This invention relates to fuel cells having water passageways that provide water to reactant gas flow passages wherein the water is evaporated in proportion to the waste heat generated in the cells; the water condensed from the exhausted reactant gas is returned to the water passageways, which may be dead-ended or vented, that receive condensate from a condenser which removes water from the air exhausting the cells.
It is known in the fuel cell art to evaporatively cool fuel cells, thereby deriving the benefit of the heat of vaporization, in contrast with conveying sensible heat to circulating water passing through the cells or coolant passing through coolant plates. Typically, prior approaches to evaporative cooling have taken one of two forms. In a first form, water is abundantly atomized or fogged into the gas stream of one or both of the reactant gases.
The other form of prior approaches utilizes wicking to bring water into the cells. One recent example is shown in U.S. publication 2004/0170878, which is briefly illustrated in
To provide water to the wicking 12, a wicking header 22 extends across the ends of all of the fuel cells on an end thereof which is opposite to the flow of air into the spaces 24 between the wicking 12 that comprise the oxidant reactant gas flow field. Air is supplied by a pump 26 through a manifold 27 to the inlets 28 of each fuel cell.
In
The wicking evaporative cooling described in the aforementioned publication is stated to require external water, from a source outside the fuel cell power plant, since the water generated at the cathode (process water) is said to be insufficient, except at startup, to achieve the necessary cooling. This is also true in an evaporatively cooled fuel cell stack which relies on wicking in U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,741. Therein, 100 cm2 cells have performance of only 0.7-0.8 v at 100-120 mA/cm2 (108-130 A/ft2). Furthermore, the capillary pressure differential along the length of each of the wicks must be greater than the pressure drop along the adjacent air flow field channels in order for there to be a positive wicking velocity, although it is stated that having air flow in the same direction as the flow of water in the wicking means would overcome that problem.
Thus, evaporative cooled fuel cells that rely on wicking require external water, have limited planform size and the performance thereof is limited by small current density.
In order to transport sufficient water to provide the necessary evaporative cooling, from the wicking header 22, located at the perimeter of the cells, to all areas of the cells requiring cooling, the wicking required is considerable, causing each fuel cell to be thicker than is acceptable within the limited volume which is mandated for use in vehicular applications.
Objects of the invention include: fuel cells which are thinner than fuel cells known to the prior art; the use of evaporative cooling in fuel cells in which the supply of water to the fuel cells is controllable independently of the pressure in the air supply; evaporative cooling of fuel cells in which the supply of water to the cells is independent of the supply of reactant gas to the membrane electrode assembly of the fuel cells; evaporatively cooled fuel cells capable of having large area planform and capable of operating with high current densities; and improved fuel cells for vehicular and other applications.
According to the present invention, fuel cells in a fuel cell power plant are evaporatively cooled by means of water present in minute passageways which are adjacent to or within a first surface of the hydrophilic porous reactant gas flow field plates which have reactant gas flow channels opening at a second surface of the flow field plate, opposite to said first surface. Each minute passageway is in fluid communication with a water reservoir.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the water supply to the minute passageways may be further enhanced by means of a micro vacuum pump. The pump does not create any water flow; it simply provides a correct pressure in the portions of the passageways at the top of the stack to assure that the water level will reach the highest part of the passageways in the stack. However, the invention may be practiced with the water passageways dead-ended.
In accordance with another optional embodiment of the invention, a fuel cell stack utilizing evaporative cooling with water supplied in minute passageways at the surface of hydrophilic porous reactant gas channel plates may be operated with fixed air flow, in contrast with a fixed air utilization, the air flow being sufficient to control the maximum stack temperature at moderately high current densities. In further accord with this optional embodiment of the invention, the air flow rate may be controlled in stages, in dependence upon the temperature within the fuel cells.
In the invention, water passes through the flow field plate perpendicular to the plane thereof, whereas wicking of the prior art conducts water in parallel with the plane of the fuel cells. Therefore, the water travels only a very short distance through porous material, typically less than 0.5 mm.
The invention allows managing the water for evaporative cooling separately from the pressure drop across reactant gas flow path into which the water will migrate. The invention allows individual fuel cells to be thinner than those of comparable performance known to the prior art.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in the light of the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Referring now to
In this embodiment, fuel from the source 41 is provided to a fuel inlet 42 and flows to the right in a first fuel pass, as indicated by the bold arrow 43, to a fuel turn manifold 44. The fuel gas then flows downwardly and into a second fuel pass of the fuel flow fields, wherein the fuel gas flows to the left as indicated by the bold arrow 45. From a fuel outlet 47, the fuel may flow through a recycle pump 48 (perhaps with valves not shown) back to the fuel inlet 42, and may be periodically purged to ambient through a valve 49, all as is known in the art. Single pass, triple pass or other fuel flow configurations may be used.
In the embodiment of
Although there is a water inlet 66, there is no water outlet, the water is simply present in each fuel cell as described more fully with respect to
In the embodiment of
To prevent flooding, it is preferable that the reactant gases be at least a few kP (a fraction of a psi) higher than the pressure of water in the passageways. This will naturally occur as a consequence of the air pump 52 generally causing the air to be that much above atmospheric pressure, and the pressure of the fuel is easily regulated, as is known. In the embodiment of
In other embodiments, the passageways may be formed other than by matching grooves as shown. Water passageways 67 may be provided in only one of the reactant gas flow field plates 75, 81. The invention may be used in fuel cell stacks having separator plates; or if deemed necessary, cooler plates, in which case the coolant flow therein is fully independent of the evaporative cooling of the present invention.
The reactant gas flow field plates 74, 81 appear to be the same as water transport plates, sometimes referred to as fine pore plates, in a fuel cell power plant which utilizes significant water flow through the water transport plates, with external water processing, as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,595. However, because of the fact that there is about a one hundred-to-one cooling effectiveness per volume of water when evaporative cooling is used, in comparison with sensible heat, water flow cooling of the aforesaid '595 patent, the flow channels in the prior art have cross sections which are several tens of times larger than the cross sections of the water passageways 78, 85 of the invention. In addition, the spacing of the lateral portions of the water passageways 78, 85 (shown at each juncture of the fuel cells in the embodiment of
Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
In
In
Water may be drained from passageways and the condenser at shut down in cold climates, if desired.
The aforementioned patent application and patent are incorporated herein by reference.
Thus, although the invention has been shown and described with respect to exemplary embodiments thereof, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions and additions may be made therein and thereto, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.