CN217387223U

CN217387223U - Fuel cell

Info

Publication number: CN217387223U
Application number: CN202220850931.0U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 伍佳佳
Original assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Current assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Priority date: 2022-04-13
Filing date: 2022-04-13
Publication date: 2022-09-06
Anticipated expiration: 2032-04-13

Abstract

The utility model provides a fuel cell, it includes: a cell stack (110); an air compressor (132) configured to supply compressed air to the cell stack (110); a gas-liquid separator (141) configured to separate an effluent of the stack (110) into a gas and a liquid; a discharge port (140 e); a discharge line (140P) including a gas discharge line (140P') and a liquid discharge line (140P ") for conveying the gas and the liquid discharged from the gas-liquid separator (141) to the discharge port (140e), respectively; and a heating line (150P) configured to convey compressed air from the air compressor (132) to the discharge port (140e), and provided with a heating device configured to heat-exchange compressed air with the gas discharge line (140P') and the liquid discharge line (140P ").

Description

Fuel cell

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a battery technology field, more specifically relates to a fuel cell.

Background

In recent years, fuel cells have been widely regarded as an efficient and clean power generation technology for use in power systems of vehicles and ships. As a proton exchange membrane fuel cell system for vehicle power, when applied in northern winter environment, water generated by power generation of the fuel cell may be condensed into water inside the fuel cell, especially at a discharge pipe, for example, an exhaust valve and a drain valve on the discharge pipe may not be opened due to freezing, thereby causing blockage of the discharge pipe, and finally causing failure of normal start-up and normal use of the fuel cell in winter. In order to ensure low-temperature operation of the fuel cell at low-temperature start, the current technical path is mainly to install an electric heater in the drain pipe, supply power to the electric heater through an external storage battery at the time of cold start, and warm up the drain pipe by the electric heater so as to thaw ice in the drain pipe and prevent water in the drain pipe from freezing into ice again. This method is widely used in practical systems, but has the disadvantage of limited electrical heating power, resulting in a long thawing time, especially in cold regions, which may require more than ten minutes. Although the defrosting time can be reduced by increasing the power of the electric heater, if the defrosting time is reduced to less than one minute, the power of the electric heater needs to be increased to tens of kilowatts, which is a great challenge to the design of the electric heater, and also increases the weight and volume of the system and reduces the energy density of the fuel cell.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for a solution that can simply and reliably ensure low-temperature start-up and low-temperature operation of a fuel cell.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In order to solve the problems in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved fuel cell, which includes: a cell stack; an air compressor configured to supply compressed air to the cell stack; a gas-liquid separator configured to separate a bleed of the stack into a gas and a liquid; a discharge port; a discharge line including a gas discharge line and a liquid discharge line for conveying the gas and the liquid discharged from the gas-liquid separator to the discharge port, respectively; and a heating line configured to deliver compressed air from the air compressor to the discharge port, and provided with a heating device configured to heat-exchange the compressed air with the gas discharge line and the liquid discharge line.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the heating line is provided with a compressed air valve between the air compressor and the heating device.

According to an optional embodiment of the invention, the heating device comprises one or more nozzles, the gas discharge line is provided with a discharge valve, the liquid discharge line is provided with a drain valve, and the nozzles are oriented to inject compressed air towards the discharge valve and the drain valve.

According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the gas-liquid separator has a gas outlet for discharging gas and a liquid outlet for discharging liquid, the heating device comprises a heat exchanger, the heat exchanger comprises: a gas inlet connected to the gas outlet; a liquid inlet connected with the liquid outlet; a gas outlet connected to the gas discharge line; a liquid outlet connected to the liquid discharge line; a compressed air inlet connected to the air compressor; and a compressed air outlet connected to the discharge port, and wherein the heat exchanger defines internally a gas path connecting the gas inlet with the gas outlet, a liquid path connecting the liquid inlet with the liquid outlet, and a compressed air path connecting the compressed air inlet with the compressed air outlet.

According to an optional embodiment of the invention, the compressed air path is defined by an inner chamber of the heat exchanger, the gas path is defined by a gas line extending through the inner chamber, and the liquid path is defined by a liquid line extending through the inner chamber.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the internal chamber of the heat exchanger is divided into a gas chamber and a liquid chamber by a partition arranged inside the heat exchanger, wherein the gas path is defined by the gas chamber, the liquid path is defined by the liquid chamber, and the compressed air path is defined by a compressed air line extending through the gas chamber, the liquid chamber and the partition.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the compressed air line is provided with a plurality of fins projecting from its outer surface.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the portion of the compressed air line which is located in the gas chamber is provided with a plurality of through holes.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the gas chamber and the liquid chamber are arranged such that, in the flow direction of the compressed air, the portion of the compressed air line located within the gas chamber is downstream of the portion of the compressed air line located within the liquid chamber.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the compressed air outlet is formed by the air outlet.

The invention may be embodied in the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and that any variations which come within the teachings of the invention are intended to be included therein.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention. These drawings should not be construed as necessarily limiting the scope of the invention, wherein:

fig. 1 is a schematic layout of a fuel cell according to the present invention;

figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a heat exchanger for a fuel cell according to the present invention;

figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a heat exchanger of a fuel cell according to the present invention;

figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of a heat exchanger of a fuel cell according to the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of a heat exchanger of a fuel cell according to the present invention; and

fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of a heat exchanger of a fuel cell according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. Exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and the various drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as necessarily limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided only to illustrate the present invention and to convey the spirit and substance of the invention to those skilled in the art.

The utility model aims at providing a modified fuel cell, according to the utility model discloses a fuel cell can prevent reliably that the water that the electricity generation of cell stack produced from condensing into ice in the discharge line, especially can prevent that discharge valve and drain valve on the discharge line from can't opening because of freezing to can ensure the drainage of cell stack and carminative going on smoothly, can ensure the reliable operation of cell stack in low temperature environment from this. In addition, according to the utility model discloses a fuel cell need not set up solitary electrical heating unit for discharge valve and drain valve in order to prevent to freeze, has reduced fuel cell's production, configuration cost and the energy consumption when moving from this, has still avoided the later stage simultaneously and has heated the maintenance cost that the unit is relevant with the electricity.

An alternative but non-limiting embodiment of a fuel cell according to the invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 1, there is shown a schematic layout of a fuel cell according to the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the fuel cell 100 includes a stack 110, a hydrogen supply system 120 for supplying hydrogen to the stack 110, an air supply system 130 for supplying air to the stack 110, and an exhaust system 140 for exhausting an exhaust generated by the stack 110. In operation, the hydrogen supply system 120 supplies hydrogen (or other hydrogen-containing gas such as methanol, gas, natural gas, etc.) to the stack 110, the air supply system 130 supplies air to the stack 110, the hydrogen and oxygen in the air electrochemically react at a proton exchange membrane (i.e., an electrolyte membrane) in the stack 110 to generate electric energy, water, and gas, wherein the electric energy is to be supplied to other systems (e.g., an engine of an electric vehicle and other electric power consuming devices) as an output of the fuel cell 100, and the water and gas are to be discharged to the outside, e.g., to the ambient environment, as an exhaust of the fuel cell 100 through the exhaust system 140.

As shown in fig. 1, the hydrogen gas supply system 120 includes a hydrogen supply line 120P connecting a hydrogen storage tank 121 to the hydrogen inlet 111 of the stack 110 for delivering the hydrogen gas in the hydrogen storage tank 121 into the hydrogen inlet 111. The hydrogen gas supply system 120 further includes a hydrogen gas filter 122, a relief valve 123, and an ejector 124 provided on the hydrogen supply line 120P. Specifically, the hydrogen filter 122 is provided downstream of the hydrogen storage tank 121 to filter the hydrogen gas from the hydrogen storage tank 121, thereby preventing impurities in the hydrogen gas from damaging various components (particularly, the cell stack 110) downstream of the hydrogen filter 122. An eductor 124 is provided downstream of the hydrogen filter 122 to inject filtered hydrogen into the hydrogen inlet 111 of the stack 110, which will participate as anode material in the electrochemical reaction in the stack 110. The relief valve 123 is provided between the hydrogen filter 122 and the ejector 124 in order to avoid the pressure of the hydrogen gas in the hydrogen supply line 120P from exceeding the set pressure. In particular, as shown in fig. 1, the relief valve 123 may be a pilot relief valve with an adjustable relief pressure.

As shown in fig. 2, the air supply system 130 includes an oxygen supply line 130P connected to the air inlet 112 of the cell stack 110 for supplying air in the ambient atmosphere to the air inlet 112. The air supply system 130 further includes an air filter 131, an air compressor 132, an intercooler 133, and an air humidifier 134 provided on the oxygen supply line 130P. Specifically, the air filter 131 is used to filter air from the surrounding atmosphere to avoid impurities in the air from damaging various components (particularly, the cell stack 110) downstream of the air filter 131. An air compressor 132 is disposed downstream of the air filter 131 to compress the filtered air to increase the density of the air delivered to the stack 110 to meet the oxygen consumption requirements of the stack 110. However, as the air density increases, the air temperature increases (even above 100 ℃), and in order to prevent the high-temperature compressed air from damaging various components (particularly, the cell stack 110) downstream of the air compressor 132, an intercooler 133 is provided downstream of the air compressor 132 to cool the high-temperature compressed air. An air humidifier 134 is provided downstream of the intercooler 133 to increase the humidity of the compressed air, which helps maintain good hydration of the proton exchange membranes in the stack 110, thereby ensuring the operating efficiency thereof. After that, compressed air having a desired humidity and temperature is delivered to the air inlet 112 of the stack 110, and oxygen in the air will participate as a cathode material in the electrochemical reaction in the stack 110. Specifically, as shown in fig. 1, the oxygen supply line 130P further includes an oxygen supply branch 130P ', the oxygen supply branch 130P ' connects an outlet of the intercooler 133 to the air inlet 112 of the cell stack 110, that is, the compressed air output from the intercooler 133 may be directly supplied to the air inlet 112 through the oxygen supply branch 130P ' without passing through the air humidifier 134. When the humidity inside the stack 110 is sufficient, the air humidifier 134 may be disabled and compressed air may be delivered through the oxygen supply branch 130P'; conversely, when the humidity inside the stack 110 is insufficient, the air humidifier 134 may be activated and the oxygen supply branch 130P' may be cut off to increase the humidity of the air supplied to the stack 110. To perform the above switching, on-off

valves

135 and 136 may be provided in the oxygen supply branch 130P' and downstream of the air humidifier 134, respectively.

As described above, the hydrogen gas and the oxygen gas in the compressed air supplied to the stack 110 are electrochemically reacted at the pem to generate electric power, which is supplied to the power consuming parts through the electric circuit system, and emissions (a gas-liquid mixture containing water generated from the hydrogen gas and the oxygen gas, nitrogen gas remaining after the oxygen gas in the air is consumed, and the like), which are discharged to the outside of the fuel cell, for example, to the ambient environment, through the exhaust system 140.

As shown in fig. 1, the drain system 140 includes a gas-liquid separator 141 connected to the drain port 113 of the stack 110, a drain port 140e, and a drain line 140P that delivers gas and liquid discharged from the gas-liquid separator 141 to the drain port 140e, whereby a drain (i.e., a gas-liquid mixture) discharged from the drain port 113 may be delivered to the drain port 140e through the gas-liquid separator 141, the drain line 140P and discharged to the outside of the fuel cell 100 through the drain port 140 e. The exhaust system 140 also includes a heat exchanger 142 disposed on the exhaust line 140P.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 1, the inlet 141a of the gas-liquid separator 141 is connected to the discharge port 113 of the cell stack 110 for receiving the gas-liquid mixture from the discharge port 113 and separating it into gas and liquid, and the gas-liquid separator 141 further includes a gas outlet 141b for discharging the gas and a liquid outlet 141c for discharging the liquid, and thus, the discharge line 140P includes a gas discharge line 140P' for conveying the gas and a liquid discharge line 140P ″ for conveying the liquid.

As shown in fig. 1, the heat exchanger 142 is disposed downstream of the gas-liquid separator 141, and includes a gas inlet 142b and a liquid inlet 142c connected to a gas outlet 141b and a liquid outlet 141c of the gas-liquid separator 141, respectively, and in this configuration, the gas inlet 142b may receive gas from the gas outlet 141b, and the liquid inlet 142c may receive liquid from the liquid outlet 141 c. The heat exchanger 142 further includes an air outlet 142d and an liquid outlet 142e, and defines therein a gas path extending from the air inlet 142b to the air outlet 142d (i.e., connecting the air inlet 142b to the air outlet 142d), and a liquid path extending from the liquid inlet 142c to the liquid outlet 142e (i.e., connecting the liquid inlet 142c to the liquid outlet 142e), wherein the gas can flow from the air inlet 142b to the air outlet 142d along the gas path inside the heat exchanger 142, and the liquid can flow from the liquid inlet 142c to the liquid outlet 142e along the liquid path inside the heat exchanger 142. In addition, the gas outlet 142d and the liquid outlet 142e of the heat exchanger 142 are connected to the discharge port 140e by a gas discharge line 140P' and a liquid discharge line 140P ", respectively (the discharge line 140P may be considered to be downstream of the heat exchanger 142 or to extend through the heat exchanger 142 and connect it to the discharge port 140e at this time), and an exhaust valve 143 may be provided between the air outlet 142d and the exhaust port 140e (i.e., on the gas exhaust line 140P'), after the discharge valve 143 is opened, the gas discharged from the gas outlet 142d may be delivered to the discharge port 140e and discharged to the outside through the discharge port 140e, and a drain valve 144 may be provided between the liquid outlet port 142e and the drain port 140e (i.e., on the liquid drain line 140P "), therefore, after the drain valve 144 is opened, the liquid discharged from the liquid outlet 142e can be delivered to the discharge port 140e and discharged to the outside through the discharge port 140 e.

In particular, as shown in fig. 1, the heat exchanger 142 further includes a compressed air inlet 142f and a compressed air outlet 142g, and defines a compressed air path therein extending from the compressed air inlet 142f to the compressed air outlet 142g, wherein the compressed air inlet 142f is connected to the outlet of the air compressor 132 and the compressed air outlet 142g is connected to the discharge port 140 e. Thus, the compressed air output by the air compressor 132 may be delivered to the compressed air inlet 142f of the heat exchanger 142 and flow along a compressed air path inside the heat exchanger 142 to the compressed air outlet 142g, and then delivered from the compressed air outlet 142g to the discharge port 140e and discharged to the outside by the discharge port 140 e.

Under the above configuration, the gas, liquid discharged from the stack 110 and the compressed air discharged from the air compressor 132 will flow inside the heat exchanger 142 along respective paths, and since the compressed air has a high temperature, the gas and liquid discharged from the stack 110 will be heated inside the heat exchanger 142, and in a low temperature environment, the gas and liquid having an increased temperature helps to thaw the discharge line 140P (particularly, the discharge valve 143 and the discharge valve 144) downstream of the heat exchanger 142 and prevent it from freezing, so that the above configuration can ensure the winter start and winter operation of the fuel cell 100.

In particular, as shown in fig. 1, a compressed air valve 145 may be disposed between the outlet of the air compressor 132 and the compressed air inlet 142f of the heat exchanger 142, and a barometer 146 may be disposed between the air outlet 142d of the heat exchanger 142 and the discharge port 140e, and a hydro meter 147 may be disposed between the liquid outlet 142e of the heat exchanger 142 and the discharge port 140e, and the compressed air valve 145 may be signally connected to the barometer 146 and the hydro meter 147 (as shown by the dashed lines in fig. 1) and configured to switch from a closed state to an open state when a pressure measured by one or both of the barometer 146 and the hydro meter 147 exceeds a respective preset threshold. In this configuration, the air pressure downstream of the air port 142d may be measured by the air pressure gauge 146 and the hydraulic pressure downstream of the liquid port 142e may be measured by the hydraulic pressure gauge 147, and when the piping downstream of the air port 142d and/or the piping downstream of the liquid port 142e is blocked by freezing (e.g., the vent valve 143 and the drain valve 144 are unable to open due to freezing), the measured air pressure and/or hydraulic pressure will exceed the corresponding predetermined threshold, which will cause the compressed air valve 145 to open, and the high temperature compressed air from the air compressor 132 will heat the vent gas and the vent liquid, which will help to defrost and prevent freezing of the piping downstream of the air port 142d and the liquid port 142 e. Therefore, the above configuration achieves automatic defrosting and antifreezing of the downstream lines of the gas outlet 142d and the liquid outlet 142 e.

In particular, as shown in fig. 1, between the discharge port 140e and the compressed air outlet 142g of the heat exchanger 142, one or more nozzles 148 oriented toward the discharge valve 143 and the drain valve 144 are further provided, the one or more nozzles 148 being configured to inject the compressed air toward the discharge valve 143 and the drain valve 144. In this configuration, high temperature compressed air may be injected through one or more nozzles 148 to the vent valve 143 and drain valve 144 to help thaw the vent valve 143 and drain valve 144 and prevent freezing thereof. Although the one or more nozzles 148 inject the compressed air from the compressed air outlet 142g in the above configuration, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the one or more nozzles 148 may be directly connected to the outlet of the air compressor 132 through a separate pipe without passing through the heat exchanger 142 so as to directly inject the high temperature compressed air from the air compressor 132 toward the discharge valve 143 and the drain valve 144. That is, the fuel cell 100 includes a heating line 150P that delivers high-temperature compressed air output from the air compressor 132 to the discharge port 140e, and the heating line 150P is provided with a heating device (i.e., the heat exchanger 142 and/or the nozzle 148) to heat at least a portion of the discharge line 140P downstream of the gas-liquid separator 141 (e.g., the discharge valve 143 and the drain valve 144) with the compressed air, i.e., to heat-exchange the compressed air with the discharge line 140P.

Several alternative but non-limiting embodiments of the heat exchanger 142 are described below in conjunction with fig. 2-6, which show schematic cross-sectional views of several embodiments of the heat exchanger 142.

As shown in fig. 2, the compressed air path is defined by the interior chamber 142h of the heat exchanger 142, while the gas path is defined by the lumen of the gas line 142i extending through the interior chamber 142h, and the liquid path is defined by the lumen of the liquid line 142j extending through the interior chamber 142 h. In this configuration, the internal chamber 142h will be filled with high temperature compressed air, and the gas line 142i and the liquid line 142j will be surrounded by high temperature compressed air, and thus, the gas flowing through the gas line 142i and the liquid flowing through the liquid line 142j will be heated by the high temperature compressed air.

As shown in fig. 3, the interior chamber 142h of the heat exchanger 142 is divided by a partition 142s inside the heat exchanger 142 into a gas chamber 142h ' and a liquid chamber 142h ", the gas path being defined by the gas chamber 142h ', the liquid path being defined by the liquid chamber 142 h", and the compressed air path being defined by a lumen of a compressed air conduit 142k extending through the gas chamber 142h ', the liquid chamber 142h ", and the partition 142 s. In this configuration, high temperature compressed air will flow through the compressed air line 142k, and thus the gas flowing through the gas chamber 142 h' and the liquid flowing through the liquid chamber 142h "will be heated by the high temperature compressed air in the compressed air line 142 k.

In particular, as shown in fig. 4, the embodiment shown in fig. 4 is similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 3, with the main difference that the compressed air line 142k is provided on its outer surface with a plurality of fins 142t, which fins 142t project from the outer surface of the compressed air line 142k into the gas chamber 142 h' and the liquid chamber 142h ″. In this configuration, the contact area of the gas and liquid with the compressed air line 142k can be increased by the fins 142t, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency of the high-temperature compressed air with the gas and liquid, which enables the high-temperature compressed air to heat the gas and liquid more quickly and efficiently.

In particular, as shown in fig. 5, the embodiment of fig. 5 is similar to the embodiment of fig. 3, with the main difference that the portion of the compressed air line 142k located in the gas chamber 142 h' is provided with a plurality of through-holes 142u extending through the wall of the tube. In this configuration, the high temperature compressed air in the compressed air line 142k will diffuse through the through holes 142u into the gas chamber 142h ' to mix with the gas in the gas chamber 142h ', which helps to heat the gas in the gas chamber 142h ' more quickly.

In particular, as shown in fig. 6, the embodiment shown in fig. 6 is similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 5, with the main difference that the gas chamber 142h 'and the liquid chamber 142h ″ are positioned such that, in the flow direction of the compressed air, the portion of the compressed air line 142k located in the gas chamber 142 h' is downstream of the portion of the compressed air line 142k located in the liquid chamber 142h ″. With this arrangement, it is ensured that there is sufficient compressed air in the portion of the compressed air line 142k located in the liquid chamber 142h "to heat the liquid in the liquid chamber 142 h". More specifically, the compressed air outlet 142g is constituted by the air outlet 142d, i.e., the compressed air outlet 142g and the air outlet 142d are the same outlet. Therefore, the high-temperature compressed air flows through the liquid chamber 142h ″ first, then flows through the gas chamber 142h ', and may be diffused into the gas chamber 142 h' through the through-holes 142u, and finally, may be discharged out of the heat exchanger 142 through the gas outlet 142d (i.e., the compressed air outlet 142g) together with the gas. In this configuration, the high temperature compressed air fills the gas chamber 142h ', which not only rapidly heats the gas in the gas chamber 142 h', but also raises the temperature of the entire heat exchanger 142, thereby also facilitating rapid heating of the liquid in the liquid chamber 142h ″.

It is to be noted that although different features have been described above with reference to different embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these features may be combined in any way in embodiments that are not shown, without conflicting with each other, and that these embodiments that are not shown obviously also fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

An alternative but non-limiting embodiment of a fuel cell according to the invention is described in detail above with the aid of the accompanying drawings. Modifications and additions to the techniques and structures, as well as re-combinations of features in various embodiments, which do not depart from the spirit and substance of the disclosure, will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art as included within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, such modifications and additions as can be envisaged within the teachings of the present invention are considered to be part of the present invention. The scope of the present invention includes both equivalents known at the time of filing and equivalents not yet foreseen.

Claims

1. A fuel cell, comprising:

a cell stack (110);

an air compressor (132) configured to supply compressed air to the cell stack (110);

a gas-liquid separator (141) configured to separate an effluent of the stack (110) into a gas and a liquid;

a discharge port (140 e);

a discharge line (140P) including a gas discharge line (140P') and a liquid discharge line (140P ") for conveying the gas and the liquid discharged from the gas-liquid separator (141) to the discharge port (140e), respectively, characterized by further comprising:

a heating line (150P) configured to convey compressed air from the air compressor (132) to the discharge port (140e), and provided with a heating device configured to heat exchange compressed air with the gas discharge line (140P ') and the liquid discharge line (140P').

2. A fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein said heating line (150P) is provided with a compressed air valve (145) between said air compressor (132) and said heating means.

3. A fuel cell according to claim 1, characterized in that said heating means comprise one or more nozzles (148), said gas discharge line (140P') being provided with a gas discharge valve (143), said liquid discharge line (140P ") being provided with a liquid discharge valve (144), said nozzles (148) being oriented to inject compressed air towards said gas discharge valve (143) and said liquid discharge valve (144).

4. A fuel cell according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein said gas-liquid separator (141) has a gas outlet (141b) for discharging gas and a liquid outlet (141c) for discharging liquid, said heating means comprises a heat exchanger (142), said heat exchanger (142) comprising:

a gas inlet (142b) connected to the gas outlet (141 b);

a liquid inlet (142c) connected to the liquid outlet (141 c);

an air outlet (142d) connected to the gas discharge line (140P');

a liquid outlet (142e) connected to the liquid discharge line (140P');

a compressed air inlet (142f) connected to the air compressor (132); and

a compressed air outlet (142g) connected with the discharge port (140e), and wherein,

the heat exchanger (142) defines internally a gas path connecting the gas inlet (142b) with the gas outlet (142d), a liquid path connecting the liquid inlet (142c) with the liquid outlet (142e), and a compressed air path connecting the compressed air inlet (142f) with the compressed air outlet (142 g).

5. The fuel cell of claim 4, wherein the compressed air path is defined by an interior chamber (142h) of the heat exchanger (142), the gas path is defined by a gas conduit (142i) extending through the interior chamber (142h), and the liquid path is defined by a liquid conduit (142j) extending through the interior chamber (142 h).

6. The fuel cell according to claim 4, wherein an internal chamber (142h) of the heat exchanger (142) is partitioned into a gas chamber (142h ') and a liquid chamber (142h ") by a partition plate (142s) provided inside the heat exchanger (142), wherein the gas path is defined by the gas chamber (142h '), the liquid path is defined by the liquid chamber (142 h"), and the compressed air path is defined by a compressed air line (142k) extending through the gas chamber (142h '), the liquid chamber (142h ") and the partition plate (142 s).

7. A fuel cell according to claim 6, wherein the compressed air line (142k) is provided with a plurality of fins (142t) projecting from an outer surface thereof.

8. The fuel cell according to claim 6, wherein a portion of the compressed air line (142k) located within the gas chamber (142 h') is provided with a plurality of through holes (142 u).

9. The fuel cell according to claim 8, characterized in that the gas chamber (142h ') and the liquid chamber (142h ") are arranged such that, in the flow direction of compressed air, the portion of the compressed air line (142k) located within the gas chamber (142 h') is downstream of the portion of the compressed air line (142k) located within the liquid chamber (142 h").

10. The fuel cell according to claim 9, wherein the compressed air outlet (142g) is constituted by the air outlet (142 d).