JPS62200664A - Fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to bind a large number of fuel cells while making a manifold or the like needless for being small-sized and light-weighing by setting a channel of reaction gas while separating a peripheral surface from the central part of a spherical fuel cell. CONSTITUTION:Fuel gas is introduced into a fuel chamber 7 from a position of an arrow 13 to reach a fuel electrode catalytic layer 5 passing through a fuel electrode base material 6 spherically surrounding a fuel chamber 7 while surplus fuel gas is exhausted from the position of the arrow 14. On the other hand, oxidant gas is supplied from a circumference of a single cell 1 for being transmitted to an oxidant electrode base material 2 to reach an oxidant electrode catalytic layer 3. In this way, oxidant gas and fuel gas having reached the layers 3 and 5 cause a reaction in these catalytic layers to generate electromotive force. Thereby, while getting small-sized and light-weighing by making a supply mechanism of oxidant gas needless, a large number of the fuel cells are bound to a required shape to obtain high voltage and high current.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a spherical or polyhedral fuel cell, and particularly to a fuel cell that is small and lightweight and can provide high voltage.

[Conventional technology]

As is well known, a fuel cell uses an electrolyte matrix (IJ) that holds an electrolyte between a fuel electrode and an oxidizer electrode arranged opposite to each other, and supplies fuel and oxidizer to the fuel electrode and the oxidizer electrode, respectively. It is a type of power generation device that is operated by

Fuel cells have the following properties: ■ High efficiency can be expected as there are no Carnot cycle constraints; ■ Waste heat can be obtained at a relatively high temperature close to the cell operating temperature and can be easily used effectively; @ Efficiency remains the same even when the output is changed. ■ Advantages such as excellent responsiveness to load fluctuations (l), use for distributed distribution within or near cities on the scale of distribution substations, or as alternative power generation equipment for thermal power plants The form is being considered.

Fuel cells are classified into alkaline type, phosphoric acid type, molten ash type, etc. depending on the type of electrolyte used, and these use gas as fuel, but there are also types that use liquid as fuel. We will also develop fuel cells such as direct methanol-improved types.

The basic structural unit of a fuel cell is a unit cell, and since the terminal voltage of a unit cell is as small as about θ7V, an assembled battery is constructed by stacking tens to hundreds of cells. U.S. Pat.
27 &, 3 j5.

In recent years, fuel cells have been considered for practical use on a small scale, such as as a power source for automobiles, but while fuel cells can draw a high current of several hundred mA per square centimeter [F], they do The essential feature is that it can only extract voltages as low as V. On the other hand, for small-scale applications, the current may be lower, but the current is 100 to 1.200.
A high voltage on the order of volts is required. Therefore, in order to meet such applications with conventional fuel cells, the surface bond must be 1O ~
It is necessary to stack ioθ- or so cells of ISO or 300 cells.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Cloudy As mentioned above, in conventional fuel cells, Rin cell b υ minimum 5
Since it has a thickness of about a millimeter, the assembled battery has a thickness of /rr.
Since it must be at a height greater than L and manifolds must be installed on all sides, it is large and heavy. Therefore, a problem has arisen in that such fuel cells have not been put into practical use on a small scale.

The present invention was made to solve these problems, and aims to provide a fuel cell that is lightweight and can provide high voltage.

[Means for solving problems]

The fuel cell according to the present invention has an oxidant electrode base material, an oxidant electrode catalyst layer, an electrolyte holding layer, an IJ Lux fuel electrode catalyst layer, and a fuel electrode base material stacked one on top of the other to form a hollow sphere or polyhedral shape. . .

[Effect]

In this invention, since the outer circumferential surface and the center of the spherical or polyhedral fuel cell are separated as a path for the reactant gas, parts such as manifolds can be eliminated, making it possible to reduce the size and weight of the fuel cell. Multiple batteries can be combined.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
) is a single cell in a fuel cell, (,2) is an oxidizer electrode base material arranged on the outermost layer of this single cell (1) and made of a material with good ventilation and properties, and (3) is an oxidizer electrode base material made of a material with good ventilation and properties. Adjacent to the inside of this oxidant electrode base material (2)] - oxidant electrode catalyst layer (!I)
is the electrolyte retention matrix adjacent to the inside of this oxidizer electrode catalyst layer (3), (&) is the fuel electrode catalyst layer adjacent to the inside of this electrolyte retention matrix (ri), and (6) is the fuel electrode catalyst layer ( The fuel electrode base material is adjacent to the inner side of the fuel electrode and is made of a material with good air permeability. (ri) was formed from an oxidant electrode base material (co), an oxidant electrode catalyst layer (3), an electrolyte retention matrix (4=), a fuel electrode catalyst layer (y), and a fuel electrode base material (6). The fuel chamber is located in the center of the hollow sphere. (ff) and (?) are cell batteries (1
) through-holes formed at the upper and lower ends, (/) and (11) are made of an impermeable and conductive material,
It is attached at the joint provided in the through holes (ff) and (te).

The joint (10) is attached to the oxidizer electrode base material (λ), and the joint (10)
/) are electrically connected to the fuel electrode base material (6), respectively. (12) is an adhesive material made of an air-impermeable and insulating material. , 7), electrolyte retention matrix (lI), fuel electrode catalyst layer (i), fuel electrode base material (&), and joint (
io) and (tt) are being bonded.

In the fuel cell configured as described above, fuel gas is introduced into the fuel chamber (7) from the position indicated by the arrow (13), and passes through the fuel electrode base material (6) that spherically surrounds the fuel chamber (7). ,
The fuel reaches the electrode catalyst layer (5). Excess fuel gas is discharged from the position indicated by the arrow (ttI), while oxidant gas is supplied from around the unit cell (1), and the oxidant electrode base material -
) and reaches the oxidant electrode catalyst layer U. The fuel gas and oxidant gas that have reached the fuel electrode catalyst layer (5) and the oxidant electrode catalyst layer (3) cause a reaction on the spherical reaction surface that can have the largest surface area, that is, on these soot layers.
Generates an electromotive force. Note that since the oxidant gas is supplied as described above, a conventional oxidant gas supply mechanism is not required.

The electromotive force thus generated in the unit cell (1) is collected by the junctions (lO) and (11), and is passed on to other unit cells. In addition, water generated by the reaction is evaporated and discharged from around the cell (1) and from the position indicated by the arrow (lII).

Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an assembled battery in which one oxidizing cell is combined. 1) and (13) are unit cells showing only the oxidizer side members, and (16) is showing only the fuel side members. These cells (l and (16)
O) and (/l) are polybonded. These joints (l and Ot) connect the oxidizer electrode base material (-) and oxidizer electrode catalyst layer (j) of the unit cell (l) to the ni battery (16).
It is electrically connected to the fuel electrode catalyst layer (ri) and the fuel electrode base material (6). In addition, these joint parts (10) and (1
1) also serves as a path for receiving and passing fuel gas from the unit cell (1) to the unit cell (16).

Figure 3 is a diagram schematically showing the assembled battery in Figure 2.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an assembled battery constructed by assembling five single cells using the schematic diagram of FIG. 3.

(in Figure 9), (l) is the upper end of the assembled battery, (g)
is the lower end of the battery assembly. At this upper end,
A device (19) shown in FIG. 5 that has both the role of supplying fuel gas and collecting current is attached.

Similarly, a device (20) having both the role of discharging fuel gas and collecting current shown in Fig. gb is attached to the lower end (7g). These instruments (19) and (-〇) are.

It is made of a conductive material, and lead wires (21) and (here) are connected as current terminals for connecting to an external load. In addition, the assembled battery shown in Fig. 9 is
For example, by placing the battery in the atmosphere, oxidant gas can be easily supplied from around the battery assembly, and heat generated by the reaction can be easily released. In this way, by connecting a large number of single cells, a fuel cell can be obtained which can easily supply and discharge raw material gas and can supply high voltage.

FIG. 7 is the same schematic diagram as FIG. 3, but shows an assembled battery with the joints in different positions, and the third figure shows a combination of a large number of the assembled batteries of FIGS. 7 and 3.

In the assembled battery of FIG. 8, unlike the case of FIG. 9 in which the assembled batteries are arranged in a straight line, the assembled batteries can be combined in an arbitrary zigzag shape.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram similar to Figure 3, showing an assembled battery with three joints, and Figure 1Q shows a large number of single cells with two, three, and a large number of joints, respectively. A combined battery assembly is shown. Further, Fig. 1 shows a deformable battery assembly in which a flexible material is used in the joints. In this way, by changing the number, position, or material of the joints of the cells, it is possible to create a battery in which cells are connected in parallel, an aggregate battery in which cells are arranged in parallel three-dimensionally, or a battery that can be freely transformed as desired. A battery assembly that can be used can be obtained. Therefore, by making the metal battery into a desired shape and by changing the way the cells are connected, an assembled battery that outputs the desired current and voltage can be obtained.

The thickness of a conventional unit cell from the oxidant electrode base material to the oxidant electrode catalyst layer, the electrolyte retention matrix, the fuel electrode catalyst layer, and the fuel electrode base material is about 100 yen. Further, an oxidant electrode base material and an oxidant electrode catalyst having a thickness of approximately -n are arranged in the oxidizing gas flow path, and a fuel electrode base material having a thickness of approximately 2111 cm and a fuel electrode base material having a thickness of approximately 14 mm are disposed in the fuel gas flow path. [A polar soot layer is placed. Therefore, the cell shown in Figure 1 can be made with a diameter of about 101,411 mm, and even if 700 to 200 cells are assembled, it is very compact and requires no extra parts such as a manifold as in the conventional case. So it's lightweight.

In the above embodiment, a case where fuel gas was introduced into a spherical unit cell was shown, but the fuel may be liquid. Alternatively, the arrangement of the oxidizing agent electrode and the fuel electrode of the unit cell may be exchanged, and the oxidizing agent gas may be introduced into the unit cell, and the fuel gas may be caused to flow around the unit cell. Furthermore, although the above embodiments show spherical single cells, polyhedral single cells may also be used and the same effects can be achieved.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, this invention has a spherical or multi-O11
This fuel 1 is a body-shaped fuel cell! An oxidizer electrode base material or a fuel electrode base material disposed in the outermost layer of the pond, an oxidizer electrode catalyst layer or a fuel electrode catalyst layer disposed adjacent to the inside of this base material, and an oxidizer electrode base material or a fuel electrode base material disposed in the outermost layer of the pond; an electrolyte retention matrix disposed adjacent to each other; a fuel electrocatalyst layer or an oxidizer electrocatalyst layer disposed adjacent to the inside of the electrolyte retention matrix; and a fuel electrode disposed adjacent to the inside of the catalyst layer. A base material or oxidizer electrode base material, a chamber provided inside this base material for passing fuel or oxidant, and at least two or more chambers for supplying and discharging fuel or oxidant to this chamber. The fuel cell is made smaller and lighter by being composed of a through hole and a joint portion provided in the through hole and electrically connected to the fuel electrode base material or the oxidizer electrode base material. Since a large number of fuel cells can be combined into a desired shape, high voltage and high current can be obtained. In addition, when fuel is flowing inside a battery assembly made up of multiple fuel cells combined, if the battery assembly is left in the atmosphere, the heat generated by the supply of oxidant gas and the reaction of the battery assembly can be released. It also eliminates the need for a conventional oxidizing agent supply mechanism, and has the effect of making the battery pack even more compact.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of an assembled battery in which one fuel cell of FIG. 1 is combined,
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the assembled battery shown in Figure 1, Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of an assembled battery that combines the assembled batteries shown in Figure 3, and Figure S is a schematic diagram of the assembled battery shown in Figure 9 attached to the upper end. Sectional view of the device, No. 6
The figure is a cross-sectional view of the device attached to the lower end of the battery assembly in Figure 9, Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the battery assembly similar to Figure 3 with the joints changed in position, and the figure is Figure 3. 7 is a schematic diagram of an assembled battery in which a large number of assembled batteries are connected, and FIG.
Fig. 70 is a schematic diagram of an assembled battery in which a large number of unit cells having λ, 3, and 1000 joints are combined, and Fig. 1/Fig. A schematic diagram of a battery assembly. In the figure, (1) is a single cell, (C) is an oxidizer electrode base material, (3) is an oxidizer electrode catalyst layer, (R) is an electrolyte retention matrix, (5) is a fuel electrode catalyst layer, (6) is is the fuel electrode base material, (7) is the fuel chamber, (za) and (ri) are the through holes, Oo
), Ot) is the joint, (/2) is the adhesive material, (lt),
(tb) is a cell, (17) is an upper end, (lza) is a lower end, (lq) and (2o) are instruments. In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. 1. Gakuden! Hi4: Den N whisper 1 4f1 Trix 10.
+1 Keyakiji I Condolence 5 / Shiryo Dengon Waribu 1
12 Gin Shoulder Material Masu 6゛ 7E Kyoden Higure Material 7, Kaki faF! Tail 2 figure 15.16: Single chamber ± Tail 3 figure Rhinoceros 4 figure + X-14 PIF) 11 figure guide

Claims (1)

[Claims] A spherical or polyhedral fuel cell, comprising an oxidizer electrode base material or a fuel electrode base material disposed in the outermost layer of the fuel cell, and an oxidizer electrode catalyst layer disposed adjacent to the inside of the base material. or a fuel electrode catalyst layer, an electrolyte retention matrix disposed adjacent to the inside of the catalyst layer, and a fuel electrode catalyst layer or an oxidizer electrode catalyst layer disposed adjacent to the inside of the electrolyte retention matrix; A fuel electrode base material or an oxidizer electrode base material disposed adjacent to the inside of the catalyst layer; a chamber provided inside the base material for passing the fuel or oxidant; At least two or more through holes for supplying and discharging the agent, and a joint provided in the through holes and electrically connected to the fuel electrode base material or the oxidizer electrode base material. A fuel cell characterized by: