electrochemical reaction, to the fuel cell stack, and a heat/water management system configured to control the operating temperature of the fuel cell stack.
In order to generate electrical energy through an electrochemical reaction of the fuel cell stack (hereinafter referred to as a stack), hydrogen is supplied from the fuel supply system to a fuel electrode (anode) of the stack, and air is supplied to an air electrode (cathode) of the stack.
Therefore, an oxidation reaction of hydrogen for generating hydrogen ions (protons) and electrons occurs in the fuel electrode of the stack. The generated hydrogen ions and electrons pass through an electrolyte membrane and a separator of the stack, respectively, and move to the air electrode. In the air electrode, water is generated through an electrochemical reaction between the hydrogen ions and electrons from the fuel electrode and oxygen contained in the air, and electrical energy is generated due to flow of the electrons.
Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of an air supply system of a conventional fuel cell system will be described.
In
An air supply system 200 is connected to an air electrode of the stack 100 in order to supply air to the stack 100.
The air supply system 200 may include an air intake filter 201 configured to remove foreign substances contained in outside air, an air compressor 202 configured to suction and compress outside air and to supply the compressed air to a humidifier 204, and an air intake cooler 203 configured to cool the compressed air before the compressed air enters the humidifier 204, wherein the humidifier 204 humidifies the air from the air intake cooler 203 so that the air has an appropriate humidity, and then supplies the humidified air to the air electrode of the stack 100.
In detail, the air intake filter 201, the air compressor 202, the air intake cooler 203, and the humidifier 204 may be sequentially arranged in an air flow direction in an air supply line 205 connected to the air electrode of the stack 100.
Considering that humidification of an electrolyte membrane included in each of the cells of the stack 100 is essential, the humidifier 204 may be implemented as a membrane humidifier configured to cause exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) generated by the electrochemical reaction in the stack 100 and discharged from the stack 100 and dry air moving from the air compressor 202 toward the stack 100 to exchange moisture with each other.
In this case, the humidification operation of the humidifier 204 includes an operation in which dry air compressed by the air compressor 202 is supplied to the interior of a hollow fiber membrane (not shown) of the humidifier 204, an operation in which exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) discharged from the air electrode of the stack 100 passes through a wet air line 206 and flows along an outer peripheral portion of the hollow fiber membrane in the humidifier 204, and an operation in which only portions of the water and the water vapor contained in the exhaust gas enter the hollow fiber membrane due to a capillary phenomenon and humidify the dry air. The humidified air is supplied to the air electrode of the stack 100 through the air supply line 205.
In addition, during the reaction for generation of electrical energy in the stack 100, when a portion of hydrogen, not used for the reaction, is purged from the stack to a purge line 207, condensed water generated by the electrochemical reaction in the stack and accumulated in the stack is also discharged to the purge line 207. The discharged condensed water is stored in a water trap 208 connected to the purge line 207.
The condensed water stored in the water trap 208 may be supplied to the humidifier 204 to be used for humidification of the dry air. Alternatively, when the amount of water stored in the water trap exceeds a predetermined level, a drain valve 209 may be controlled to be opened to discharge the water to the outside.
When the exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) discharged from the air electrode of the stack 100 passes through the wet air line 206 and flows along the outer peripheral portion of the hollow fiber membrane in the humidifier 204, only portions of the water and the water vapor contained in the exhaust gas enter the hollow fiber membrane due to a capillary phenomenon and humidify the dry air, and the remaining portions of the water and the water vapor contained in the exhaust gas are discharged to the outside along a wet air discharge line 210 connected to the humidifier 204.
In this case, an air pressure regulator 211 configured to regulate discharge pressure of the exhaust gas and a silencer 212 configured to regulate noise of the exhaust gas may be sequentially connected to the wet air discharge line 210.
However, the conventional fuel cell system described above has the following problems.
First, after the exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) is discharged from the stack 100 to the wet air line 206, portions of the water and the water vapor contained in the exhaust gas enter the hollow fiber membrane of the humidifier 204 and humidify dry air. However, the remaining portions of the water and the water vapor contained in the exhaust gas are uselessly discharged out of a fuel cell vehicle along the wet air discharge line 210. That is, significant water loss occurs.
Second, if the remaining portions of the water and the water vapor contained in the exhaust gas are uselessly discharged out of a fuel cell vehicle along the wet air discharge line 210, the discharged water may freeze on roads or parking lots in winter or may splash onto a following vehicle during high-speed travel, which may cause accidents.
Therefore, there is a need to develop technology for collecting as much water as possible from water to be discharged out of a fuel cell vehicle along the wet air discharge line via the humidifier in order to recycle the water.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the related art that is already publicly known.
The present disclosure relates to a fuel cell system. More particularly, it relates to a fuel cell system in which inlet air to be supplied to a fuel cell stack is cooled to a low temperature by a vortex cooler and the low-temperature air exchanges heat with high-temperature exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell stack, thereby maximizing the amount of water that is collected from the exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell stack.
The present disclosure has been made in an effort to solve the above-described problems associated with the related art, and an embodiment of the present disclosure can provide a fuel cell system in which heat exchange between high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) discharged from a stack and inlet air to be supplied to the stack is performed by a heat exchanger, whereby water may be easily collected from the exhaust gas discharged from the stack and may be recycled.
In addition, an embodiment of the present disclosure can provide a fuel cell system in which air to be supplied to the stack is divided into cold air and hot air by a vortex cooler and in which the generated cold air is supplied to the heat exchanger, and at the same time, the generated hot air is supplied to a wet air discharge line through which the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas flows, whereby the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas moving toward the heat exchanger along the wet air discharge line can be increased in temperature by the high-temperature air generated in the vortex cooler and can exchange heat with the low-temperature cold air in the heat exchanger, thus further maximizing the amount of water that can be collected from condensed water generated from the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a fuel cell system includes a stack, an air supply line connected to the stack to supply air to the stack, a wet air discharge line connected to the stack to discharge high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas, and a heat exchanger mounted at a preset or selected position so as to be connected to the air supply line and the wet air discharge line and configured to perform heat exchange between low-temperature air flowing along the air supply line and the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas flowing along the wet air discharge line.
In an embodiment, the heat exchanger may be mounted at an intersection point between a part of the air supply line interconnecting an air intake filter and an air compressor, and a part of the wet air discharge line extending from a humidifier and interconnecting an air pressure regulator and a silencer.
In an embodiment, the heat exchanger may include a case including an air supply port and an exhaust gas outlet port formed on one side thereof and an exhaust gas inlet port and an air discharge port formed on the opposite side thereof. A part of the air supply line extending from the air intake filter may be connected to the air supply port, a part of the wet air discharge line extending to the silencer may be connected to the exhaust gas outlet port, a part of the wet air discharge line extending from the humidifier and passing through the air pressure regulator may be connected to the exhaust gas inlet port, and a part of the air supply line extending to the air compressor may be connected to the air discharge port. The heat exchanger may further include a heat exchange member mounted in the case and including a plurality of first heat exchange passages formed to allow air to flow from the air supply port to the air discharge port therethrough and a plurality of second heat exchange passages formed to allow exhaust gas to flow from the exhaust gas inlet port to the exhaust gas outlet port therethrough, and the plurality of first heat exchange passages and the plurality of second heat exchange passages may cross each other.
In an embodiment, the case may further include a drain hole formed in a lower portion thereof to collect condensed water generated from the exhaust gas during heat exchange between the air flowing through the plurality of first heat exchange passages and the exhaust gas flowing through the plurality of second heat exchange passages.
In an embodiment, the fuel cell system may further include a water tank connected to the drain hole in the case to store the condensed water.
In an embodiment, the heat exchanger may include a housing including an air supply port and an exhaust gas outlet port formed on one side thereof and an exhaust gas inlet port and an air discharge port formed on the opposite side thereof. A part of the air supply line extending from the air intake filter may be connected to the air supply port, a part of the wet air discharge line extending to the silencer may be connected to the exhaust gas outlet port, a part of the wet air discharge line extending from the humidifier and passing through the air pressure regulator may be connected to the exhaust gas inlet port, and a part of the air supply line extending to the air compressor may be connected to the air discharge port. The heat exchanger may further include an air flow pipe formed in a zigzag shape and located in the housing so as to be connected between the air supply port and the air discharge port and heat exchange fins attached to the air flow pipe. Exhaust gas introduced into the housing through the exhaust gas inlet port and flowing toward the exhaust gas outlet port may exchange heat with air flowing through the air flow pipe through the heat exchange fins.
In an embodiment, the housing may further include a drain hole formed in a lower portion thereof in order to collect condensed water generated from the exhaust gas by heat exchange.
In an embodiment, the fuel cell system may further include a water tank connected to the drain hole in the housing to store the condensed water.
In an embodiment, the fuel cell system may further include a vortex cooler mounted in a part of the air supply line interconnecting the air intake filter and the heat exchanger.
In an embodiment, the vortex cooler may be configured to divide air to be supplied to the stack from the air intake filter into low-temperature cold air and high-temperature hot air, to supply the low-temperature cold air to the heat exchanger, and to supply the high-temperature hot air to a part of the wet air discharge line located between the humidifier and the air pressure regulator.
In an embodiment, the fuel cell system may further include a first bypass line connected between a high-temperature gas discharge port of the vortex cooler and a part of the wet air discharge line located between the humidifier and the air pressure regulator to allow the high-temperature hot air to flow to the wet air discharge line.
In an embodiment, the fuel cell system may further include a second bypass line connected between a part of the air supply line interconnecting the air intake filter and the heat exchanger and a part of the air supply line interconnecting the heat exchanger and the air compressor and a bypass valve mounted in the second bypass line and configured to be controlled to be opened or closed by a controller.
In an embodiment, the controller may be configured to control the bypass valve to be opened when a fuel cell vehicle is in a high-load operating state.
In an embodiment, when water condensed in the heat exchanger is stored in the water tank, the controller may control the bypass valve to be opened upon determining that the amount of water stored in the water tank has reached a maximum level based on a signal from a water level sensor of the water tank.
Features and embodiments of the disclosure are discussed below.
The above and other features of embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to certain exemplary embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings which are given hereinbelow by way of illustration only, and thus are not necessarily limitative of the present disclosure, and wherein:
It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of basic principles of embodiments of the disclosure. Specific design features of an embodiment of the present disclosure as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes, can be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment. In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of embodiments of the present disclosure throughout the drawings.
Various exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which only some exemplary embodiments are shown. Specific structural and functional details disclosed herein can be merely representative for the purpose of describing exemplary embodiments. The present disclosure, however, may be embodied in many alternate forms, and should not be construed as being necessarily limited only to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Accordingly, while exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are capable of being variously modified and taking alternative forms, embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to necessarily limit the present disclosure to the particular exemplary embodiments disclosed. On the contrary, an embodiment can cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure.
It will be understood that, although the terms “first”, “second”, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should necessarily not be limited by these terms. These terms can be merely used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element can be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element can be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of embodiments of the present disclosure.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements can be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g. “between” versus “directly between”, “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent”, etc.).
Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be necessarily limiting of potential embodiments of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” can include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, and/or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated components, steps, operations, and/or elements, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other components, steps, operations, and/or elements.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in
In detail, the air intake filter 201, the air compressor 202, the air intake cooler 203, and the humidifier 204 may be sequentially arranged in an air flow direction in an air supply line 205 connected to the air electrode of the stack 100.
As the stack 100 of an embodiment operates, exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) discharged from the air electrode of the stack passes through a wet air line 206, and flows along an outer peripheral portion of a hollow fiber membrane in the humidifier 204. Only portions of the water and the water vapor contained in the exhaust gas enter the hollow fiber membrane due to a capillary phenomenon and humidify dry air, and remaining portions of the water and the water vapor contained in the exhaust gas can be discharged to the outside along a wet air discharge line 210 connected to the humidifier 204.
In an embodiment, an air pressure regulator 211 configured to regulate discharge pressure of the exhaust gas and a silencer 212 configured to regulate noise of the exhaust gas may be sequentially connected along the wet air discharge line 210.
An embodiment of the present disclosure can collect as much water as possible from the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) discharged from the stack, i.e. the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) discharged to the outside along the wet air discharge line 210 connected to the humidifier 204, so that the water is recycled.
A heat exchanger 300 can be configured to perform heat exchange between low-temperature air flowing toward the stack along the air supply line 205 and the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas flowing to the outside along the wet air discharge line 210. As shown in
Preferably, the heat exchanger 300 may be mounted at a position at which a part of the air supply line 205 that interconnects the air intake filter 201 and the air compressor 202 and a part of the wet air discharge line 210 that extends from the humidifier 204 to interconnect the air pressure regulator 211 and the silencer 212 intersect each other.
As shown in
As can be readily seen in
As can be readily seen in the enlarged portion in
In more detail, the heat exchange member 320 of an embodiment may be structured such that plates that can be made of pulp and bent multiple times in a zigzag pattern in one direction in order to form the plurality of first heat exchange passages 321 and plates that can be made of pulp and bent multiple times in a zigzag pattern in a perpendicular direction in order to form the plurality of second heat exchange passages 322 are alternately stacked in a vertical direction.
In an embodiment, diaphragms 315 may be connected between four corners of the heat exchange member 320 and four inner surfaces of the case 310 so that air introduced into the case 310 from the air supply port 311 is guided to move to the air discharge port 312 along the first heat exchange passages 321, and high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas introduced into the case 310 from the exhaust gas inlet port 313 is guided to move to the exhaust gas outlet port 314 along the second heat exchange passages 322.
In addition, the case 310 of an embodiment can include drain holes 316 formed in the lower portion thereof in order to collect condensed water generated from the exhaust gas during heat exchange between the air flowing through the first heat exchange passages 321 and the exhaust gas flowing through the second heat exchange passages 322, and a water tank 330 configured to store the condensed water is connected to the drain holes 316 formed in the case 310.
Next, a heat exchange process of the heat exchanger according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described while referring to
Low-temperature air to be supplied to the stack 100 is filtered by the air intake filter 201 and then flows to the air supply port 311 of the case 310 along the air supply line 205. High-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) discharged from the stack 100 and having passed through the humidifier 204 flows to the exhaust gas inlet port 313 of the case 310 along the wet air discharge line 210.
Subsequently, the low-temperature air having passed through the air supply port 311 of the case 310 flows along the first heat exchange passages 321 of the heat exchange member 320, and at the same time, the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas having passed through the exhaust gas inlet port 313 of the case 310 flows along the second heat exchange passages 322 of the heat exchange member 320.
While crossing paths, the low-temperature air flowing along the first heat exchange passages 321 of the heat exchange member 320 and the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas flowing along the second heat exchange passages 322 of the heat exchange member 320 exchange heat with each other, whereby condensed water may be generated from the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas.
Referring to
In an embodiment, water collected and stored in the water tank 330 by heat exchange between the air flowing through the first heat exchange passages 321 and the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas flowing through the second heat exchange passages 322 may be recycled as sprinkling water for cooling of a radiator, handwashing, or dust removal, or as camping water. In addition, in an embodiment, it is possible to minimize the amount of water that is uselessly discharged out of a fuel cell vehicle, thereby preventing accidents attributable to freezing of the discharged water on roads or parking lots, or accidents attributable to splash of the discharged water onto a following vehicle during high-speed travel.
As shown in
As can be readily seen in
Therefore, in an embodiment, high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) can be introduced into the housing 340 through the exhaust gas inlet port 343, and can flow to the exhaust gas outlet port 344. To cross paths in the housing 340, low-temperature air can be introduced into the air flow pipe 350 through the air supply port 341, and can flow to the air discharge port 342. The high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas comes into contact with the surface of the air flow pipe 350 and the surfaces of the heat exchange fins 360, thereby exchanging heat with the low-temperature air.
In addition, the housing 340 of an embodiment can include a drain hole 346 formed in the lower portion thereof to collect condensed water generated from the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas by the above-described heat exchange, and a water tank 330 configured to store the condensed water can be connected to the drain hole 346.
Next, a heat exchange process of the heat exchanger according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described while referring to
Low-temperature air to be supplied to the stack 100 is filtered by the air intake filter 201 and then flows to the air supply port 341 of the housing 340 along the air supply line 205. The high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) discharged from the stack 100 and having passed through the humidifier 204 flows to the exhaust gas inlet port 343 of the housing 340 along the wet air discharge line 210.
Subsequently, the low-temperature air having passed through the air supply port 341 of the housing 340 flows through the air flow pipe 350, and high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust air having passed through the exhaust gas inlet port 343 of the housing 340 flows to the exhaust gas outlet port 344 through the inner space in the housing 340.
While crossing paths inside the housing 340, the low-temperature air flowing through the air flow pipe 350 and the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas flowing through the inner space in the housing 340 exchange heat with each other, whereby condensed water may be generated from the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas.
That is, the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas flowing through the inner space in the housing 340 comes into contact with the surface of the air flow pipe 350, through which the low-temperature air flows, and the surfaces of the heat exchange fins 360, and exchanges heat with the low-temperature air flowing through the air flow pipe 350, whereby condensed water may be generated from the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas.
The condensed water generated from the exhaust gas during heat exchange between the low-temperature air flowing through the air flow pipe 350 and the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas flowing through the inner space in the housing 340 may be stored in the water tank 330 through the drain hole 346 formed in the lower portion of the housing 340. The water stored in the water tank 330 may be recycled as sprinkling water for cooling of a radiator, handwashing, or dust removal, or as camping water. In addition, in an embodiment, it is possible to minimize the amount of water that is uselessly discharged out of a fuel cell vehicle, thereby preventing accidents attributable to freezing of the discharged water on roads or parking lots, or accidents attributable to splash of the discharged water onto a following vehicle during high-speed travel.
Referring to
In an embodiment, as illustrated in
In addition, in an embodiment, a first bypass line 440, through which the hot air created in the vortex cooler 400 flows to the wet air discharge line 210, can be connected between a high-temperature gas discharge port 403 of the vortex cooler 400 and a part of the wet air discharge line 210 that is located between the humidifier 204 and the air pressure regulator 211.
In an embodiment, the vortex cooler 400 can be a vortex tube that divides a vortex gas rotating at a high speed into a high-temperature gas and a low-temperature gas using a spontaneous energy separation phenomenon. As illustrated in
In addition, in an embodiment, an air supply port 401 can be formed in an upper portion of the main body 410 to supply air to the vortex generation chamber 412. A low-temperature gas discharge port 402 can be formed in an end portion of the main body 410. The high-temperature gas discharge port 403 can be formed in the distal end portion of the vortex circulation tube 420.
In an embodiment, a part of the air supply line 205 that extends from the air intake filter 201 can be connected to the air supply port 401, a part of the air supply line 205 that extends to the heat exchanger 300 can be connected to the low-temperature gas discharge port 402, and the first bypass line 440 can be connected to the high-temperature gas discharge port 403.
In an embodiment, the air filtered by the air intake filter 201 can be supplied to the vortex generation chamber 412 through the air supply port 401 of the vortex cooler 400, and can be perpendicularly sprayed to the vortex circulation tube 420 while contacting the wall surface of the vortex generation chamber 412. Subsequently, the air sprayed to the vortex circulation tube 420 has spiral rotating energy, like a whirlwind, and thus moves to the high-temperature gas to discharge port 403 formed in the distal end portion of the vortex circulation tube 420.
In addition, in an embodiment, the spiral rotating energy of the air, which spirally rotates and moves to the distal end portion of the vortex circulation tube 420, can be changed to thermal energy due to loss of viscosity, whereby the temperature of the air gradually rises to high temperature.
When the regulation valve 430 mounted to the distal end portion of the vortex circulation tube 420 is in a state of being opened to a predetermined, preset, or selected degree, a portion of the high-temperature air, which has been increased in temperature by the changed thermal energy, may be discharged through the high-temperature gas discharge port 403, and then may be supplied to a part of the wet air discharge line 210 that is located between the humidifier 204 and the air pressure regulator 211 through the first bypass line 440. Accordingly, the temperature of the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas flowing through the wet air discharge line 210 may further rise.
Simultaneously, the remaining portion of the high-temperature air, not discharged through the high-temperature gas discharge port 403, is reversed in direction, and flows back to a side opposite the distal end portion while spirally rotating about the central portion of the vortex circulation tube 420.
In an embodiment, the high-temperature air flowing back while spirally rotating about the central portion of the vortex circulation tube 420 (denoted by G2 in
Accordingly, the high-temperature air G2 flowing back while spirally rotating about the central portion of the vortex circulation tube 420 may gradually lose heat and may be cooled, and thus may be changed to low-temperature air. This low-temperature air may be directly supplied to the heat exchanger 300 through the low-temperature gas discharge port 406.
In this way, the low-temperature air generated in the vortex cooler 400 can be supplied to the heat exchanger 300, and at the same time, the high-temperature air generated in the vortex cooler 400 can be supplied to a part of the wet air discharge line 210 that is located between the humidifier 204 and the air pressure regulator 211 through the first bypass line 440. Accordingly, the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas moving toward the heat exchanger 300 through the wet air discharge line 210 may be increased in temperature. As a result, in an embodiment, it is possible to maximize or increase the amount of water that is collected from the condensed water generated from the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas through the above-described heat exchange process of the heat exchanger 300.
In detail, in an embodiment, a difference between the temperature of the air to be supplied to the stack 100 and the temperature of the exhaust gas discharged from the wet air discharge line 210 is not greater than a preset, selected, or predetermined level, and thus the amount of water that is collected from the condensed water obtained from the exhaust gas through heat exchange may be small. However, because the air to be supplied to the stack can be cooled by the vortex cooler 400 in an embodiment, and the exhaust gas discharged from the stack can be heated by the vortex cooler 400, the difference between the temperature of the air to be supplied to the stack 100 and the temperature of the exhaust gas discharged from the stack 100 may exceed the preset, selected, or predetermined level.
Accordingly, in an embodiment, the low-temperature air generated in the vortex cooler 400 can be supplied to the heat exchanger 300, and at the same time, the exhaust gas that is increased in temperature by the high-temperature air generated in the vortex cooler 400 can be supplied to the heat exchanger 300, whereby it is possible to further maximize or increase the amount of water that is collected from the condensed water generated from the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas through the heat exchange process of the heat exchanger 300.
In addition, in an embodiment as illustrated in
The controller 380 may be configured to control the bypass valve 372 to be opened when a fuel cell vehicle is in a high-load operating state. In addition, in an embodiment, when the water condensed in the heat exchanger 300 is stored in the water tank 330, the controller 380 may control the bypass valve 372 to be opened upon determining that the amount of water stored in the water tank 330 has reached a maximum level based on a signal from a water level sensor 332 of the water tank 330 (see
When a fuel cell vehicle is in a high-load operating state in which high or maximum output is required, it can be more important to produce the maximum output than to collect water. As shown in
Accordingly, in an embodiment, the air filtered by the air intake filter 201 may not flow to the heat exchanger 300, but may pass through the second bypass line 370 having a low pressure, and may then be supplied to the air compressor 202 to be compressed. The air compressed by the air compressor 202 may sequentially pass through the air intake cooler 203 and the humidifier 204, and may then be supplied to the air electrode of the stack 100.
Alternatively, as shown in
As is apparent from the above description, an embodiment of the present disclosure can have the following effects and advantages.
First, heat exchange between high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas (wet gas state containing water and water vapor) discharged from the stack and inlet air to be supplied to the stack can be performed by a heat exchanger. Therefore, in an embodiment, it is possible to easily collect condensed water generated from the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas discharged from the stack and to store the collected water. The stored water may be recycled as sprinkling water for cooling of a radiator, handwashing, or dust removal, or as camping water, for example.
Second, inlet air to be supplied to the stack can be divided into low-temperature cold air and high-temperature hot air by a vortex cooler. In an embodiment, the low-temperature cold air can be supplied to the heat exchanger, and at the same time, the high-temperature hot air can be supplied to a wet air discharge line, through which the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas flows toward the heat exchanger, whereby the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas can be increased in temperature. Accordingly, the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas can be more easily condensed in the heat exchanger. As a result, in an embodiment, it is possible to further maximize or increase the amount of water that is collected from the condensed water generated from the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas.
Third, because water can be collected from the exhaust gas discharged from the stack, in an embodiment, it is possible to minimize or reduce the amount of water that is uselessly discharged out of a fuel cell vehicle, thereby preventing accidents attributable to freezing of the discharged water on roads or parking lots, or accidents attributable to splash of the discharged water onto a following vehicle during high-speed travel, for example.
Embodiments of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to an exemplary drawings. The embodiments described in the specification and shown in the accompanying drawings are illustrative only and are not necessarily intended to represent all options and combinations of the disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to the embodiments presented herein, and it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications or changes can be made without departing from the technical spirit or scope of the disclosure as disclosed in the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2023-0090766 | Jul 2023 | KR | national |
