Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
  • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
  • H01M8/06—Combination of fuel cells with means for production of reactants or for treatment of residues
  • H01M8/0606—Combination of fuel cells with means for production of reactants or for treatment of residues with means for production of gaseous reactants
  • H01M8/065—Combination of fuel cells with means for production of reactants or for treatment of residues with means for production of gaseous reactants by dissolution of metals or alloys; by dehydriding metallic substances
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
  • Y02E60/30—Hydrogen technology
  • Y02E60/50—Fuel cells

Definitions

• the invention relates to a liquid-cooled fuel cell battery and a method for operating such a battery, the starting behavior of the battery in particular being improved compared to the known systems.
• the heating containing an integrated heating element that emits heat at the start, e.g. to heat the membrane and / or the fuel cell unit.
• the heat capacity of the fuel cell remains unchanged.
• the rate at which a fuel cell battery is heated is a function of its thermal capacity such that a battery with a lower thermal capacity can be heated more quickly than a battery with a high thermal capacity.
• the shortest possible heating phase is desirable.
• the object of the present invention is to create a battery with a reduced heat capacity, in particular at the time of starting. It is also an object of the invention to provide a method for operating a fuel cell battery that can be started quickly with the least possible energy expenditure.
• the invention relates to a liquid-cooled fuel cell battery with at least one fuel cell unit and a cooling system in such a way that the cooling system comprises at least one outlet and at least one inlet, cooling liquid flowing out before the battery is started and flowing in again after the battery has been started.
• the invention also relates to a method for operating a liquid-cooled fuel cell battery, in which the cooling liquid is removed from the fuel cell stack before the battery is started, so that when the battery is started the stack contains less cooling liquid than during operation.
• the cooling liquid is advantageously removed from the cooling system when the fuel cell battery is switched off.
• the inlet and outlet of the cooling system can coincide, so that the same opening serves as an outlet when switched off, which is then the inlet when the cooling system is filled with cooling liquid.
• the outlet is preferably located at the lowest point of the cooling system, so that the cooling liquid flows out of the cooling system when the outlet is open, without the use of a pump or a similar device.
• the outlet is connected to a collecting reservoir, so that the coolant is stored there while the battery is at a standstill.
• the collecting reservoir has a pump or a similar device so that after the battery has been started, the cooling system can be quickly refilled with coolant.
• the cooling system has several outlets, for example one outlet per fuel line unit.
• a reservoir is preferably assigned to each outlet.
• the reservoir (s) can be arranged externally or internally from / in the fuel cell battery.
• HTM high temperature membrane
• Fuel cell which form a fuel cell battery for practical operation.
• the figure of such a fuel cell battery can be dispensed with in the present context.
• the entire fuel cell system is referred to as a fuel cell battery, which comprises at least one so-called stack with at least one fuel cell unit, the corresponding process gas supply and discharge channels, the end plates and the cooling system with cooling liquid.
• the stack of at least one fuel cell unit with the associated lines and at least part of the cooling system is referred to as the stack.
• the cooling system of the fuel cell battery comprises a gas line through which gas can be introduced into the cooling system. It is advantageous if the gas line has at least one valve, so that the gas can be introduced under elevated or reduced pressure under certain circumstances.
• the cooling system is ventilated when the cooling liquid is discharged from the fuel cell battery, ie the cooling liquid is replaced in the cooling system by gas, for example air, under atmospheric pressure.
• the cooling liquid is removed from the cooling system by gas The line is blown out, ie the cooling liquid is replaced in the cooling system by gas under increased pressure.
• the gas which replaced the cooling liquid that the cooling system has e ne smaller heat capacity than that of the cooling liquid that and therefore the entire heat capacity of the internal battery ⁇ lowered fuel cells, when the cooling liquid is at least partially removed from the battery.
• the gas can be air, an air mixture and / or inert gas.
• the reservoir for storing the cooling liquid that during the stoppage of the fuel cell battery is preferred ther ⁇ isolated mixing, so that the stored cooling liquid that cools at least not under their freezing point.
• a latent heat store can be connected to the reservoir, which is selected, for example, so that the phase transition is above the melting temperature of the cooling liquid and in particular in the temperature range between + 5 ° C and + 80 ° C.
• the reservoir can be heated.
• the coolant is then heated up immediately before start-up by supplying heat from an external source.
• the external heat source is, for example, a heater with a starter battery, a heater via a catalytic burner, the use of the waste heat from another unit, for example a reformer, or a latent heat store.
• a heatable reservoir can also be thermally insulated so that it can serve as a heat store for the heat stored in the coolant.
• the reservoir in particular in the embodiment where there is only one collecting reservoir for the entire stack and therefore considerable heat flows into the reservoir when the cooling liquid is drained off, can also have a connection, for example detachable, to an assembly in which the heat is either stored or used.
• the Ag thus gregat may be either a heat exchanger, a thermal storage ⁇ cher and / or a machine.
• the fuel cell stack is heated in the idle state, the stack having a reduced heat capacity because at least part of the cooling liquid has been replaced by a gas.
• the cooling liquid is let back into the cooling system and / or pumped in.
• the coolant in the reservoir is at a higher temperature than the fuel cell stack, then at the time when the fuel cell battery is started, it may be advantageous to introduce the coolant into the cooling system as long as it is warmer than the stack, because then the cooling system, which is a heat exchanger, is used inversely for a short time and serves as a heater for the stack.
• the invention takes advantage of the fact that a liquid-cooled fuel cell battery which has a reduced heat capacity can be made ready to start faster because, in contrast to the conventional fuel cell batteries, it can be heated up more quickly.
• the invention should therefore be of interest in particular in the case of mobile use, the heat of the drained cooling liquid also being able to be used in a stationary manner via a detachable connection.
• cooling liquid is removed from the stack before the battery is started, so that the stack is heated without cooling liquid, that is to say with a significantly reduced heat capacity. After starting, the coolant is returned to the cooling system.

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• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Sustainable Development (AREA)
• Sustainable Energy (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Electrochemistry (AREA)
• General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Fuel Cell (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

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• 1999
  • 1999-05-19 DE DE19922923A patent/DE19922923C2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2000
  • 2000-05-11 CA CA002371423A patent/CA2371423A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-05-11 JP JP2000620691A patent/JP2003500824A/ja not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-05-11 WO PCT/DE2000/001473 patent/WO2000072396A1/de not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2000-05-11 CN CN00810133A patent/CN1361926A/zh active Pending
  • 2000-05-11 EP EP00938538A patent/EP1196959A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2001
  • 2001-11-19 US US09/992,339 patent/US20020081467A1/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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