• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.32-39
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• 2024

The key components of a Phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) are an electrode catalyst, an electrolyte matrix and a gas diffusion layer (GDL). In this study, we introduced a microporous layer on the GDL of PAFC to enhance liquid electrolyte management and overall electrochemical performance of PAFC. MPL is primarily used in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells to serve as an intermediate buffer layer, effectively managing water within the electrode and reducing contact resistance. In this study, electrodes were fabricated using GDLs with and without MPL to examine the influence of MPL on the performance of PAFC. Internal resistance and polarization curves of the unit cell were measured and compared to each other to assess the impact of MPL on PAFC electrode performance. As the results, the application of MPL improved power density from 170.2 to 192.1 mW/cm². MPL effectively managed electrolyte and water within the matrix and electrode, enhancing stability. Furthermore, the application of MPL reduced internal resistance in the electrode, resulting in sustained and stable performance even during long-term operation.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.40 no.11
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• pp.689-695
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• 2016

The performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is strongly related to the water flow and accumulation in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and catalyst layer. Understanding the behavior of fluid from the characteristics of the media is crucial for the improvement of the performance and design of the GDL. In this paper, a numerical method is proposed to calculate the design parameters of the GDL, i.e., permeability, tortuosity, and effective diffusivity. The fluid flow in a channel filled with randomly packed hard spheres is simulated to validate the method. The flow simulation was performed by lattice Boltzmann method with bounce back condition for the solid volume fraction in the porous media, with different values of porosities. Permeability, which affects the flow, was calculated from the average pressure drop and the velocity in the porous media. Tortuosity, calculated by the ratio the average path length of the randomly injected massless particles to the thickness of the porous media, and the resultant effective diffusivity were in good agreement with the theoretical model. The suggested method can be used to calculate the parameters of real GDL accurately without any modification.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.101-104
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• 2007

Mechanical behavior in metal bipolar plate of a fuel cell stack was studied using finite element analysis. The fuel stack is essentially composed of a metal bipolar plate (metal BP), a gasket, an end plate, a membrane electrolyte assembly (MEA), and a gas diffusion layer (GDL). It is important to maintain a suitable fastening force of Metal BP, because it influences the power efficiency of the fuel cell stack. After a gasket and a GDL are placed on the metal BP, the reaction force with the displacement is measured. The channel of metal bipolar plate is replaced by a simple geometrical plate. The results of FEM are similar to those of experiment. Therefore mechanical behavior in metal BP of a fuel cell stack can be estimated by using FEM.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.76.2-76.2
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• 2010

The gas diffusion layer is the key component of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell because it directly affect to the mass transport mechanism and dynamic behavior of the cell. In this study, the effects of GDL aging on the transient response of the PEM fuel cell is systematically investigated using current step transient response analysis under different stoichiometric ratios and humidity conditions. With GDLs aged by the accelerated stress test, the effects of hydrophobicity and structural changes due to carbon loss in the GDL on the transient response of PEM fuel cells are determined. The degraded GDLs that had uneven hydrophobicity distributions cause local water flooding inside the GDL and induce lower and unstable voltage responses after load changes.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.129-136
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• 2010

The corrosion behaviors of 316L stainless steel were investigated in simulated anodic and cathodic environments for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) by using electrochemical measurement techniques. Interfacial contact resistance(ICR) between the stainless steel and gas diffusion layer(GDL) was also measured. The possibility of 316L was evaluated as a substitute material for the graphite bipolar plate of PEMFC. The value of ICR decreased with an increase in compaction stress(20 N/$cm^2$~220 N/$cm^2$) showing the higher values than the required value in PEMFC condition. Although 316L was spontaneously passivated in simulated cathodic environment, its passive state was unstable in simulated anodic environment. Potentiostatic and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement results showed that the corrosion resistance in cathodic condition was higher and more stable than that in anodic condition. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and inductively coupled plasma(ICP) were used to analyze the surface morphology and the metal ion concentration in electrolytes.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.320-325
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• 2013

TUnitized reversible fuel cells (URFC) combine the functionality of a fuel cell and electrolyzer in one unitized device. For a URFC with proton exchange membrane, a titanium (Ti)-felt is applied to the gas diffusion layer (GDL) substrate at the oxygen electrode, and additionally titanium (Ti)-powders and TiN-powders are loaded in the GDL substrate as a micro porous layer (MPL). Double porous layer with TiN MPL was not acceptable for the URFC because both of fuel cell performance and electrolysis performance are degraded. The double porous layer with Ti-powder loading in the Ti-felt substrate influence rearly for the electrolysis performance. In contrast, the change of pore-size distribution brings a significant improvement of fuel cell performance under fully humidification conditions. This fact indicates that the hydrophobic meso-pores in the GDL play an important role for mass transport.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1071-1077
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• 2019

Natural gamma-decalactone (GDL) produced by biotransformation is an essential food additive with a peach-like aroma. However, the difficulty of effectively controlling the concentration of the substrate ricinoleic acid (RA) in water limits the biotransformation productivity, which is a bottleneck for industrialization. In this study, expanded vermiculite (E-V) was utilized as a carrier of RA to increase its distribution in the medium. E-V and three commonly used organic compounds were compared with respect to their effects on the biotransformation process, and the mechanism was revealed. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis indicated that RA was physically adsorbed onto the surface of and inside E-V instead of undergoing a chemical reaction, which increased the opportunity for interactions between microorganisms and the substrate. The highest concentration of GDL obtained in the medium with E-V was 6.2 g/l, which was 50% higher than that in the reference sample. In addition, the presence of E-V had no negative effect on the viability of the microorganisms. This study provides a new method for producing natural GDL through biotransformation on an industrial scale.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.965-969
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• 1996

An investigation was carried out to elucidate the effects of type of ginseng, concentration of ginseng, and type of coagulants on the physical and sensory properties of soybean curd. The textural properties of soybean curd were not influenced by the type of ginseng. Soybean curd coagulated with glucono-delta-lactone (GDL) showed a greater hardness than that coagulated with other coagulants, whereas the former produced a lesser springiness than the latter. The L-value was proportionally reduced by the increase of ginseng level and soybean curd coagulated with $CaCl_2$ showed the lowest L value. All the curd products prepared with ginseng had a pale yellow color. In the sensory properties, springiness and beany taste of soybean curd linearly decreased as the concentration of ginseng was increased. The concentration of ginseng to improve the acceptability of ginseng soybean curd as determined by the physical and sensory evaluation, was less than 0.25%. The most acceptable ginseng soybean curd was the one coagulated with $MgCl_2$. Soybean curd prepared with GDL had the lowest acceptability because of its sour taste and textural properties.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.198.1-198.1
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• 2010

고분자전해질 연료전지(PEMFC)의 핵심부품인 스택의 MEA는 전극과 멤브레인 전해질, GDL(Gas Diffusion Layer)로 구성되며, 전극은 Anoth극과 Cathod극으로 나뉘어 각각의 전극 특성에 적합한 전극촉매를 적용하게 된다. Anoth극과 Cathod극은 탄소 지지체 위에 원하는 사양의 희유금속이 도포되어 존재하는데 이들 희유금속은 그 희귀성으로 인해 사용 후 반드시 재사용되어야 한다. 사용된 전극에서의 희유금속 회수는 산침출, 불순물제거, 추출, 탈거 공정으로 이루어지며, 산침출 시 산화제로 사용된 NaOCl로 인한 침출용액 내의 Na+ 이온의 증가는 불순물제거 공정에 의해 반드시 제거되어야 한다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 CCG 방식으로 전극촉매를 GDL에 코팅한 MEA로부터 백금족 희유금속을 회수 시 MEA에 포함되어 있는 소량의 불순물을 제거하고자 한다.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.93-96
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• 2009

In the cathode channel of a PEM fuel cell, the local concentration of oxygen near the gas diffusion layer (GDL) decreases in streamwise direction due to chemical reactions, which degrades the efficiency of the oxygen consumption and overall fuel cell efficiency. We numerically studied the influence of the swirling flow generated by a slanted groove mixer (SGM) on the concentration distribution of oxygen. We found that the swirling flow can increase the concentration of oxygen near the GDL, and subsequently improves the oxygen consumption rate.