REVIEW OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF FUEL CELL

PREPARE BY: GUIDED BY:

ABHI S. PATEL ANKUR RANA

C.G.P.I.T
BARDOLI,SURAT
DECEMBER,2017
 FUEL CELL

• A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through an
electrochemical reaction of hydrogen fuel with oxygen or another oxidizing agent.

• Fuel cells are different from batteries in requiring a continuous source of fuel and oxygen (usually from air) to
sustain the chemical reaction, whereas in a battery the chemical energy comes from chemicals already present in
the battery. Fuel cells can produce electricity continuously for as long as fuel and oxygen are supplied.
 OPERATING PRINCIPLE OF FUEL CELL
• Fuel cells come in many varieties; however, they all work in the same general manner. They are made up of three
adjacent segments: the anode, the electrolyte, and the cathode.
• Two chemical reactions occur at the interfaces of the three different segments. The net result of the two reactions is
that fuel is consumed, water or carbon dioxide is created, and an electric current is created, which can be used to
power electrical devices, normally referred to as the load.
• At the anode a catalyst oxidizes the fuel, usually hydrogen, turning the fuel into a positively charged ion and a
negatively charged electron. The electrolyte is a substance specifically designed so ions can pass through it, but the
electrons cannot.
• The freed electrons travel through a wire creating the electric current. The ions travel through the electrolyte to the
cathode. Once reaching the cathode, the ions are reunited with the electrons and the two react with a third chemical,
usually oxygen, to create water or carbon dioxide.
 TYPES OF FUEL CELL

WHERE,
PEMFC
• PEMFC=PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE
MCFC DMFC FUEL CELL

• DMFC=DIRECT METHANOL FUEL CELL

FUEL
CELL • PAFC=PHOSPHORIC ACIDE FUEL CELL
SOFC PAFC • AFC=ALKALINE FUEL CELL

AFC • SOFC=SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL

• MCFC=MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELL
 V-I CHARACTERISTIC OF FUEL CELL

Fig. shows the I-V characteristics of a typical single cell operating at room temperature and
normal air pressure. The variation of the individual cell voltage is found from the maximum cell voltage and
the various voltage drops (losses). The output voltage of a single cell can be defined as
Vfc = Enernst – Vohmic – Vconc - Vact

series and forming a stack, the voltage (Ecell), can be calculated by:
Ecell = n.Vfc
Several factors are responsible for the voltage drop in a fuel cell and they are referred as polarization.

 Activation overvoltage
The activation over voltage is the voltage drop due to the activation of anode and cathode .It can be calculated
as:
Vact =−[ξ1+ξ2.T +ξ3.T.ln(Co2 )+ξ4ln(Istack ) ]

where, Istack is the cell operating current (A), and the ξi ’s represent parametric coefficients for each cell model,
whose values are defined based on theoretical equations with kinetic, thermodynamic, and electrochemical
foundations.
  Ohmic voltage drop
This loss occurs due to the electrical resistance of the electrodes, and the resistance to the flow of ions in the
electrolyte .It is given by

Vohmic =Istack .(R m +R c )

where Rc represents the resistance to the transfer of protons through the membrane, usually considered constant and Rm
is
Rm = ρM .l/A
 ρM is the specific resistivity of the membrane for the electron flow ( cm), A is the cell active area cm and l is
the thickness of the membrane (cm), which serves as the electrolyte of the cell.

 Concentration loss
This is due to the change in concentration of reactants at the surface of the electrodes as the fuel is used
causing reduction in the partial pressure of reactants, resulting in reduction in voltage given by

Vconc = -(RT/n).F.ln(1-(i/i1))

Where,
F is the constant of Faraday (96.487 C); R is the universal constant of the gases (8.314 J/K mol).
PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE FUEL CELL-PEMFC

• Electrolyte: water-based, acidic polymer membrane

• Also called polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

• Use a platinum-based catalyst on both electrodes

• Generally hydrogen fuelled
• Operate at relatively low temperatures (below 100°C)

• High-temperature variants use a mineral acid-based

electrolyte and can operate up to 200°C.
• Use for vehicles
DIRECT METHANOL FUEL CELL -DMFC

• Electrolyte: polymer membrane (like PEMFC)

• Use a platinum–ruthenium catalyst on the anode
and a platinum catalyst on the cathode

• This catalyst can draw hydrogen atoms from

liquid methanol, which is used as fuel instead of
hydrogen, giving the cell its name.
• Operate in the range from 70oC to 130oC
• DMFC are convenient for portable power
applications with outputs generally less than 250
W
ALKALINE FUEL CELL -AFC

• Electrolyte: alkaline solution such as

potassium hydroxide in water Commonly
use a nickel catalyst
• Generally fuelled with pure hydrogen and
oxygen as they are very sensitive to
poisoning
• Typical operating temperatures are around
70oC
• Used on NASA shuttles throughout the
space programme
SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL - SOFC

• Electrolyte: solid ceramic, such as stabilised

zirconium oxide
• A precious metal catalyst is not necessary
• Can run on hydrocarbon fuels such as methane
• Operate at very high temperatures, around
800oC to 1,000oC
• Popular in stationary power generation
MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELL - MCFC

• Electrolyte: a molten carbonate salt suspended

in a porous ceramic matrix
• A precious metal catalyst is not necessary
• Can run on hydrocarbon fuels such as methane
• Operate at around 650oC
• Most fuel cell power plants of megawatt
capacity use MCFCs, as do large combined heat
and power plants
 PHOSPHORIC ACID FUEL CELL - PAFC

• Electrolyte: liquid phosphoric acid in a bonded silicon carbide matrix

• Use a platinum catalyst on carbon

• Quite resistant to poisoning by carbon monoxide

• Operate at around 180oC
• Electrical efficiency is relatively low, but overall efficiency can be over 80% if the heat is used.
 COMPARISON OF FUEL CELLS

Operating Efficiency
Type Electrolyte Fuel Power Range
Temp. (system)

PEMFC Solid Polymer 60 Pure H2 35-45% 5-250KW

Aqueous
AFC Potassium 70 Pure H2 35-65% <5KW
Hydroxide

PAFC Phosphoric acid 180 Pure H2 40-45% 200KW

Solid Oxide H2,CO,CH4

SOFC 800 50-60% 2KW-MW
Electrolyte Hydrocarbons

Lithium &
H2,CO,CH4
MCFC Potassium 650 50-60% 2KW-MW
Hydrocarbons
Carbonate
 SUMMARY

From this , I get information about working principle of fuel cell , it’s types , V-I characteristics ,
output voltage equation , different losses and it’s equations etc. and also obtain overview of different types of
fuel cell and finally compare these with respect to different parameters.
 REFERENCES

(1).‘Mathematical Modeling of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell’-Dr.

R.Seyezhai ,Dr.B.L.Mathur , International Journal of Computer Applications Volume 20– No.5, (2011)
(2). Fuel cell basics technology types by fuel cell today. Com

(3). ‘A Comprehensive Review of the Fuel Cells Technology and Hydrogen Economy ’ - IEEE XPLORE :
04 JUNE 2007 by D. Morsi Ali, S.K. Salman Robert Gordon University, UK
(4). Fuel cell - WIKIPEDIA
THANK YOU