Optimization of Mass Transfer Processes in the Zone of the Air Electrode of a Fuel Cell with a Solid Polymer Electrolyte

A two-dimensional mathematical model for the transport of reactants in a fuel cell with a solid polymer electrolyte is developed. The model is used for analyzing spatial distributions of the concentration of reactants and current density over the cell. The effect of the catalytic-layer activity, reactant speed, bipolar-plate geometry, thickness and porosity of current collector and/or gas-diffusion sublayer, and the reaction mixture composition on the fuel cell efficiency is estimated theoretically and experimentally.     

Study of the Electrochemical Oxygen Pump Based on Solid Polymer Electrolyte

Electrochemical process of atmospheric oxygen concentration in a modified electrolytic cell with a solid polymeric electrolyte and cathode depolarized by atmospheric oxygen was experimentally studied. The influence exerted by various factors (catalyst hydrophobicity, temperature, pressure, and air supply rate) on the process efficiency was examined. It was shown that the energy consumption for obtaining high-purity oxygen in this process can be reduced by 50–75% as compared with obtaining oxygen by electrolysis of water. The highest activity was observed for Pt40V catalyst (40 wt % Pt on Vulcan XC-72 carbon black) containing 10 wt % fluoroplastic.