JP3477926B2 - Solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell, in which a gas of the above-mentioned gas that may be generated in a unit fuel cell due to condensation of water vapor contained in a fuel gas or an oxidant gas It relates to its structure improved to prevent flow failure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A fuel cell is a kind of power generator that generates direct current power by using hydrogen and oxygen, and as is well known, it is converted into electric energy as compared with other energy engines. High efficiency and low emission of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and other air pollutants,
It is expected as a so-called clean energy source. As the fuel cell, depending on the type of electrolyte used, a solid polymer electrolyte type, phosphoric acid type, molten carbonate type,
Various fuel cells such as solid oxide type are known. Among these fuel cells, the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell is
It is a fuel cell that utilizes a polymer resin membrane having a proton (hydrogen ion) exchange group in its molecule to show a low electric resistivity when saturated with water and function as a proton conductive electrolyte. A polymer resin membrane having a proton exchange group in the molecule (hereinafter, may be abbreviated as a solid polymer electrolyte membrane or simply PE membrane) is a perfluorosulfonic acid resin membrane (for example, manufactured by DuPont, USA). A fluorine-based ion exchange resin membrane represented by a trade name, Nafion membrane) is currently well known, but in addition to this, a hydrocarbon-based ion exchange resin membrane, a composite resin membrane and the like are used. These solid polymer electrolyte membranes (PE membranes) show an electric resistivity of 20 [Ω · cm] or less at room temperature when they are saturated with water, and both are membranes that function as a proton conductive electrolyte. is there.

First, a unit fuel cell included in a conventional solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view seen from the upper side and schematically showing a main part of a unit fuel cell provided in a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell of a conventional example in an expanded state. In FIG.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a unit fuel cell (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a unit cell) composed of the fuel cell 7 and separators 81 and 82 arranged so as to face each of both main surfaces thereof. The fuel cell 7 includes a sheet-shaped solid polymer electrolyte membrane 7C, a sheet-shaped fuel electrode film (also an anode electrode) 7A, and a sheet-shaped oxidant electrode film (also a cathode electrode) 7B. It is configured. The fuel cell 7 has a fuel gas 97 which will be described later on the fuel electrode film 7A.
Further, an oxidant gas 98 described later on the oxidant electrode film 7B
Is supplied to generate DC power by an electrochemical reaction described later. In the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 7C, the P
E film is used. This PE film 7C has a thickness of 0.1 [m
m] and a dimension in the plane direction larger than the dimension in the plane direction of the electrode films 7A and 7B. Therefore, the PE film is formed around the electrode films 7A and 7B. 7
The exposed surface of the PE film 7C exists between the end of C and the end portion of C. The outer surface of the fuel electrode film 7A is one side surface 7a of the fuel cell 7, and the outer surface of the oxidant electrode film 7B is the other side surface 7b of the fuel cell 7.

Both the fuel electrode film 7A and the oxidizer electrode film 7B are constructed by including a catalyst layer containing a catalyst active material and an electrode base material, and both the main surfaces of the PE film 7C on the catalyst layer side. It is general that they are brought into close contact with each other by hot pressing. The electrode base material supports the catalyst layer, supplies and discharges a reaction gas (hereinafter, the fuel gas and the oxidant gas may be collectively referred to as such), and has a function as a current collector. It is also a porous sheet (for example, carbon paper is used as the material used). When the reaction gas is supplied to the fuel electrode film 7A and the oxidizer electrode film 7B, a gas phase (fuel gas or oxidizer) is formed at the interface between the catalyst layer provided on each of the electrode films 7A and 7B and the PE film 7C. A three-phase interface of gas), liquid phase (solid polymer electrolyte), and solid phase (catalyst of fuel electrode film and oxidizer electrode film) is formed,
Direct current power is generated by causing an electrochemical reaction. Incidentally, in many cases, the catalyst layer is formed from a fine particulate platinum catalyst and a fluororesin having water repellency, and by forming a large number of pores in the layer, It is configured to maintain efficient diffusion of the reaction gas to the three-phase interface and form a sufficiently large area of the three-phase interface.

At the three-phase interface, the following electrochemical reaction occurs. First, on the fuel electrode film 7A side, an electrochemical reaction according to the formula (1) occurs.

[0006]

[Chemical 1]

On the side of the oxidizer electrode film 7B, an electrochemical reaction according to the formula (2) occurs.

[0008]

[Chemical 2]

That is, as a result of these electrochemical reactions,
H ⁺ ions (protons) generated in the fuel electrode film 7A
Moves in the PE film 7C toward the oxidant electrode film 7B, and the electrons (e ⁻ ) move to the oxidant electrode film 7B through a load (not shown) of the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell. On the other hand, in the oxidant electrode film 7B, oxygen contained in the oxidant gas 98, H ⁺ ions transferred from the fuel electrode film 7A in the PE film 7C, and electrons transferred through a load device (not shown). React with each other to generate H ₂ O (steam). Thus, the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell
It obtains hydrogen and oxygen to generate DC power, and thus H ₂ O (steam) as a by-product. In many cases, the thickness dimension of the fuel cell 7 having the above-mentioned function is about 1 mm or less, and in the fuel cell 7, the PE film 7C contains the fuel gas 97 and the oxidant gas 98. It also serves as a sealing film for preventing the mixture of the above.

The separator 81 and the separator 82 supply the reaction gas to the fuel cell 7, discharge the surplus reaction gas from the fuel cell 7, and generate the DC power generated in the fuel cell 7. Of the fuel cell 7 from the fuel cell 7 and generation of DC power.
It plays a role of removing the heat generated in the fuel cell 7 from the fuel cell 7. The side surface 81a of the separator 81 is in close contact with the side surface 7a of the fuel cell 7, and the side surface 82a of the separator 82 is the side surface 7 of the fuel cell 7.
The fuel cells 7 are arranged so as to be in close contact with the fuel cell 7b. Both of the separators 81 and 82 are gas impermeable, have good thermal conductivity and good electrical conductivity, and do not pollute the produced water (for example, carbon-based materials and metallic materials). Is used)).

Each of the separators 81 and 82 is provided with a groove for gas flow as a means for supplying and discharging a reaction gas to and from the fuel cell 7. That is, the separator 8
1 is provided on the side surface 81a side of the fuel cell unit 7 which is in contact with the side surface 7a with a space for allowing the fuel gas 97 to flow therethrough and discharging the excess fuel gas 97 containing unconsumed hydrogen. Concave groove (groove for gas flow) 811A
And convex partition walls 812A interposed between the grooves 811A are alternately formed. The separator 82 is
The oxidant gas 98 is allowed to flow on the side surface 82a side that is in contact with the side surface 7b of the fuel cell 7 and a space is provided to discharge the excess oxidant gas 98 containing unconsumed oxygen. Concave groove (groove for gas flow) 821A
And convex partitions 822A interposed between the grooves 821A are alternately formed. The convex partition wall 8
The tops of 12A and 822A are the separators 8 respectively.
It is formed so as to be flush with the respective side surfaces 81a, 82a of the first and the second 82.

Each of the separators 81 and 82 is provided with a groove for allowing the heat medium 99 to flow therethrough as a heat exchange portion for removing the heat generated in the fuel cell 7 from the fuel cell 7. That is, in the separator 82, a concave groove (a groove for heat medium flow) 8 for allowing the heat medium 99 to flow on the side surface 82b side thereof.
21B is formed, and the side surface 81 of the separator 81 is also formed.
A concave groove (heat medium flow groove) 811B for allowing the heat medium 99 to flow therethrough is formed on the b side. Further, 73 is a gas seal body (for example, an O-ring) made of an elastic material, which plays a role of preventing the reaction gas flowing in the gas passages from leaking out of the gas passages. ). The gas seal body 73 is housed and mounted in concave grooves 819 and 829 formed in the peripheral portions of the separators 81 and 82, respectively. Further, on the side surface 81b of the separator 81 and the side surface 82b of the separator 82, the grooves 811B and 821B are formed.
Are formed so as to surround the groove and have concave grooves 818B and 828B, respectively. These concave grooves are for accommodating a seal body (for example, an O-ring) made of an elastic material for preventing the heat medium 99 from leaking out.

By the way, as is well known, the voltage generated by one fuel battery cell 7 is as low as about 1 [V] or less, so that a plurality of unit cells 8 (from several tens of cells) having the above-mentioned structure are produced. Is often a few hundred.) As a unit fuel cell stack in which the generated voltages of the fuel cells 7 are connected in series with each other, and the voltage is increased for practical use. It is general. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a main part schematically showing a conventional solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell, (a)
5 is a side view thereof, FIG. 5B is a top view thereof, and FIG.
[Fig. 5] is a detailed cross-sectional view of a Q portion in Fig. 4. In addition, in FIG. 4, about the code | symbol attached | subjected in FIG. 3, only the typical code | symbol was described. In FIG. 4, 9 is a plurality (in FIG. 4, the case where the number of the single cells 8 is eight is illustrated) of the single cells 8
Is a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell (hereinafter, may be abbreviated as a stack) mainly composed of a laminated body of the unit cells 8 configured by stacking.

The stack 9 has collector plates 91, 91 made of a conductive material such as copper for extracting DC power generated in the unit cells 8 from both ends of the stack of unit cells 8.
An electrical insulating plate 92, 92 made of an electrical insulating material for electrically insulating the unit cell 8 and the current collecting plate 91 from the structure, and an iron material and the like arranged on both outer side surfaces of both the electrical insulating plates 92. The pressure plates 93 and 94 made of metal are sequentially laminated and configured. Then, the pressurizing plates 93, 94 are given an appropriate pressing force from the respective outer surface sides by a plurality of tightening bolts 95. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 825A is a flow passage through which the oxidant gas 98 communicating with the groove 821A flows,
The groove 827A surrounds the opening of the passage 825A to the side surface 82b, and serves to prevent the oxidant gas 98 from leaking out of this portion to the outside of the gas passage (the elastic gas seal member ( For example, it is an O-ring.) It is a concave groove for housing 982. Current collecting plate 91, electric insulating plate 9
2. As shown in FIG. 5, the pressurizing plate 93 has through holes 911 and 92 at positions that match the flow channels 825A.
1, and a through hole 931 with a female thread for a pipe is formed. In addition, the collector plate 91, the electrical insulating plate 92,
Although not shown in the drawing, the pressurizing plate 93 has a through hole similar to the through holes 911 and 921 at a portion that is similar to the through passage 825A communicating with the groove 811A and that matches the through passage of the fuel gas 97. A hole and a through hole 932 similar to the through hole 931 with an internal thread for a pipe are formed. further,
The pressure plate 94 also has through holes 941 and 942 similar to the through holes 931 and 932, respectively.
Also in the electric insulating plate 92 and the current collecting plate 91 which are adjacent to the through hole 92,
The same through holes as 1, 911 are formed.

As a result, when stacking a plurality of unit cells 8, the grooves 811A that all unit cells 8 have are
The gas passages for the fuel gas 97 are communicated with each other. This means that the groove 821 for the oxidizing gas 98 is
The same applies to A. Then, the fuel gas 97 is supplied to the through hole 941 on the side surface which is the outer surface of the stack 9 of the pressure plate 94, and the excess oxidant gas 98 is discharged from the through hole 942. Further, the oxidant gas 98 is supplied to the through holes 931 on the side surface which is the outer surface of the stack 9 of the pressurizing plate 93, and the surplus fuel gas 97 is discharged from the through holes 932. In addition, the through hole 911 on one side surface of the current collector plate 91 and the opening portion on one side surface side of the through hole 921 of the electric insulating plate 92 surround each through hole to form a concave shape. Grooves 912 and 922 are formed. Then, each groove 827A, 91
A seal body 982 is attached to each of 2,922 (see FIG. 5). Further, the pressure plates 93 and 94 have grooves 811.
B, 821B are communicated with through holes (not shown), and these through holes are provided with pipe connection bodies 991 for the heat medium 99, respectively, as shown in FIG. .

The tightening bolts 95 are hexagonal bolts or the like mounted over the pressure plates 93 and 94. Each tightening bolt 95 has a hexagonal nut or the like fitted thereto, and a stable pressurizing force. The unit cells 8 are pressed in the stacking direction in cooperation with a disc spring or the like for giving. The pressing force applied by the tightening bolts 95 to the unit cells 8 is generally about 5 [kg / cm ² ] inside / outside per apparent surface area of the fuel cell unit 7. Stack 9 configured in this way
In FIG. 4, the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell 7 is supplied through the gas flow grooves 811A and 821A formed in the respective separators 81 and 82 as indicated by arrows in FIG. 4 (a). It is generally arranged such that the side is on the upper side in the direction of gravity and the discharge side is on the lower side in the direction of gravity. This is because, as described above, in the fuel cell 7, steam is generated as a by-product at the time of power generation, but due to this steam, a larger amount of steam is contained in the reaction gas on the downstream side. ,As a result,
This is because in the reaction gas near the discharge end, water vapor corresponding to supersaturation may condense and exist as liquid water. By arranging the supply side of the reaction gas on the upper side with respect to the gravity direction and the discharge side of the reaction gas on the lower side with respect to the gravity direction, the condensed water can be fed into the reaction gas flow channels 811A and 821A. Since the inside can flow down by gravity by itself, it is easy to remove condensed water from each unit cell 8. Moreover, the reaction gas is supplied in parallel for each of the plurality of unit cells 8.

Thus, the PE membrane 7C used in the fuel cell 7 is a membrane that functions as a good proton conductive electrolyte by being saturated with water as described above, and has a water content of dried. When it decreases, the electric resistance value increases, so that the power generation performance of the stack 9 decreases. In order to prevent such occurrences, the reaction gas is humidified to an appropriate humidity value, and has a temperature of 70 to 80 ° C.
It is heated to a temperature of the order and supplied to the stack 9.
By the way, the temperature of the PE film 7C portion, and hence the temperature of the unit cell 8 is used at a temperature of about 70 to 80 [° C.] in order to smoothly evaporate the water generated in the fuel battery cell 7 during power generation. Is common. Further, the electrochemical reaction described in the above equations (1) and (2) performed in the fuel cell 7 is an exothermic reaction. Therefore, in fuel cell 7 (1)
When power is generated by the electrochemical reaction according to the equations (2), it is unavoidable that heat having a value almost equal to the value of the generated DC power is generated. Set the temperature of the single battery 8 to 7
In order to maintain the temperature in the range of 0 to 80 [° C.], it is necessary to remove the heat due to this loss from the fuel cell unit 7.

The stack 9 which is still cold at the start
The amount of heat generated by the exothermic reaction is removed from the stack 9 during continuous operation in order to heat it to a temperature of 0 to 80 [° C] or to maintain the operating temperature at a temperature of 70 to 80 [° C]. However, for example, the main role of the heat medium 99 which is city water is. In the unit cell 8, the heat medium 99 adjusted to a temperature of about 70 to 80 [° C.] flows through the grooves 811B and 821B formed in the separators 81 and 82, whereby the fuel cell 7 is It is operated at the proper temperature. As a separator, fuel gas 9 is provided on one side.
It is also known to form a groove 811A for allowing the gas to flow therethrough and a groove 821A for allowing the oxidizing gas 98 to flow therethrough on the other side surface.

Furthermore, as the unit cell, a separator having no groove for allowing the heating medium 99 to flow therethrough is used, and instead, a dedicated cooling body is inserted into the unit cell stack. Is also known. In this case, the heat medium 99 is generally supplied to the cooling body through an appropriate pipe. Next, a fuel cell power generator using the stack 9 will be described with reference to FIG. 6 mainly regarding the supply path of the reaction gas supplied to the stack 9. Here, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view for explaining the supply path of the reaction gas to the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell of the fuel cell power generator using the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell of the conventional example. 6, the same parts as those in the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell (stack) according to the conventional example shown in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In addition, in FIG. 6, as for the reference numerals given in FIG. 4, only representative reference numerals are shown.

In FIG. 6, 7D is a stack 9, a humidifier 71 for fuel gas 97, a drip remover 72, and a condenser 73.
And a humidifier 74 for the oxidant gas 98, a drip remover 75, and a condenser 76. Humidifier 7
Reference numerals 1 and 74 denote known devices that receive supply of the respective reaction gases and humidify these reaction gases, and have, for example, a container that stores water, and supply the supplied reaction gases to a pipeline. It is humidified by being discharged into this water through so-called bubbling. The drop removers 72 and 75 are known devices that remove the water droplets generated by condensing the water vapor contained in each reaction gas by being humidified by the humidifiers 71 and 74. The drop removers 72 and 75 are, for example, a container for storing the removed water droplets, an inflow pipe attached to the side wall of the container, an inflow pipe into which each reaction gas flows, and an attachment pipe to the side wall of the container. And an outflow pipe through which is discharged. In the containers of the droplet removers 72 and 75 in this case, the outflow pipe is mounted at a position higher than the inflow pipe, whereby the reaction gas that has flowed into the container from the inflow pipe is first made to collide with the side wall of the container. By doing so, water droplets are attached to the side wall and removed from the reaction gas.

Fuel gas 97 discharged from the stack 9
As described above, the oxidant gas 98a contains water vapor generated by an electrochemical reaction as described above and water produced by condensing the water vapor. The condensers 73 and 76 are known devices that reduce the amount of water vapor in the reaction gas 97a and 98a by condensing it and remove water in the reaction gas. The condensers 73 and 76 are, for example, a container for storing the water,
On the side wall of this container, the respective reaction gas 97a, 98a
Of the reaction gas 97a, 9
It has an outflow pipe through which 8a flows out and a water cooling pipe. In this case, first, the reaction gases 97a and 98a flowing through the inflow pipe and discharged into the container are cooled by the water cooling pipe. The water vapor contained in the reaction gas is condensed in an amount according to the degree of decrease in the temperature of the reaction gas. The water generated by this condensation and the water originally contained in the reaction gas are removed from the reaction gas and stored in the container. The above-mentioned droppers 72, 75 and condensers 73, 76 are provided with drainage pipes including drain valves for discharging the water stored in the containers.

Further, in the fuel cell power generator 7D, a metal pipe made of, for example, a stainless steel material is generally used as a pipe through which the reaction gas containing the reaction gases 97a and 98a flows. Then, on the outer surface of the pipe through which the fuel gas 97 and the oxidant gas 98 using this metal pipe are made to flow,
In order to prevent the temperature of the reaction gases 97, 98 from decreasing, an insulating layer (not shown) is formed, or a layer of an electric heating element (not shown) such as a ribbon heater is formed in addition to this insulating layer. It is general. As a result, the reaction gas 9
By lowering the temperatures of 7 and 98, it is considered that the reaction gas supplied to the stack 9 does not contain water droplets. In the fuel cell power generator, a dropper (such as the dropper 72) is installed only in one of the two reaction gas pipelines of the fuel gas and the oxidant gas. There are also known cases.

[0023]

In the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell (stack) according to the above-mentioned prior art, the function as a DC power generator is exhibited.
The following is a problem. That is, since the fuel cell power generator is generally installed in a room in a temperature state near room temperature, in the case of the fuel cell power generator 7D described above, the fuel gas 97 and the oxidant gas 98 are used as an example. Even if a heat insulating layer or a layer of an electric heating element is formed in the pipe portion through which the gas flows, the temperature of the reaction gas 97, 98 may decrease and the contained water vapor may condense. This remarkably occurs when the distance between the stack 9 and the drop removers 72 and 75 is unavoidable and the distance must be long. Condensed water generated as a result of the condensation of water vapor flows into the stack 9 and has grooves 811A and 821 formed in the separators 81 and 82 that form the unit cell 8.
When it reaches A, it closes these grooves. Grooves 811A, 8
When 21A is blocked by the condensed water, the flow of the reaction gases 97 and 98 in the unit cell 8 is blocked, and as a result, the DC power value generated from the unit cell 8, and hence the stack 9, is reduced. It becomes.

That is, in the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell (stack), the solid polymer electrolyte membrane (PE membrane) used as the electrolyte can provide the fuel cell having the above-mentioned features. Due to the nature of the PE film, the reaction gas to be supplied to the stack needs to be humidified. Therefore, in order to prevent water droplets from being generated in the reaction gas, the reaction gas pipeline is required to maintain its temperature. It is possible to impose conditions peculiar to solid polymer electrolyte fuel cells, such as strict requirements. The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional art, and an object thereof is to remove liquefied water contained in a reaction gas which is about to flow into a solid polymer electrolyte type. It is to provide a fuel cell.

[0025]

In the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a laminated body in which a plurality of unit fuel cells are laminated and a laminated body unit fuel at both ends of the laminated body are provided. A solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprising a pressurizing plate for pressurizing in a cell stacking direction, the pressurizing plate having a pipe connecting portion for supplying or discharging a fuel gas or an oxidant gas. A configuration provided with a removing device, further, in this configuration, the water droplet removing device,
The water storage chamber for storing the removed water removed from the fuel gas or the oxidant gas, the inlet of the gas formed on the side wall of the water storage chamber, and the maximum amount of the removed water in the water storage chamber on the side wall of the water storage chamber. The gas outlet part and the inlet part formed in a part above the water surface and avoiding a part in front of the gas flow formed by the gas introduced from the inlet part. It has a drainage port part for discharging the removed water formed in the lower part.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part of a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line EE in FIG. 1 and 2, the same parts as those of the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to the conventional example shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a pressure plate 2 in place of the pressure plates 93 and 94 for the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell 9 according to the conventional example shown in FIGS.
This is a stack in which A and 2B are used. Pressure plate 2
A and 2B are different from the pressure plates 93 and 94 in that the water drop removing device 21 is formed therein. Two water drop removing devices 21 are formed on each of the pressure plates 2A and 2B so as to correspond to the two through holes 931 and 941.

Each water drop removing device 21 has
a water storage chamber 211 for storing a and a through hole 212 formed at a position facing the through hole 921 of the electric insulating plate 92.
And a through hole 213 formed at the bottom of the water storage chamber 211 and having a female thread for a pipe. Then, the through hole 9
The reference numeral 31 is formed at a position lower than the through hole 212 so as to match the formation position of the through hole 212 in the horizontal direction and to have a dimensional difference H in the vertical direction. That is, in the water drop removing device 21, the through hole 93
1 is the inlet of the oxidizing gas 98, the through hole 212 is the outlet of the oxidizing gas 98, and the through hole 213 is the removed water 4
It is a drainage port for discharging a. The through hole 213 will be provided with a drain pipe line (not shown) including a drain valve and the like, as in the case of the conventional drop remover 72.

In the water drop removing device 21, the through hole 93
Since 1 is formed in the above-described relationship with the through hole 212, the oxidant gas 98 that is about to flow into the stack 1 first flows through the through hole 931 from the water drop removing device 21.
Is flowed into. The inflowing oxidant gas 98 is discharged into the water storage chamber 211, and the through hole 931 of the water storage chamber 211 is discharged.
Collides against the side wall of the part facing to. Then, by colliding with the side wall of the water storage chamber 211, when the oxidant gas 98 contains water droplets, the water droplets are attached to the side wall and removed from the oxidant gas 98. In the stack 1, the oxidant gas 98 which is about to flow into the stack 1 is removed by the water droplet removing device 21 formed in the pressurizing plate 2A when the oxidant gas 98 contains water droplets. This water drop can be reliably removed in the same manner as in the above case. Then, in order to obtain this effect, the stack 1 newly prepares a member for forming the water storage chamber 211 in preparing the water drop removing device 21 in addition to the features of the water drop removing device 4 and the like. Therefore, the installation space for the water storage chamber 211 can be dispensed with.

In the above description of the present embodiment, the through hole 931 provided in the water drop removing device 21 is aligned with the formation position of the through hole 212 in the horizontal direction, and the dimensional difference H in the vertical direction. Although it has been described that it is formed at a position lower than the through hole 212 by providing the above, it is not limited to this, and for example, the through hole 931
With respect to the vertical direction, the position may be aligned with the position where the through hole 212 is formed, and instead, the horizontal direction may be offset from the portion where the through hole 212 is formed. That is, if the reaction gas outlet provided in the water droplet removing device is formed at a position avoiding the front surface part of the gas flow formed by the reaction gas flowing into the water storage chamber from the reaction gas inlet part. It's good. As a result, the reaction gas that has flowed into the water storage chamber first collides with the side wall of the water storage chamber. Therefore, even if the reaction gas contains water droplets, the reaction gas will not flow into the unit cell 8. Moreover, the water droplets can be attached to the side wall of the water storage chamber to remove the reaction gas.

In the above description of the embodiment, the inlet of the reaction gas provided in the water drop removing device is arranged at a position higher than the maximum water level of the removed water 4a in the water storage chamber 41, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the removal water 4
It may be arranged at a position lower than the highest water level of a.

[0031]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by adopting the structure described in the section of the means for solving the above problems. When the reaction gas that is about to flow into the solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell (stack) contains water droplets, the water droplets can be removed by the water droplet removal device, so the flow of the reaction gas through the stack Since the problem that the passage is blocked by the condensed water is solved and the water drop removing device is formed in the pressurizing plate, it is not necessary to newly prepare a member for forming the water storage chamber, and moreover, for the water storage chamber. The installation space of can be eliminated. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the stack can be reduced, and the outer dimensions of the stack can be maintained at the same level as in the case of the conventional technique.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part of a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention corresponding to claims 1 and 2.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line EE in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view as seen from the upper side, schematically showing a main part of a unit fuel cell provided in a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell of a conventional example in an expanded state.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a main part schematically showing a conventional solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell, in which (a) is a side view and (b) is a side view thereof.
Is the top view

5 is a detailed sectional view of a Q portion in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a supply path of a reaction gas to a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell of a fuel cell power generation device using a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell (stack) 2A pressure plate 2B pressure plate 21 Water Drop Removal Device 211 water reservoir 212 through hole 213 through hole 4a Removed water 921 through hole 931 through hole 98 Oxidizer gas

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Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A laminated body in which a plurality of unit fuel cells are laminated, and pressure plates for pressing the laminated body in the laminating direction of the unit fuel cells at both end portions of the laminated body, wherein the pressure plates are fuel. A solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell having a pipe connection for supplying or discharging a gas or an oxidant gas, wherein a water droplet removing device is provided in the pressure plate. 2. The solid polyelectrolyte fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the water droplet removing device stores a removal water removed from the fuel gas or the oxidant gas, and a side wall of the water storage chamber. The gas inlet formed on the side wall of the water storage chamber,
The above-mentioned part formed above the highest surface of the removed water in the water storage chamber, and avoiding the part in front of the gas flow formed by the gas flowing from the inlet part. A solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprising a gas outlet and a drainage outlet formed at a portion lower than the inlet for discharging removed water.