WO2013081618A1 - System water balancing - Google Patents
System water balancing Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2013081618A1 WO2013081618A1 PCT/US2011/062855 US2011062855W WO2013081618A1 WO 2013081618 A1 WO2013081618 A1 WO 2013081618A1 US 2011062855 W US2011062855 W US 2011062855W WO 2013081618 A1 WO2013081618 A1 WO 2013081618A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- water
- fuel cell
- amount
- balancing method
- controller
- Prior art date
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
- H01M8/04082—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
- H01M8/04119—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants with simultaneous supply or evacuation of electrolyte; Humidifying or dehumidifying
- H01M8/04126—Humidifying
-
- 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
- H01M8/04119—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants with simultaneous supply or evacuation of electrolyte; Humidifying or dehumidifying
- H01M8/04126—Humidifying
- H01M8/04141—Humidifying by water containing exhaust gases
-
- 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
- H01M8/04291—Arrangements for managing water in solid electrolyte fuel cell systems
-
- 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
- H01M8/04492—Humidity; Ambient humidity; Water content
-
- 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
- H01M8/04694—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by variables to be controlled
- H01M8/04746—Pressure; Flow
- H01M8/04753—Pressure; Flow of fuel cell reactants
-
- 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
- H01M8/04694—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by variables to be controlled
- H01M8/04828—Humidity; Water content
- H01M8/04843—Humidity; Water content of fuel cell exhausts
-
- 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
- H01M8/04694—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by variables to be controlled
- H01M8/04858—Electric variables
- H01M8/04925—Power, energy, capacity or load
- H01M8/0494—Power, energy, capacity or load of fuel cell stacks
-
- 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
-
- 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
- This disclosure relates generally to water balancing and, more particularly, to maintaining water balance within a fuel cell system.
- Fuel cell systems are well known.
- One example fuel cell system includes multiple individual fuel cells arranged in a stack. Each individual fuel cell has an anode and a cathode positioned on either side of a proton exchange membrane.
- a fuel such as hydrogen
- An oxidant such as air
- the individual fuel cells make water during operation.
- Some fuel cell systems move liquid water through the fuel cell assembly to remove thermal energy and hydrate the fuel cells.
- the supply of liquid water may be limited, particularly in portable fuel cell systems.
- the fuel cells may overheat, or fail due to dryout, if they receive inadequate amounts of liquid water or exhaust an excess of water vapor. Balancing water within the fuel cell system avoids overheating and dryout, and helps the fuel cell system operate efficiently. Systems other than fuel cell systems may require water balancing.
- An example system water balancing method includes exhausting water vapor from a system and varying the exhausting in a response to an amount of water available for use by the system.
- An exemplary fuel cell water balancing method includes detecting an amount of water available for use by a fuel cell assembly and limiting water vapor exhausted from the fuel cell in response to the detecting.
- An exemplary fuel cell assembly includes a fuel cell and a controller.
- the fuel cell receives water from a supply.
- the controller selectively varies an amount of water vapor communicated from the fuel cell in response to an amount of water within the supply.
- Figure 1 shows a highly schematic view of an example fuel cell system.
- Figure 2 shows a more detailed view of another example fuel cell system.
- Figure 3 shows a general method of maintaining water balance within a fuel cell of the Figure 2 system.
- Figure 4 shows a more detailed method of maintaining water balance within a fuel cell of the Figure 2 system.
- an example fuel cell system 10 includes a fuel cell 12 and a supply 14 of water.
- the fuel cell 12 receives water from the supply 14.
- the water is communicated to the fuel cell 12 along a path 16.
- the water moves through the fuel cell 12 to hydrate and remove thermal energy.
- After moving through the fuel cell 12, at least some of the water is exhausted from the fuel cell 12 as water vapor at an exhaust 18.
- the water vapor moving through the exhaust 18 moves to ambient to exit the fuel cell system 10.
- the remaining water moves back to the supply 14 along a path 20 as liquid water.
- water vapor that has not exited the fuel cell system 10 through the exhaust 18 may be condensed and added to the supply 14.
- a controller 22 varies the amount of water vapor exhausted from the fuel cell system 44 through the exhaust 18.
- the example controller 22 alters the water vapor exiting the fuel cell 12 based on the availability of water within the supply 14.
- the controller 22 may adjust the pressure of air entering the fuel cell 12, or the airflow rate, to alter the amount of water vapor exiting the fuel cell 12 through the exhaust 18.
- Adjusting the pressure of air entering the fuel cell 12, such as by increasing the pressure, is an example of how the controller 22 may vary the amount of water vapor exiting the fuel cell 12 though the exhaust 18.
- the air is considered a reactant in this example because the air contains oxygen.
- the controller 22 varies the exhausting of water by adjusting the pressure of another reactant entering the fuel cell 12, such as by increasing the pressure of a reformate entering the fuel cell 12.
- the reformate contains hydrogen.
- another example fuel cell system 40 includes a fuel cell 44 having an anode 48 and a cathode 52.
- a proton exchange membrane 56 separates the anode 48 from the cathode 52.
- the fuel cell 44 is one of several fuel cells within a fuel cell stack.
- a fuel source 60 supplies a fuel, such as hydrogen, to the anode 48 of the fuel cell 44. Some of the fuel is exhausted from the fuel cell 44 at a fuel exhaust 64. Some water vapor may be exhausted with the fuel through the fuel exhaust 64.
- a fuel such as hydrogen
- a portion of the exhausted fuel may be recycled back into the anode 48. Recycling fuel helps by improving fuel efficiency. Recycling some of the fuel also may help maintain water balance because less water vapor is lost out the fuel exhaust than if the fuel were not recycled.
- An oxidant supply 68 supplies an oxidant, such as air, to the cathode 52 of the fuel cell 44. Some of the air is exhausted from the fuel cell 44 at an air exhaust 72.
- Hydrogen-air PEM fuel cell systems such as the system 40 shown in Figure 2, produce water as a byproduct. Some of the water is exhausted from the fuel cell 44 as water vapor, which is carried by the air exhausted from the fuel cell through the air exhaust 72. Chemical reactions within the fuel cell 44 produce the water vapor carried by the exhausted air.
- the chemical reactions within the fuel cell 44 produce liquid water in addition to the water vapor.
- the liquid water is moved to an accumulator reservoir 76 along a path 80.
- Liquid water moving along path 80 may pass through a liquid-liquid heat exchanger that transfers heat to the vehicle radiator fluid.
- Air also may move along the path 80. This air may pass through a condenser & separator, which condenses water vapor from the air. The condensed water is then added to the accumulator reservoir 76. The rest of the air (which still includes some water vapor) is then exhausted to ambient. If there is only a liquid-liquid heat exchanger (and no condenser), then all the water vapor which leaves cathode 52 is exhausted.
- the accumulator reservoir 76 provides an external source of water for the fuel cell 44.
- the liquid water then communicates back to the fuel cell 44 along the path 82 as required.
- a pump (not shown) is used to move the liquid water along the paths 80 and 82.
- liquid water within the accumulator reservoir 76 may thus be water that was produced by the fuel cell 44.
- Water from the accumulator reservoir 76 may be used to cool the fuel cell "sensibly,” by absorbing heat and increasing in temperature as it traverses the fuel cell.
- the coolant water may cool the fuel cell "evaporatively,” by evaporating into the air (or other reactant gas) stream.
- the liquid water moving back to the accumulator reservoir 76 consists of that liquid water that was provided in excess of the evaporative demands, and that which is condensed from the air moving along path 80.
- the amount of liquid water communicated from the fuel cell 44 along the path 80 is thus reused by the fuel cell 44 and does not exit the fuel cell system 40.
- the example fuel cell system 40 is a portable system (such as a system for a vehicle) and does not have access to an unlimited supply of water.
- the system 40 can be said to be operating in water balance. If the total amount of water vapor exhausted from the system 40 is higher than the water produced by the fuel cell 44, the system 40 can be said to be operating in negative water balance. If the total amount of water vapor exhausted from the system 40 is less than the water produced by the fuel cell 44, the system 40 can be said to be operating in water excess.
- a controller 84 is operably connected to sensors 88a and 88b that are secured to the accumulator reservoir 76.
- the first sensor 88a is used to determine whether the level of water within the accumulator reservoir 76 is higher than a level Li.
- the second sensor 88b is used to determine whether the level of water within the accumulator reservoir 76 exceeds a level L2.
- the level Li is higher than the level L2 in this example.
- the amount of water within the accumulator reservoir 76 is greater when the level of water is at the level Li than when the level of water is at the level L2.
- the sensors 88a and 88b detect the presence of water at a particular height of the accumulator reservoir 76 to determine the amount of water available for use by the fuel cell 44.
- Other examples may include other techniques for determining the availability of water for use by the fuel cell 44.
- the example controller 84 makes adjustments to the air communicated to the fuel cell 44 in response to information provided by the sensors 88a and 88b.
- the controller 84 makes the adjustments to the air from the oxidant supply 68 in order to increase or decrease the amount of water vapor exiting the fuel cell system 40 through the air exhaust 72.
- the controller 84 actuates a valve 90, or another device, to adjust the pressure of air entering the fuel cell 44, which changes the amount of water vapor exiting the fuel cell system 40 through the exhaust 72.
- the controller 84 actuates the valve 90 to adjust the flow rate of air entering the fuel cell 44, which changes the amount of water vapor exiting the fuel cell system 40 through the exhaust 72.
- Other examples utilize other techniques for altering the amount of water vapor exiting the fuel cell system 40, such as adjusting a compressor that supplies air to the fuel cell 44.
- the controller includes a microprocessor that executes a program stored in a memory portion of the controller.
- an example method 100 utilized by the controller 84 for balancing water within the system 40 includes exhausting water vapor from the fuel cell system 40 at a step 110, and then varying the exhausting based on an amount of water available for use by the fuel cell 44 at a step 120.
- the step 110 utilizes the information from the sensors 88a and 88b to determine the amount of water available for use by the fuel cell 44.
- the amount of water available for use in this example is shown as being entirely contained within the accumulator reservoir 76, a person having skill in the art and the benefit of this disclosure would understand that the amount of water may extend to other areas, and could be monitored by suitable sensory (or other) devices.
- FIG. 4 shows a more detailed method 200 of control utilized by the controller 84 within the system 40.
- the controller 84 determines whether the amount of water available for use by the fuel cell 44 is greater than an amount Xi.
- the amount Xi corresponds to the water within the accumulator reservoir 76 exceeding the level Li.
- the controller 84 also determines whether the pressure of the air being supplied to the fuel cell 44 is greater than a minimum possible pressure. Providing unnecessary pressure is inefficient as is known.
- controller 84 determines that the water is greater than Xi and the pressure is greater than minimum potential pressure Pmin the controller 84 decreases the pressure of the air being supplied to the fuel cell 44 at a step 220.
- the controller 84 moves to the step 230. At this step, the controller 84 determines if the available water is less than Xi and if the pressure of the air supplied to the fuel cell 44 is less than the maximum potential pressure Pmax. If so, the controller 84 moves to a step 240 where the controller 84 increases the pressure of air supplied to the fuel cell 44.
- step 250 the controller 84 next determines at a step 250 if the available water is greater than X2.
- X2 corresponds to the level L2 shown in Figure 2.
- the level L2 is less than the level Li and indicates that there is less water available for use by the fuel cell 44 than if the water were at the level Li.
- the level Li represents the accumulator reservoir 76 being filled to about 75% of its total potential capacity.
- the level L2 represents the accumulator reservoir 76 being filled to 25% of its capacity.
- the method 200 and the controller 84 may limit the power drawn from the fuel cell 44 at a step 270.
- limiting the power drawn from the fuel cell at the step 270 involves reducing an existing limit on the potential power drawn from the fuel cell 44.
- an existing limit on the power drawn from the fuel cell 44 may be 80 kilowatts. If the answer to the step 250 is that the available water is less than X2, the controller 84, at the method step 270, reduces the existing limit to a lower level, say 60 kilowatts.
- the controller 84 may define a lower limit as well, say 40 kilowatts, to ensure that there is enough water being produced by fuel cell 44 to replenish the accumulator reservoir 76 via path 80.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CN201180075226.2A CN103959526B (en) | 2011-12-01 | 2011-12-01 | System water balancing |
KR1020147012043A KR20140103098A (en) | 2011-12-01 | 2011-12-01 | System water balancing |
JP2014544710A JP2015504587A (en) | 2011-12-01 | 2011-12-01 | System water balancing |
PCT/US2011/062855 WO2013081618A1 (en) | 2011-12-01 | 2011-12-01 | System water balancing |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2011/062855 WO2013081618A1 (en) | 2011-12-01 | 2011-12-01 | System water balancing |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2013081618A1 true WO2013081618A1 (en) | 2013-06-06 |
Family
ID=48535910
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2011/062855 WO2013081618A1 (en) | 2011-12-01 | 2011-12-01 | System water balancing |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
JP (1) | JP2015504587A (en) |
KR (1) | KR20140103098A (en) |
CN (1) | CN103959526B (en) |
WO (1) | WO2013081618A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2016087845A1 (en) * | 2014-12-01 | 2016-06-09 | Intelligent Energy Limited | Fuel cell system |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPH10172599A (en) * | 1996-12-16 | 1998-06-26 | Tokyo Gas Co Ltd | Water recovery device for fuel cell |
JP2002141094A (en) * | 2000-11-01 | 2002-05-17 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | Fuel cell system |
JP2005150025A (en) * | 2003-11-19 | 2005-06-09 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | Fuel cell system |
JP2007115488A (en) * | 2005-10-19 | 2007-05-10 | Toyota Motor Corp | Cathode gas control method of fuel cell and fuel cell system |
JP2010251096A (en) * | 2009-04-15 | 2010-11-04 | Toyota Motor Corp | Fuel cell system and control method of the same |
Family Cites Families (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP5438420B2 (en) * | 2009-07-30 | 2014-03-12 | アイシン精機株式会社 | Fuel cell system |
-
2011
- 2011-12-01 JP JP2014544710A patent/JP2015504587A/en active Pending
- 2011-12-01 CN CN201180075226.2A patent/CN103959526B/en active Active
- 2011-12-01 KR KR1020147012043A patent/KR20140103098A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2011-12-01 WO PCT/US2011/062855 patent/WO2013081618A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPH10172599A (en) * | 1996-12-16 | 1998-06-26 | Tokyo Gas Co Ltd | Water recovery device for fuel cell |
JP2002141094A (en) * | 2000-11-01 | 2002-05-17 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | Fuel cell system |
JP2005150025A (en) * | 2003-11-19 | 2005-06-09 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | Fuel cell system |
JP2007115488A (en) * | 2005-10-19 | 2007-05-10 | Toyota Motor Corp | Cathode gas control method of fuel cell and fuel cell system |
JP2010251096A (en) * | 2009-04-15 | 2010-11-04 | Toyota Motor Corp | Fuel cell system and control method of the same |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2016087845A1 (en) * | 2014-12-01 | 2016-06-09 | Intelligent Energy Limited | Fuel cell system |
GB2533265B (en) * | 2014-12-01 | 2021-09-15 | Intelligent Energy Ltd | Fuel cell system |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP2015504587A (en) | 2015-02-12 |
KR20140103098A (en) | 2014-08-25 |
CN103959526B (en) | 2017-03-22 |
CN103959526A (en) | 2014-07-30 |
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