Abstract
Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells are an appealing alternative to fossil fuels as they operate on hydrogen fuel without any toxic byproducts. In this work, a single-cell PEM fuel cell with an active area of 25 cm2 using Nafion® 212 membrane was used. Electrodes were fabricated using 10 % platinum supported on high surface area carbon (Pt/C) with a loading of 0.5 mg/cm2. High purity H2 and O2 were used as fuel and oxidant gases. A significant number of experimental tests were conducted to investigate the effect of various operating parameters such as cell temperature, pressure, anode and cathode gas humidification temperatures and anode and cathode gas flow rates on fuel cell performance. The results are presented in the form of polarization curves which show the impact of operating parameters on cell performance. At a cell temperature of 318 K, cathode and anode humidification temperatures of 318 K and atmospheric pressure, with a Pt-loading of 0.5 mg/cm2 on both cathode and anode, it has been observed that a current density of 352 mA/cm2 was obtained at a cell voltage of 0.6 V.
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Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to the financial support extended by TEQIP-II Centre of Excellence (CoE) at AU College of Engineering (A), Andhra University for conducting research in the Fuel Cell Technology Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering.
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Shadulla, S., Satish Raj, K., Naidu, S.V. (2017). Experimental Studies on Performance of Single Cell PEM Fuel Cell with Various Operating Parameters. In: Mohan B., R., Srinikethan, G., Meikap, B. (eds) Materials, Energy and Environment Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2675-1_27
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2675-1_27
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