• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.35-40
• /
• 2012

The composite membranes using Nafion as matrix and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate (EMITCB) as ion-conducting medium in replacement of water were prepared and characterized. The amount of EMITCB in Nafion varied from 30 to 50wt%. The composite membranes are characterized by ion conductivity, thermogravitational analyses (TGA) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The composite membranes containing EMITCB of 40wt% showed the maximum ionic conductivity which was ~0.0146 S $cm^{-1}$ at 423.15 K. It is inferred that the decrease in ionic conductivity of all the composite membranes might be due to the decomposition of a tetracyanoboric acid formed in the composite membranes. The results of SAXS indicated that the ionic clusters to conduct proton in the composite membranes were successfully formed. In accordance with the results of ionic conductivity as a function of a reciprocal temperature, SAXS showed a proportional decrease in scattering maximum $q_{max}$ as the amount of EMITCB increases in the composite membranes, which results in the increase in ionomer cluster size. The TGA showed no significant decomposition of the ionic liquid as well as the composite membranes in the range of operating temperature ($120-150^{\circ}C$) of high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HTPEMFC). As a result, EMITCB is able to play an important role in transferring proton in the composite membranes at elevated temperatures with no external humidification for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2011.11a
• /
• pp.92.1-92.1
• /
• 2011

Anode off-gas of high temperature fuel cells such as MCFC contains a significant amount of combustible components like hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane according to fuel utilization ratio of the fuel cell stack. Thus, it is important to fully burn anode off-gas and utilize the generated heat in order to increase system efficiency and reduce emissions as well. In the present study, 25 kW catalytic combustor has been developed for the application to a load-following 300kW MCFC system. Mixing and combustion characteristics have been experimentally investigated with the catalytic combustor. Since the performance of catalytic combustor directly depends on the combustion catalyst, this study has been focused on the experimental investigation on the combustion characteristics of multiple catalysts having different structures and compositions. Results show that the exhaust emissions are highly dependent on the catalyst loading and the ratio of catalytic components. Test results at load-following conditions are also shown in the present study.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.60-68
• /
• 2009

The steam reformer for hydrogen production from methane is studied by a numerical method. Langmuir- Hinshelwood model is incorporated for catalytic surface reactions, and the pseudo-homogeneous model is used to take into account local equilibrium phenomena between a catalyst and bulk gas. Dominant chemical reactions are Steam Reforming (SR) reaction, Water-Gas Shift (WGS) reaction, and Direct Steam Reforming (DSR) reaction. The numerical results are validated with experimental results at the same operating conditions. Using the validated code, parametric study has been numerically performed in view of the steam reformer performance. As increasing a wall temperature, the fuel conversion increases due to the high heat transfer rate. When Steam to Carbon Ratio (SCR) increases, the concentration of carbon monoxide decreases since WGS reaction becomes more active. When increasing Gas Hourly Space Velocity (GHSV), the fuel conversion decreases due to the heat transfer limitation and the low residence time. The reactor shape effects are also investigated. The length and radius of cylindrical reactors are changed at the same catalyst volume. The longer steam reformer is, the better steam reformer performs. However, system energy efficiency decreases due to the large pressure drop.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.243-248
• /
• 2016

Although thermoset carbon fiber composite bipolar plates not only have high mechanical properties but also high corrosion resistance in acid environment, high manufacturing cost and low bulk electrical conductivity are the biggest obstacle to overcome. In this research, thermoplastic polymer is employed for the matrix of carbon composite bipolar plate to increase both the manufacturing productivity and bulk electric conductivity of the bipolar plate. In order to increase the electrical conductivity and strength, plain type carbon fabric rather than chopped or unidirectional fibers is used. Also nano particles are embedded in the thermoplastic matrix to increase the bulk resistance of the bipolar plate. The area specific resistance and the mechanical strength of the developed bipolar plate are measured with respect to the environmental temperature and stack compaction pressure.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.58-64
• /
• 2001

YSZ ($8mol\%$ yttria-stabilized zirconia)-modified LSM $(La_{0.85}Sr_{0.15}MnO_3)$ composite cathodes were fabricated by formation of YSZ film on triple phase boundary (TPB) of LSM/YSZ/gas. The YSZ coating film greatly enlarged electrochemical reaction sites from the increase of additional TPB. The composite cathode was formed on thin YSZ electrolyte (about 30 Um thickness) supported on an anode and then I-V characterization and AC impedance analyses were performed at temperature between $700^{\circ}C\;and\;800^{\circ}C$. As results of the impedance analysis on the cell at $800^{\circ}C$ with humidified hydrogen as the fuel and air as the oxidant, R1 around the frequency of 1000 Hz represents the anode Polarization. R2 around the frequency of 100Hz indicates the cathode polarization, and R3 below the frequency of 10 Hz is the resistance of gas phase diffusion through the anode. The cell with the composite cathode produced power density of $0.55\;W/cm^2\;and\;1W/cm^2$ at air and oxygen atmosphere, respectively. The I-V curve could be divided into two parts showing distinctive behavior. At low current density region (part I) the performance decreased steeply and at high current density region (part II) the performance decreased gradually. At the part I the performance decrease was especially resulted from the large cathode polarization, while at the part H the performance decrease related to the electrolyte polarization.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.44 no.12
• /
• pp.696-702
• /
• 2007

The family of (Sr,Mg)-doped $LaGaO_3$ compounds, which exhibit high ionic conductivity at $600-800^{\circ}C$ over a wide range of oxygen partial pressure, appears to be promising as the electrolyte for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Conventional synthesis routes of (Sr,Mg)-doped $LaGaO_3$ compounds based on solid state reaction have some problems such as the formation of impurity phases, long sintering time and Ga loss during high temperature sintering. Phase stability problem especially, the formation of additional phases at the grain boundary is detrimental to the electrical properties of the electrolyte. From this point of view, we focused to synthesize single phase (Sr,Mg)-doped $LaGaO_3$ electrolyte at the stage of powder synthesis and to apply relatively low heat-treatment temperature using novel synthesis route based on combustion method. The synthesized powder and sintered bulk electrolytes were characterized by XRD, TG-DTA, FT-IR and SEM. AC impedance spectroscopy was used to characterize the electrical transport properties of the electrolyte with the consideration of the contribution of the bulk lattice and grain boundary to the total conductivity. Finally, relationship between synthesis condition and electrical properties of the (Sr, Mg)-doped $LaGaO_3$ electrolytes was discussed with the consideration of phase analysis results.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.9-13
• /
• 2016

Electrospun poly(ether sulfone) (PES) membrane impregnated with Nafion (PES-N) have been developed for high-temperature polymer-electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC). The PES-N obtains highly thermal stability up to $430^{\circ}C$, which is higher than that of the commercial Nafion 212. The PES-N membrane shows a good proton conductivity of about $10^{-2}S\;cm^{-1}$ in a temperature range from $75^{\circ}C$ to $120^{\circ}C$. The membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) with the PES-N membrane exhibits a current density of $1.697A\;cm^{-2}$ at $75^{\circ}C$, and $0.813A\;cm^{-2}$ at $110^{\circ}C$ when the applied voltage is 0.6 V, whereas the MEA with the Nafion 212 membrane shows the current density of $0.647Acm^{-2}$ at $110^{\circ}C$. The results suggest that the PES-N can be a good candidate for a polymer electrolyte membrane of the HT-PEMFC.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2008.05a
• /
• pp.507-510
• /
• 2008

Characteristics of an autothermal reformer at various operating parameters have been studied in this paper. Numerical method has been used, and simulation model has been developed for the analysis. Full Combustion reaction, Steam Reforming(SR) reaction, Water-Gas Shift(WGS) reaction, and Direct Steam Reforming(DSR) reaction are assumed as dominant chemical reactions in the autothermal reformer. Simulation results are compared with experimental results for code validation. Operating parameters of the autothermal reformer are inlet temperature, Oxygen to Carbon Ratio(OCR), Steam to Carbon Ratio(SCR), and Gas Hourly Space Veolcity(GHSV). SR reaction rate decreases with low inlet temperature. If OCR is increased, $H_2$ yield is increased but optimal point is suggested. WGS reaction is activated with high SCR. When GHSV is increased, reforming efficiency is increased but pressure drop may decrease the system efficiency.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.116-123
• /
• 2009

Carbon black, activated carbon and carbon nanotube have been used as supporting materials for precious metal catalysts used in fuel cell electrodes. One-step flame synthesis method is used to coat 2-5nm Pt dots on flame-generated carbon particles. By adjusting flame temperature, gas flow rates and resident time of particles in flame, we can obtain Pt/C nano catalyst-support composite particles. Additional injection of hydrogen gas facilitates pyrolysis of Pt precursor in flame. The size of as-incepted Pt dots increases along the flame due to longer resident time and sintering in high temperature flame. Surface coverage and dispersion of the Pt dots is varied at different sampling heights and confirmed by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energy-dispersive spectra (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Crystalinity and surface bonding groups of carbon are investigated through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.159-167
• /
• 2012

Hydrogen is in the spotlight as an alternative next generation energy source for the replacement of fossil fuels because it has high specific energy density and emits almost no pollution, with zero $CO_2$ emission. In order to use hydrogen safely, reliable storage and transportation methods are required. Recently, solid hydrogen storage systems using metal hydrides have been under extensive development for application to fuel cell vehicles and fuel cells of MCFC and SOFC. For the practical use of hydrogen on a commercial basis, hydrogen storage materials should satisfy several requirements such as 1) hydrogen storage capacity of more than 6.5wt.% $H_2$, moderate hydrogen release temperature below $100^{\circ}C$, 3) cyclic reversibility of hydrogen absorption/desorption, 4) non toxicity and low price. Among the candidate materials, Li based metal hydrides are known to be promising materials with high practical potential in view of the above requirements. This paper reviews the characteristics and recent R&D trends of Li based complex hydrides, Li-alanates, Li-borohydrides, and Li-amides/imides.