EP4229697A1 - Procédé de détermination et système de pile à combustible pour détecter un gaz inférieur - Google Patents

Procédé de détermination et système de pile à combustible pour détecter un gaz inférieur

Info

Publication number
EP4229697A1
EP4229697A1 EP21790099.2A EP21790099A EP4229697A1 EP 4229697 A1 EP4229697 A1 EP 4229697A1 EP 21790099 A EP21790099 A EP 21790099A EP 4229697 A1 EP4229697 A1 EP 4229697A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
fuel cell
cell system
determination
determined
mass flow
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP21790099.2A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Tobias FALKENAU
Timo Bosch
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Robert Bosch GmbH
Original Assignee
Robert Bosch GmbH
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Robert Bosch GmbH filed Critical Robert Bosch GmbH
Publication of EP4229697A1 publication Critical patent/EP4229697A1/fr
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

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
    • H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
    • H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
    • H01M8/04313—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by the detection or assessment of variables; characterised by the detection or assessment of failure or abnormal function
    • H01M8/0444—Concentration; Density
    • H01M8/04447—Concentration; Density of anode reactants at the inlet or inside the fuel cell
    • 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
    • H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
    • H01M8/04082—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration
    • H01M8/04089—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants
    • H01M8/04097—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants with recycling of the reactants
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
    • G01N33/0004—Gaseous mixtures, e.g. polluted air
    • G01N33/0009—General constructional details of gas analysers, e.g. portable test equipment
    • G01N33/0027—General constructional details of gas analysers, e.g. portable test equipment concerning the detector
    • G01N33/0036—General constructional details of gas analysers, e.g. portable test equipment concerning the detector specially adapted to detect a particular component
    • 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
    • H01M8/10—Fuel cells with solid electrolytes
    • H01M2008/1095—Fuel cells with polymeric electrolytes
    • 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

  • PEM Polymer electrolyte membrane
  • a PEM fuel cell consists of an anode, which is supplied with hydrogen, a cathode, which is supplied with air, and a polymer electrolyte membrane placed in between.
  • a plurality of individual fuel cells are stacked into a fuel cell stack to maximize a voltage to be generated.
  • Nitrogen gets from the cathode side to the anode side as a result of diffusion processes.
  • Nitrogen is an inert gas for the electrochemical reaction taking place in the fuel cell.
  • nitrogen reduces the cell voltage of a fuel cell and can, if it is present in high concentration, damage a fuel cell if it is no longer sufficiently supplied with hydrogen.
  • a source of nitrogen for example, is a proportion of bad gas contained in the fuel. Since a pressure in a fuel cell system has to be kept constant by introducing fuel, new bad gas is always pumped into the fuel cell system, in particular into an anode space of the fuel cell system, during flushing.
  • the invention presented is used to determine a bad gas concentration in a fuel for operating a fuel cell system.
  • the presented invention is used to show a user of a fuel cell system a bad gas concentration in a tank of fuel.
  • a determination method for determining a proportion of bad gas in a fuel supplied to a fuel cell includes a control step for operating the fuel cell system in a determination mode at a constant operating point for a predetermined duration, a determination step for determining a purge mass flow set during the determination mode, a determination step for determining a bad gas concentration in the fuel based on the determined purge mass flow, and an output step for outputting the bad gas concentration determined on a display unit and/or a setting step for setting the fuel cell system based on the bad gas concentration determined.
  • a bad gas is to be understood as meaning a non-hydrogen content in a fuel, ie a quantity of gases supplied to a fuel cell.
  • the term bad gas includes a concentration of nitrogen and/or argon and/or carbon dioxide and/or carbon monoxide.
  • the determination method presented is based on a determination operation of a fuel cell system, in which the fuel cell system is generated at a constant operating point, at which, for example, a constant electric current is generated in a fuel cell stack of the fuel cell system and a constant amount of exhaust gas is discharged from the fuel cell system.
  • a constant operating point at which, for example, a constant electric current is generated in a fuel cell stack of the fuel cell system and a constant amount of exhaust gas is discharged from the fuel cell system.
  • parameters i.e. measured variables that change during the determination operation, such as a hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas or an activation frequency of the scavenging valve, can be attributed to a change in the fuel.
  • a bad gas concentration in the fuel can be inferred from a scavenging mass flow that is influenced by an activity of a scavenging valve of a respective fuel cell system.
  • the bad gas concentration can be output on an output unit, such as a display, in particular a display in a vehicle, a display on a mobile computing unit or a display on a respective fuel cell system.
  • the respective fuel cell system can be adjusted on the basis of the determined bad gas concentration, for example by determining a concentration of the respective operating media supplied to the fuel cell system using the bad gas concentration.
  • the bad gas concentration can be transferred as a transfer value of a target function.
  • the presented determination method after a refueling process for filling a tank of a Fuel cell system is carried out with fuel to detect an entry of bad gas through the refueling process.
  • a scavenging mass flow or an activity of a scavenging valve is controlled or activated as a function of a hydrogen concentration determined in the exhaust gas of a respective fuel cell system. It has been shown that excessive activity of the scavenging valve or too high a scavenging frequency leads to a steadily increasing hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas of a fuel cell system and insufficient activity or scavenging frequency of the scavenging valve leads to a steadily decreasing hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas of the fuel cell system in the intended operation.
  • the activity of the scavenging valve is used as a control variable in order to regulate a concentration of hydrogen in an exhaust gas of the fuel cell system to be constant, so that a bad gas concentration in the supplied fuel can be inferred.
  • a scavenging valve is controlled or activated as a function of a hydrogen concentration measured in the exhaust gas of a fuel cell system such that a constant hydrogen concentration is established in the exhaust gas of the fuel cell system, the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas and the activity of the scavenging valve are correlated with one another. Accordingly, in an embodiment of the presented invention it can be provided that a scavenging mass flow, which is influenced by an activity of the scavenging valve, is used to determine a concentration of bad gas, in particular nitrogen, in a fuel supplied to the fuel cell system.
  • a scavenging mass flow is known, i.e. was determined, for example, based on a scavenging frequency of scavenging processes carried out by a scavenging valve in the determination operation, a bad gas concentration in a fuel used during the determination operation can be determined using the scavenging mass flow will.
  • an assignment scheme determined experimentally in advance can be used, which assigns a value of a bad gas concentration to a respective value of a scavenging mass flow.
  • An assignment scheme can include, for example, a mathematical formula that maps a linear or non-linear relationship in order to assign a value of a bad gas concentration to a value of a purge mass flow determined during determination operation of a respective fuel cell system.
  • the mathematical formula can include a mathematical model that adapts, for example, a relationship between a determined value of a scavenging mass flow and a value of a bad gas concentration as a function of a parameter, such as a system temperature and/or an ambient temperature.
  • the mathematical model can be based on the assumption that, for example, if a stack current is known, a humidity that is assumed to be 100% relative humidity at a known temperature, and a specified nitrogen crossover rate, a purge mass flow to maintain a constant nitrogen concentration in the anode path is only of one Impurity concentration in the fuel depends. Provision can also be made for the flushing frequency of a flushing valve of the fuel cell system to be varied during the determination operation until a hydrogen concentration in an exhaust gas generated by the fuel cell system is constant, and then, when the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas is constant, the flushing mass flow is determined .
  • a scavenging frequency i.e. a frequency with which a scavenging valve is activated, can be increased or decreased, for example by means of an automatic control loop, until a hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas of a respective fuel cell system is constant.
  • the activation frequency of the scavenging valve in determination operation is reduced when the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas decreases and is increased when the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas increases.
  • the scavenging frequency can be reduced, for example, if the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas decreases between two consecutive scavenging processes and increased if the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas increases between two consecutive scavenging processes.
  • the bad gas concentration can be determined using the constant scavenging frequency.
  • the presented invention relates to the use of a possible embodiment of the presented determination method for displaying a quality of a fuel on a display unit.
  • a bad gas concentration determined using the determination method presented can be used to determine a quality of a fuel and to output it on a display unit.
  • a value can be assigned to a respective value by means of an assignment scheme
  • Bad gas concentration can be assigned a characteristic value of a quality.
  • the characteristic value can correspond to the determined value of the bad gas concentration.
  • the characteristic value can be displayed in color according to a predefined scheme or a predefined scale in order to be able to assess the quality of the fuel in relation to a standard.
  • the presented invention relates to the use of a possible embodiment of the presented determination method for determining a bad gas concentration in a tank system for providing fuel for a fuel cell system.
  • a sample of a fuel that is provided by a tank system can be used to assess the purity of the tank system for bad gas.
  • a fuel cell system configured to carry out the determination method presented can be used to examine a tank system for leaks or residual gases in the respective lines of the tank system, since these would be revealed by an increased bad gas concentration in a fuel.
  • the determination method can be carried out in a first step using fuel provided directly or by a tank system known to be free of bad gas and in a second step with the same fuel provided from a tank system to be examined, so that if there is a deviation in the Poor concentration between the first step and the second step, it can be assumed that the deviation is caused by the tank system to be examined.
  • the presented invention relates to a fuel cell system with bad gas determination.
  • the fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack, a hydrogen sensor for measuring a hydrogen concentration in an exhaust gas of the fuel cell system, a purge valve, and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to operate the fuel cell system in a determination mode at a constant operating point for a predetermined duration, one during the determination mode by means of To determine flushing valve set flushing mass flow to determine a bad gas concentration in a fuel cell system supplied fuel based on the determined flushing mass flow and to output the determined bad gas concentration on a display unit.
  • the presented invention relates to the use of a possible embodiment of the presented determination method for setting a fuel cell system to an optimum operating point.
  • a stationary operating point used specifically for detecting a gas quality or a bad gas concentration in a fuel can be defined, which is set, for example, after the refueling process.
  • the tank is usually emptied homogeneously, i.e. there is no segregation within the tank and the bad gas concentration remains constant throughout the removal process.
  • a bad gas concentration determined after a refueling process can be used to calibrate the fuel cell system, in particular an anode subsystem, in order to set the respective operating parameters of the fuel cell system.
  • a correction term is used to correct a bad gas concentration determined according to the invention.
  • the correction term can, for example, mathematically depict segregation in a tank system as a function of the time that has elapsed since a refueling process.
  • the presented fuel cell system serves in particular to carry out the presented determination method.
  • control device configured to transmit the respectively determined bad gas concentrations to a central server via an output interface in order to make the respectively determined bad gas concentrations available to computing units connected to the central server.
  • Figure 1 shows a possible embodiment of the presented determination method
  • FIG. 2 shows a possible embodiment of the fuel cell system presented.
  • a determination method 100 is shown in FIG.
  • the determination method includes a control step 101 for operating a fuel cell system in a determination mode at a constant operating point for a predetermined duration.
  • the fuel cell system is operated with a constant electric current in the fuel cell stack and with a constant amount of exhaust air. Furthermore, a hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas of the fuel cell system is determined continuously or at regular intervals.
  • the determination method 100 includes a determination step 103 for determining a scavenging mass flow set during the determination operation. For example, a scavenging frequency with which a scavenging valve of the fuel cell system is activated is recorded. Alternatively, a mass flow sensor can be used in the exhaust line of the fuel cell system to measure the scavenging mass flow.
  • the scavenging frequency at which the scavenging valve is activated is changed as a function of a hydrogen concentration measured in the exhaust gas of the fuel cell system.
  • the flushing frequency can do this decreased when the hydrogen concentration decreases and the purge frequency increased when the hydrogen concentration increases.
  • a determination step 105 is carried out in which a bad gas concentration in the fuel is determined using a scavenging mass flow set by the scavenging valve.
  • a hydrogen concentration can be constant, for example, if it does not change or only changes by less than a predetermined amount between two flushing processes.
  • a value of a bad gas concentration can be assigned to a determined value of the scavenging mass flow, for example by means of a predetermined assignment scheme.
  • the assignment scheme can, for example, be determined in advance using test setups and/or can include a mathematical formula that shows a relationship between the purge mass flow and the bad gas concentration, in particular using the parameters electric current in the fuel cell stack, nitrogen transfer from the anode to the cathode and moisture in the anode path mathematically modeled or mapped.
  • a bad gas concentration determined by the determination step is output in an output step 107 on a display unit.
  • the determined bad gas concentration can be used to calibrate the fuel cell system in order, for example, to adapt respective operating parameters of the fuel cell system to the determined bad gas concentration.
  • the fuel cell system 200 includes a fuel cell stack 201, a hydrogen sensor 203 for measuring a hydrogen concentration in an exhaust gas of the fuel cell system 200, a purge valve 205 and a control device 207.
  • the control device 207 which can be a control unit of the fuel cell system 200 or any other programmable computing unit, for example, is configured to operate the fuel cell system 200 in a determination mode at a constant operating point for a predetermined period of time, one that is set during the determination mode by means of the flushing valve 205 to determine a scavenging mass flow, to determine a bad gas concentration in a fuel supplied to the fuel cell system 200 on the basis of the determined scavenging mass flow and to output the bad gas concentration determined on a display unit 209 .
  • the control device 209 which can be a processor, a computer, a control device, an ASIC or any other programmable element, for example, can be in communication with the display unit 209 via an output interface 211.
  • the display unit 209 is a smartphone of a user of the fuel cell system 200.
  • the display unit 209 can show the user a progression of the bad gas concentration over time and/or across different refueling processes or tank systems, so that the user can identify tank systems with a particularly low or particularly high bad gas concentration.
  • the bad gas concentrations determined can be transmitted to an optional central server 213, such as a cloud server, via the output interface 209.
  • the bad gas concentrations stored on the central server 213 can be transmitted to computing units connected to the central server 213, such as smartphones, for example, in order to inform other users, for example, about the respectively determined bad gas concentrations of the respective tank systems.

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  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Sustainable Development (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Sustainable Energy (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Electrochemistry (AREA)
  • General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
  • Biochemistry (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Immunology (AREA)
  • Pathology (AREA)
  • Fuel Cell (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un procédé de détermination (100) pour déterminer un composant gazeux inférieur dans un combustible pour faire fonctionner un système de pile à combustible (200). Le procédé (100) comprend une étape de commande (101) permettant de faire fonctionner le système de pile à combustible (200) dans un mode de détermination à un point de fonctionnement constant pendant une période prédéfinie, une étape de détermination (103) pour déterminer un débit massique de purge qui est réglé au cours du mode de détermination, une étape de détermination (105) pour déterminer une concentration de gaz inférieure dans le combustible sur la base du débit massique de purge déterminé, et une étape de sortie (107) pour délivrer en sortie la concentration de gaz inférieure déterminée sur une unité d'affichage (209). L'invention concerne en outre un système de piles à combustible (200).
EP21790099.2A 2020-10-14 2021-09-29 Procédé de détermination et système de pile à combustible pour détecter un gaz inférieur Pending EP4229697A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE102020212963.0A DE102020212963A1 (de) 2020-10-14 2020-10-14 Bestimmungsverfahren und Brennstoffzellensystem zur Schlechtgaserkennung
PCT/EP2021/076813 WO2022078762A1 (fr) 2020-10-14 2021-09-29 Procédé de détermination et système de pile à combustible pour détecter un gaz inférieur

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP4229697A1 true EP4229697A1 (fr) 2023-08-23

Family

ID=78086340

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP21790099.2A Pending EP4229697A1 (fr) 2020-10-14 2021-09-29 Procédé de détermination et système de pile à combustible pour détecter un gaz inférieur

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US20230408473A1 (fr)
EP (1) EP4229697A1 (fr)
JP (1) JP2023545738A (fr)
KR (1) KR20230088392A (fr)
CN (1) CN116420255A (fr)
DE (1) DE102020212963A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2022078762A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102022206485A1 (de) * 2022-06-28 2023-12-28 Robert Bosch Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung Verfahren zum Betrieb eines Brennstoffzellensystems.

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP4617675B2 (ja) * 2004-01-13 2011-01-26 トヨタ自動車株式会社 燃料電池システム
JP5392592B2 (ja) 2007-08-08 2014-01-22 トヨタ自動車株式会社 燃料電池システム及び不純物濃度推定方法

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CN116420255A (zh) 2023-07-11
WO2022078762A1 (fr) 2022-04-21
DE102020212963A1 (de) 2022-04-14
KR20230088392A (ko) 2023-06-19
JP2023545738A (ja) 2023-10-31
US20230408473A1 (en) 2023-12-21

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