Effect of Carbon Dioxide and Ammonia on Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Stack Performance

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance degrades when impurities are present in the anode fuel gas, referred to as catalyst poisoning. This paper investigates the effect of carbon dioxide and ammonia as impurities in the anode gas of the PEMFC, and found that the presence of CO2 decreases the performance of the fuel cell by up to 10%. The performance loss depends on the CO2 concentration and the exposure time. The voltage loss is recoverable on passing pure hydrogen gas, indicating that a permanent poisoning of the catalyst layer has not taken place. Exposure of the fuel cell to ammonia beyond 20 ppm, even for a short duration, causes permanent PEMFC failure, probably due to the deterioration of the membrane.

Ammonia borane–metal alanate composites: hydrogen desorption properties and decomposition processes

“…[2][3][4] For instance, release of ammonia causes damage to the fuel cell performance even at trace levels. 5 Also, NH 3 and B 2 H 6 are toxic materials for living things. 6,7 To overcome these disadvantages, several approaches have been developed, such as infusion of AB in nanoscaffolds, 8 doping with transition metals as catalysts, 9 size and catalytic effects from graphitic carbon nitride, 10 and chemical modification of AB by replacing one of H atoms with an alkali or alkaline earth metal to form metal amidoboranes.…”

A general model for air-side proton exchange membrane fuel cell contamination

“…With respect to contamination impact observation, the effects on fuel cell performance of impurities such as CO, CO 2 ,H 2 S, and NH 3 in the fuel feed [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] and SO x ,N O x ,H 2 S, and NH 3 [16,[21][22][23][24] in the air stream have been extensively examined. A study of battlefield air impurities such as benzene, propane, HCN, CNCL, sarin, and sulfur mustard has also been reported [25].…”

An Analysis of Safety Management Items for Low Pressure Hydrogen Facility below 0.1MPa in Domestic Hydrogen Town

“…국내에서도 Table 3. Comparative table of hydrogen quality standards [18][19][20] 멤브레인의 성능저하는 일산화탄소와는 달리 스택 의 성능회복이 불가능하기 때문에 연료전지 성능 유 지에 치명적인 손상이 될 수 도 있다 [17]. Table 3의 …”