Fuel Cell For Energy Storage

FUEL CELL FOR ENERGY STORAGE
1. Abstract
This study provides a survey of fuel cell technology and application. A description of fuel cell
operating principles is followed by a comparative analysis of the fuel cell technology together
with advantages and disadvantages. A literature survey is done for six papers. A detailed
study on research paper Pyrolysis of Palm waste for the application of direct carbon fuel
cell has been done.
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2. Introduction
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a
chemical reaction of positively charged hydrogen ions with oxygen or another oxidizing
agent.
A fuel cell is like a battery in that it generates electricity from an electrochemical reaction.
Both batteries and fuel cells convert chemical energy into electrical energy and also, as a byproduct of this process, into heat. However, a battery holds a closed store of energy within it
and once this is depleted the battery must be discarded, or recharged by using an external
supply of electricity to drive the electrochemical reaction in the reverse direction.
A fuel cell, on the other hand, uses an external supply of chemical energy and can run
indefinitely, as long as it is supplied with a source of hydrogen and a source of oxygen
(usually air). The source of hydrogen is generally referred to as the fuel and this gives the fuel
cell its name, although there is no combustion involved. Oxidation of the hydrogen instead
takes place electrochemically in a very efficient way. During oxidation, hydrogen atoms react
with oxygen atoms to form water; in the process electrons are released and flow through an
external circuit as an electric current.
Fuel cells can vary from tiny devices producing only a few watts of electricity, right up to
large power plants producing megawatts. All fuel cells are based around a central design
using two electrodes separated by a solid or liquid electrolyte that carries electrically charged
particles between them. A catalyst is often used to speed up the reactions at the electrodes.
Fuel cell types are generally classified according to the nature of the electrolyte they use.
Each type requires particular materials and fuels and is suitable for different applications.
Figure 1 Fuel cell
Anode reaction:
Cathode reaction:
Overall cell reaction:
2H2
4H+ + 4e
O2(g) + 4H+ + 4e
fuel + oxidant
2H2 + O2 +4e-
2H2O
product + Heat
2H2O + Heat
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3. History
The first references to hydrogen fuel cells appeared in Sketch of William Grooves
1839 fuel cell. Groove later sketched his design, in 1842, in the same journal. The fuel cell he
made used similar materials to todays phosphoric-acid fuel cell.
In 1939, British engineer Francis Thomas Bacon successfully developed a 5 kW
stationary fuel cell. In 1955, W.Thomas Grubb, a chemist working for the General Electric
Company (GE), further modified the original fuel cell design by using a sulphonated
polystyrene ion-exchange membrane as the electrolyte. In the 1960s, Pratt and Whitney
licensed Bacons U.S. patents for use in the U.S. space program to supply electricity and
drinking water (hydrogen and oxygen being readily available from the spacecraft tanks). In
1991, the first hydrogen fuel cell automobile was developed by Roger Billings.
Year
History
1839
Sir William Robert Groove H2-O2 fuel cell
1889
Term fuel cell coined by Ludwig Mond, Charles Langer &they used
Platinum as catalyst
1920
Development of SOFC in Germany
1950
Development of PEFC by GE
1959
Development of 5KW AFC by Francis Bacon
1960
Gemini and Apollo spacecraft by NASA
1980
US Navy uses fuel cell in submarine
1993
First bus powered by fuel cell
1996
Toyota demonstrates experimental PEMFC car with metal hybrid storage
2000
Honda FCX-V3 & NISSAN (FCV) vehicles GM H1 fuel cell vehicle
2001
Fuel cell bike by Aprilia
2004
Honda delivers hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicle to the MAYOR of San
Francisco
2009
Residential fuel cell, portable fuel cell battery chargers were sold in JAPAN
4.Fuel Cell VS Battery

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Fuel Cell
Battery
Generate Power Electrochemically
Generate Power Electrochemically
Gases are the working materials
Electrodes are the working materials
Electrodes do not get consumed
Electrodes get consumed
Continue to operate as long as fuel gas is

supplied
Limited operation
Conversion device
Storage device
5.Engine VS Fuel Cell
Figure 2 Engine VS Fuel Cell
It is seen from above figure 2 that

i.
In fuel cell there is direct conversion of energy.
ii.
Whereas in thermal power plant or engine chemical energy is converted to thermal
further to mechanical and then to electricity so there are losses at each stage.
Therefore, thermal efficiency of fuel cell is greater than that of engine.
6. Classification of Fuel Cells

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Alkaline FC
Phosphoric
Acid FC
Solid Oxide
FC
973-1273
Molten
Carbonate
FC
923-1123
Polymer
Membrane
FC
303-353
Operating
Temp range
(K)
Charge
Carrier
Electrolyte
53-373
373-493
OH-
H+
O2-
CO32-
H+
KOH
H3PO4
YSZ
Nafion
Anode
Cathode
Pt-Pd
Pt-Au
PTFE
PTFE
Fuel
Oxidant
Current
density
H2
O2
High
H2
O2
Moderate
Ni/YSZ
Sr
(Strontium)
H2,CO
O2
High
Li2 CO3&
K2CO3
Ni
Li
H2,CO
O2+CO2
Moderate
H2
O2
High
PTFE
PTFE
PTFE Polytetrafluoroethylene
YSZ-Zirconia
7. Advantages
The main advantages of fuel cells are:
1) Efficiency - Fuel cells are generally more efficient than combustion engines as they are
not limited by temperature as is the heat engine.
2) Simplicity- Fuel cells are essentially simple with no moving parts. High reliability may
be attained with operational lifetimes exceeding 40,000 hours (the operational life is
formally over when the rated power of the fuel cell is no longer satisfied)
3) Low emissions- Fuel cells running on direct hydrogen and air produce only water as the
by product.
4) Silence- The operation of fuel cell systems are very quiet with only a few moving parts if
any. This is in strong contrast with present combustion engines.
5) Flexibility - Modular installations can be used to match the load and increase reliability
of the system.
8. Disadvantages
1)
2)
3)
4)
High market entry cost, production cost

Unfamiliar technology to the power industry
Almost no infrastructure
Still at level of development
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9. Applications
1) Transportation
2) Military
3) Space
10. Literature Review

Paper 1
Pyrolysis of Palm waste
for the application of
direct carbon fuel cell
Paper 2
Fuel cell technology and
application
Paper 3
Title
Bioelectricity Generation
and Treatment of Sugar Mill
Effluent Using a Microbial
Fuel Cell
Description Heat treatment such as
Provides a survey of fuel
Microbial fuel cells are
pyrolysis is utilized in
cell technology and
(MFCs) fascinating
converting the biomass
application.
bioelectrochemical
A description of fuel cell
into biochar which
devices that use living
operating
principles
is
possesses slightly
catalysts to produce
followed by a
different
electric energy from
comparative analysis of
physicochemical
organic matter present
the
current
fuel
cell
properties, such as higher
naturally in the
technology together with
C% and large surface
environment or in waste
In this study, sugar mill

issues concerning various
area.
Palm shell pyrolyzed at
fuels.
effluent
temperature of 750C,
(SME) was used as the
with heating rate of
anodic substrate in a
10C/min and residence
double chambered
time of 1 hour produced
MFC for an application
a highly potential biochar
of electricity generation.
for DCFC application.
Conclusion Palm shell biochar
As fuel cell application
An MFC was operated
produced by pyrolysis at
increases and improved
using SME for bio
temperature beyond 750
fuel storage methods and
electricity production and
C exhibit high
handling is developed, it
its treatment.
similarities in term of
is expected that the costs
Polyacrylonitrile carbon
chemical composition.
associated with fuel cell
felt was used as the
Furthermore, biochar
systems will fall
electrode material in both
obtained at 900 C
dramatically in the future.
chambers of the MFC.
possesses much larger
The cell was operated for
surface area as compared
15 days in batch-fed
to carbon black.
mode. The maximum
These similarities give an
power density 140
indication that palm shell
mW/m2was successfully
biochar could be a highly
achieved and maximum
potential fuel for DCFC.
56% reduction in COD
was measured using 50%
SME as a substrate
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Paper 6
Effect of temperature
uncertainty on polymer
electrolyte fuel cell
performance.
Description Performance evaluation of On the building
The temperature of
SOFC fuelled with
cogeneration applications
operation is a key
carbon based fuels like
of polymer electrolyte
parameter in determining
CH4 were
membrane(PEM) fuel
the performance and
carried out on (LSGM)
cells because they have
durability of a polymer
electrolyte supported
high power density (small
electrolyte fuel cell
single cell with
stack size), high
(PEFC). Controlling
symmetrical electrodes
cogeneration efficiency
temperature and
consisted of (LSCFN)and
(sum of heat and power),
understanding its
(GDC) functional layers
and fast startup time
distribution and dynamic
and LSCFN current
owing to their low
response is vital for
collect layers. In-situ
operating temperature
effective operation and
PEM
fuel
cell
systems
reforming of methane by
design of better systems.
The
sensitivity to
generate
power
for
carbon dioxide at the
buildings, and the
temperature means that
anode was successfully
recovered heat is used for
uncertainty in this
achieved on LSCFN
domestic hot water or
parameter leads to variable
based anode, which
heating.
response and can mask
greatly enhanced the cell
other factors affecting
performance.
performance.
Conclusion In-situ reforming of
A cogeneration system
A simple lumped
methane by carbon
provides savings in
mathematical model is
dioxide at the anode was
primary energy and cost.
used to describe PEFC
A
simplified
fuel
cell
model
achieved with LSCFN
performance under
is suggested for
based anode material.
temperature uncertainty.
Cell performance was
commercial packaged
An analytical approach
dramatically promoted
fuel cells by adding some
gives a measure of the
when CO2CH4 mixture
new variables and
sensitivity of performance
was used as anode fuel
validating through
to temperature at different
compared with pure CH4,
experimental and
nominal operating
which was mainly
published data. This
temperatures and electrical
contributed by the
model is relatively simple
loadings.
formation of H2 and CO
compared to other models Whereas a statistical
from CO2 dry reforming
but can be easily utilized
approach, using Monte
of methane reaction.
in some limited cases
Carlo stochastic sampling,
The maximum power
with performance
provides a probability
density of the single cell
predictions.
map of PEFC polarisation
was dramatically
behaviour.
Title
Paper 4
Performance evaluation of
solid oxide fuel cell with
in-situ methane reforming.
Paper 5
A simplified PEM fuel cell
model for building
cogeneration applications.
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increased from 280 to
455 mW/cm2 when
fuelled with 10% CO2
90% CH4 compared with
pure methane at 850C
with a fuel inlet rate of
50 mL/min.
11. Concept (Research Paper): Pyrolysis of Palm waste for the application
of direct carbon fuel cell
11.1 Abstract
Direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) is a high-temperature fuel cell which operates directly from
solid carbon. From the past research, it is proven to be capable of achieving nearly 100%
theoretical efficiency. Thus, DCFC commercialization would change the course of power
generation industry into a more sustainable and environmental friendly means of generating
electricity. Although biomass constitutes of carbon (C), they exist in different forms, making
them unsuitable to be used directly as fuel in DCFC. For that purpose, heat treatment such as
pyrolysis is utilized in converting the biomass into biochar which possesses slightly different
physicochemical properties, such as higher C% and large surface area. It was found that,
palm shell pyrolyzed at 750C, with heating rate of 10C/min and residence time of 1 hour
produced a highly potential biochar for DCFC application.
11.2 Introduction
Current electricity generation mainly depends on combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal.
This method releases significant amount of pollutants into atmosphere. Such problem could
be avoided with the introduction of DCFC technology. Malaysia, as the second largest palm
oil exporters in the world, has generated ample amount of palm waste each year. Such waste
could be utilized in electricity generation, presenting a sustainable yet green energy solution.
However, palm wastes are similar to other biomasses; due to their undesirable
physicochemical properties, they could not be used readily in DCFC. The importance of high
C% in DCFC performance has been reported, such that lack of C% in the fuel could lead to
linear decrease in voltage at high current density region. This is due to the restricted
consumption when large amount of electrons are flowing. Additionally, presence of inorganic
compounds could have catalytic or negative effects on DCFC performance. Furthermore,
surface oxygen functional groups could act as active sites for electrochemical oxidation;
while textural properties such as extensive surface area and porosity provide extra contact
between fuel and electrolyte, contributing to DCFC performance. Other than the influence of
constituent biomass, characteristics of biochar are highly dependent on operating conditions
of pyrolysis, such as pyrolysis temperature, heating rate and residence time. It was reported
that an increase in pyrolysis temperature increases C% as well as creating high surface area.
Page | 8
Moreover, long residence time and low heating rate would also promote desirable
characteristics for the improvement in DCFC performance. In this study, experiment was
carried out to explore the potential of using palm shell as fuel in DCFC. The effect of
pyrolysis temperature on the characteristics of palm shell biochar was examined. The
potential of the biochar as DCFC fuel is estimated by comparing their characteristics such as
chemical composition, surface oxygen functional groups and textural properties with
common DCFC fuel such as carbon black.
11.3 Experimental works
DGP yriroen dl ye s di s
Palm shell was dried in the oven for 24 hours at 110C for moisture removal. The dried palm
shell was then grinded and sieved to obtain a size ranging from 0.5 mm-1 mm. 0.5 g palm
shell underwent pyrolysis at 450, 600, 750 and 900C respectively. Pyrolysis was carried out
at heating rate of 10C/min, residence time of 1 hour, and N2 flow rate of 2 L/min. Pyrolyzed
palm shell samples are denoted as PS450, PS600, PS750 and PS900 with respect to their
pyrolysis temperature. Results from proximate analysis were used in the selecting biochar of
high similarities with carbon black in terms of chemical composition. The selected biochar
were further examined in terms of surface area, porosity and functional groups throughN2
adsorption, and Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively.
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11.4 Results and discussion

Samples
Moisture
Carbon black
PS450
PS600
PS750
PS900
2
5
4
4
5
Volatile
matter
0
29
11
6
3
Fixed carbon
Ash content
94
63
81
86
87
4
3
4
4
5
Table 1 Proximate analysis of biochar samples and carbon black
As shown in Table 1, the volatile matter, C% and ash content increase with increasing
pyrolysis temperature. However, the increment is non-linear and stays rather constant after
750C. It was reported that a high concentration of volatiles will be released during pyrolysis
at high temperature and part of the volatiles could be trapped within the carbon matrix of
biomass, forming secondary char that contributes to a high C% [4]. Beyond thermal treatment
at 750C, the release of volatiles and C formation are almost completed, and resulting in
consistency in chemical composition of biochar samples. By comparing PS450 to the rest of
biochar samples and carbon black, it is evident that the release of volatiles is incomplete, and
the C% may be too low to be used as DCFC fuel. As for PS600, the volatile content is rather
high. In terms of chemical composition, PS750 and PS900 have higher degree of similarity
with that of carbon black, making them highly potential as DCFC fuel. Thus, PS750 and
PS900 were selected for further characterization.
Samples
Carbon black
PS750
PS900
Surface area ( m2/gm )

202.99
204.31
270.88
Table 2 Surface areas, volumes, and average pore size of biochar and carbon
Page | 10
Figure 3 Adsorption isotherms of (a) Carbon black (b) PS750 (c) PS900
As shown in Table 2, PS750 and PS 900 possessed higher surface area as compared to carbon
black. Surface area increases with increasing pyrolysis temperature. As observed in Figure 3,
the adsorption isotherms of PS750 and PS900 belong to Type I isotherm, suggesting
adsorption occurs on microporous solids, this result is in conjunction with the micropore
structure of biochar, which contributes to most of the total surface area. However, with the
increase in relative pressure, a slight decrease in quantity of N2adsorbed is observed. This
situation could be due to the insufficient energy possessed by N2 for adsorption. CO2
adsorption will produce a more accurate measurement [5]. As for carbon black, it exhibits
Type III isotherm, which suggests the structure is non-porous. Furthermore, the average pore
diameter of carbon black is 7.90 nm and this confirmed the lack of micropores in carbon
black. The higher surface area of biochar samples is believed to be able to compensate for the
lack of fixed carbon as compared to carbon black. Higher surface area enables more contact
between fuel particles and anode layer, enabling higher electrochemical oxidation rate of
carbon in DCFC.
Figure 4 FTIR Spectra of carbon back and biochar samples PS750 and PS900
Page | 11
As shown in Figure 4, it is evident that all three curves are of highly similarity, suggesting the
presence of similar functional groups. Band at 3400cm-1 corresponds to O-H stretching due
to presence of H2O,phenol or alcohol groups. Band at 2900cm-1 is associated with C-H
stretching of aromatics. Band at1600cm-1 is associated with C=C stretching of aromatic
compounds. Bands at 1400 cm-1 and 1100cm-1 correspond to O-H bending of alcohol or
carboxylic acid and C-O stretching of alcohol, respectively. A band at 2260 cm-1 corresponds
to nitrile group, can be observed for carbon black and PS750. The absence of nitrile group in
PS900 could be due to high thermal treatment on the biochar, which possibly causes thermal
degradation of the nitrile group [6]. The high similarities in terms of presence of oxygenbased functional groups in both carbon black and biochar samples further elevate the
potential of biochar as DCFC fuel. These oxygen functional groups provide active sites for
carbon oxidation in DCFC.
11.5 Conclusion
Palm shell biochar produced by pyrolysis at temperature beyond 750 C exhibit high
similarities in term of chemical composition. Furthermore, biochar obtained at 900 C
possesses much larger surface area as compared to carbon black. Both biochar and carbon
black contain similar oxygen functional groups. These similarities give an indication that
palm shell biochar could be a highly potential fuel for DCFC. Nevertheless, reaction testing
of biochar in DCFC is recommended to give a quantitative measurement of its suitability.
Furthermore, additional characteristics such as morphology and degree of graphitization
should be examined for in depth comparison with carbon black.
Page | 12
12 References
[1] Ahn SY, Eom SY, Rhie YH, Sung YM, Moon CE, Choi GM, Kim DJ. Utilization of wood
biomass char in a direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) system. Applied Energy 2013;105: 207-216.
[2] Li X, Zhu Z, De Marco R, Bradley J, Dicks A. Evaluation of raw coals as fuels for direct
carbon fuel cells. Journal of Power Sources 2010;195: 4051-8.
[3] Li X., Zhu Z, Chen J, De Marco R, Dicks A, Bradley J, Lu G. Surface modification of
carbon fuels for direct carbon fuel cells. Journal of Power Sources 2009;186: 1-9.
[4] Lua, AC, Lau FY, Guo J. Influence of pyrolysis conditions on pore development of oilpalm-shell activated carbons. Journal of analytical and applied pyrolysis 2006;76: 96-102.
[5] McLaughlin H, Shields F, Jagiello J, Thiele G. Analytical Options For Biochar Adsorption
and Surface Area. US Biochar Conference session on Char Characterization. 2012
[6] Grassie N, McNeill I. Thermal degradation of polymethacrylonitrile. Part II. The
coloration reaction.Journal of Polymer Science 1958; 27: 207-218.
[7] Fuel Cells Principles and Applications by B Vishwanathan,MAuliceScibioh
[8] Fuel Cell Technology and Application by B.J. Holland, J.G. Zhu, and L. Jamet.
[9] Bioelectricity Generation and Treatment of Sugar
Mill Effluent Using a Microbial Fuel
Cell by Ravinder Kumar, Lakhveer Singh, and A.W. Zularisam .Journal of Clean Energy
Technologies, Vol. 4, No. 4, July 2016
Page | 13
[10] Performance evaluation of solid oxide fuel cell with in-situ methane reforming by
Tenglong Zhu, Zhibin Yang ,Minfang Han.
[11] A simplified PEM fuel cell model for building cogeneration applications by Sang-Woo
Ham, Su-Young Jo, Hye-Won Dong, Jae-Weon Jeong.
[12] Effect of temperature uncertainty on polymer electrolyte fuel cell performance by
Mozhdeh Noorkami a, James B. Robinson, Quentin Meyer, Oluwamayowa A. Obeisun, Eric
S. Fraga, Tobias Reisch, Paul R. Shearing.
Page | 14

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FUEL CELL FOR ENERGY STORAGE