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With the increased usage of electrical equipment for various applications, the demand for quality power apart from continuous power availability has increased and hence requires the development of appropriate power conditioning system. A major factor during development of these systems is the requirement that they remain environment-friendly. This cannot be realized using the conventional systems as they use batteries and/or engine generators. Among various viable technologies, fuel cells have emerged as one of the most promising sources for both portable and stationary applications. In this thesis, a new battery less UPS system configuration powered by fuel cell is discussed. The proposed topology utilizes a standard offline UPS module and the battery is replaced by a supercapacitor. The system operation is such that the supercapacitor bank is sized to support startup and load transients and steady state power is supplied by the fuel cell. Further, the fuel cell runs continuously to supply 10% power in steady state. In case of power outage, it is shown that the startup time for fuel cell is reduced and the supercapacitor bank supplies power till the fuel cell ramps up from supplying 10% load to 100% load. A detailed design example is presented for a 200W/350VA 1- phase UPS system to meet the requirements of a critical load. The equivalent circuit and hence the terminal behavior of the fuel cell and the supercapacitor are considered in the analysis and design of the system for a stable operation over a wide range. The steady state and transient state analysis were used for stability verification. Hence, from the tests such as step load changes and response time measurements, the non-linear model of supercapacitor was verified. Temperature rise and fuel consumption data were measured and the advantages of having a hybrid source (supercapacitor in parallel with fuel cell) over just a standalone fuel cell source were shown. Finally, the transfer times for the proposed UPS system and the battery based UPS system were measured and were found to be satisfactory. Overall, the proposed system was found to satisfy the required performance specifications.

Use of waste glycerol as fuel in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) would result in the production of valuable metabolites and electricity, to the benefit of biodiesel operations. In this research, the effect of salt and other compounds found in waste glycerol from biodiesel production on the metabolism and performance of three cultures (Escherichia coli W3110, Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii and mixed culture AR2), used as anodic catalysts in an MFC was studied. MFC experiments were performed in parallel with serum bottle fermentations to allow for comparison of glycerol consumption and metabolite yield. The effect of salt content on the performance of all three cultures was positive in most cases and negligible in others. Using waste glycerol with an increased concentration of other compounds (other than salt) only reduced the performance of AR2, however an inhibitory effect on the rate of glycerol consumption was observed with both AR2 and P. freudenreichii ssp. shermanii. For all strains, the rate of glycerol consumption was slower in MFCs than in fermentations as a result of the electrochemical environment; the yield of various metabolites also differed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 17, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-175). Also issued in print.

Current state-of-the-art fuel cells depend on relatively high quantities of platinum metal to function. For fuel cells to become economically feasible as a replacement for the internal combustion engine there needs to be a drastic reduction in the quantity of platinum used within them. ACAL Energy has developed a fuel cell that allows for an 80 % reduction in the quantity of platinum required. This is achieved by replacing the solid supported cathode with an aqueous catholyte solution that contains within it a non-precious metal catalyst. The work contained in this thesis explores a library of non-heme metal complexes as potential candidates for use as catalysts for the 4 electron oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode of the FlowCath® fuel cell. The catalysts chosen, Fe(II) TPEN, Fe(II) TRILEN and Fe(II) TPTCN, are super oxidise dismutase mimics and are known to effectively reduce oxygen in a homogeneous solution. These catalysts were studied in fuel cell-like conditions to gain an understanding of their effectiveness in reducing oxygen. Attempts to decorate the complexes with sulfonate groups led to the evolution of the isoquinoline-based complexes. The change from pyridine-based complexes to isoquinoline-based complexes led to the formation of six alternative complexes, Fe(II) 1-miq TQEN, Fe(II) 3-miq TQEN, Fe(II) 1-miq TRILEN, Fe(II) 3-miq TRILEN, Fe(II) 1-miq TQTCN and Fe(II) 3-miq TQTCN, four of which (1-/3-miq TRILEN and 1-/3-TQTCN) are new to the academic literature. These complexes were analysed for their use as catalysts in the oxygen reduction reaction. In addition to the synthetic and analytical work carried out, computational models of the complexes were created. This theoretical data gave a deeper insight into the molecular structure of the complexes studied and the spin states of the Fe(II) and Fe(III) species.

No description available.

Use of waste glycerol as fuel in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) would result in the production of valuable metabolites and electricity, to the benefit of biodiesel operations. In this research, the effect of salt and other compounds found in waste glycerol from biodiesel production on the metabolism and performance of three cultures (Escherichia coli W3110, Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii and mixed culture AR2), used as anodic catalysts in an MFC was studied. MFC experiments were performed in parallel with serum bottle fermentations to allow for comparison of glycerol consumption and metabolite yield. The effect of salt content on the performance of all three cultures was positive in most cases and negligible in others. Using waste glycerol with an increased concentration of other compounds (other than salt) only reduced the performance of AR2, however an inhibitory effect on the rate of glycerol consumption was observed with both AR2 and P. freudenreichii ssp. shermanii. For all strains, the rate of glycerol consumption was slower in MFCs than in fermentations as a result of the electrochemical environment; the yield of various metabolites also differed.

The catalyst layer of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is a mixture of polymer, carbon, and platinum. The characteristics of the catalyst layer play a critical role in determining the performance of the PEM fuel cell. This research investigates the role of catalyst layer composition using a Central Composite Design (CCD) experiment with two factors which are Nafion content and carbon loading while the platinum catalyst surface area is held constant. For each catalyst layer composition, polarization curves are measured to evaluate cell performance at common operating conditions, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) are then applied to investigate the cause of the observed variations in performance. The results show that both Nafion and carbon content significantly affect MEA performance. The ohmic resistance and active catalyst area of the cell do not correlate with catalyst layer composition, and observed variations in the cell resistance and active catalyst area produced changes in performance that were not significant relative to compositions of catalyst layers. / Master of Science

A multifunctional structural polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell was designed, developed and manufactured. The structural fuel cell was designed to represent the rear rib section of an aircraft wing. Custom membrane electrode assemblies (MEA s) were manufactured in house. Each MEA had an active area of 25cm2.The platinum loading on each electrode (anode and cathode) was 0.5mg/cm2. Sandwiched between the electrodes was a Nafion 212 electrolyte membrane. Additional components of the structural fuel included metallic bipolar plates and end plates. Initially all the components were manufactured from aluminium in order for the structural fuel cell to closely represent an aircraft wing rib. However due to corrosion problems the bipolar plate had to be manufactured from marine grade 361L stainless steel with a protective coating system. A number of different protective coating systems were tried with wood nickel strike, followed by a 5μm intermediate coat of silver and a 2μm gold top coat being the most successful. Full fuel cell experimental setup was developed which included balance of plant, data acquisition and control unit, and a mechanical loading assembly. Loads were applied to the structural fuel cells tip to achieve a static deflection of ±7mm and dynamic deflections of ±3mm, ±5mm, and ±7mm. Static and dynamic torsion induced 1° to 5° of twist to the structural fuel cell tip. Polarisation curves were produced for each load case. Finite element analysis was used to determine the structural fuel cell displacement, and stress/strain over the range of mechanical loads. The structural fuel cells peak power performance dropped 3.9% from 5.5 watts to 5.3 watts during static bending and 2% from 6.2 watts to 6.1 watts during static torsion. During dynamic bending (2000 cycles) the structural fuel cell peak power performance dropped 11% from 6.7 watts to 6 watts (3mm deflection at 190N), 23% from 6.3 watts to 4.8 watts (5mm deflection at 270N), and 41% from 7.2 watts to 5 watts (7mm deflection at 350N). During dynamic torsion (2000 cycles) the structural fuel cell peak power performance dropped 16% from 6 watts to 5.1 watt (3° of torsional loading), and 30% from 6.4 watts to 4.3 watts (5° of torsional loading). The simulated (finite element modelling) displacement of -6.6mm (At maximum bending load of 364.95N) was within 9% of the actual measured displacement of -7.2mm at 364.95N. Furthermore the majority of the simulated strain values were within 10% of the actual measured strain for the structural fuel cell.

Essa dissertação dedica-se ao estudo de instabilidades cinéticas em células a combustível de membrana trocadora de prótons (PEMFC, do inglês proton exchange membrane fuel cell). As PEMFC apresentam baixíssima perda por polarização quando operadas com H2. Contudo, quando o processo de produção de H2 se dá por reforma catalítica de hidrocarbonetos, CO está presente em níveis inaceitáveis para PEMFC equipada com ânodo de Pt/C. Dentre as propostas para superar esse problema, ligas bimetálicas de Pt têm se mostrado uma alternativa promissora para tornar a célula mais tolerante à CO. Além disso, é plausível que um comportamento dinâmico surja nesse tipo de sistema eletroquímico, devido à interação de fatores como transferência de massa, corrente, potencial do eletrodo e a presença de um veneno catalítico, nesse sistema o CO, que pode ser uma impureza do H2 ou um intermediário de reação (em células a combustível alimentadas diretamente com metanol, ácido fórmico ou etanol). Uma das motivações em se estudar tais instabilidades cinéticas é que uma célula a combustível operando em regime oscilatório pode resultar em um desempenho superior, uma vez que a limpeza auto-organizada da superfície previne que o ânodo seja completamente envenenado por CO. Nesse contexto, estudou-se a emergência de instabilidades cinéticas em PEMFC operando com ânodo de Pd-Pt/C ou Pd/C durante a oxidação de H2 e H2/CO, assim como em célula a combustível a metanol direto (DMFC, do inglês direct methanol fuel cell) com ânodo de Pt black. Os resultados indicaram que oscilações de potencial surgem na PEMFC durante a oxidação H2/CO sobre Pd-Pt/C assim como sobre Pd/C. Acoplando as medidas de potencial com espectrometria de massas on line na saída do ânodo, investigou-se o consumo de CO e a produção de CO2 durante as oscilações. Observou-se que as oscilações de potencial levam a variações na fração molar de CO e CO2. Adicionalmente, identificou-se oscilações de potencial em DMFC, fenômeno até então não relatado na literatura. / This dissertation deals with kinetic instabilities in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). PEMFCs show very small polarization losses when operating with pure H2. However, when the H2 production takes place by catalytic reforming of hydrocarbons, CO is present in the fuel stream at unacceptable levels for PEMFC equipped with a Pt/C anode. Among the possibilities to overcome this problem, bimetallic Pt alloys have proven to be a promising alternative to increase CO tolerance. Furthermore, it is plausible that a dynamic behavior emerge in such electrochemical system due to the interaction of factors like mass transfer, current, potential, and the presence of a catalyst poison, for this system CO which can be a H2 impurity or a reaction intermediate (in direct methanol/formic acid/ethanol fuel cells). One of the motivations for studying kinetic instabilities is that a fuel cell operating under oscillatory regime might result in higher performance, because the self-organized cleaning of the surface prevents the anode to be completely poisoned by CO. In this context, kinetic instabilities were studied in PEMFC operating with Pt-Pd/C or Pd/C anode during the oxidation of H2 and H2/CO mixture, as well as in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) with Pt black anode. It was observed the emergency of potential oscillations during the H2/CO oxidation on both catalysts, Pt-Pd/C and Pd/C. By coupling the potential measurements with on line Mass Spectrometry in the anode outlet it was investigated a variation in the concentration of CO and CO2 during oscillatory dynamic. It was found that the potential oscillations lead to variations in the molar fraction of CO and CO2. Additionally, it was observed potential oscillations in DMFC, phenomenon not previously reported in the literature.