Design of a Fuel Cell Moisture and Energy Recovery System

摘要

The objective of this project was to design and develop a prototype energy and moisture recovery system for air base fuel cell system. The primary tasks in the project were the design, development, and preliminary testing of the prototype energy and moisture recovery system. The deliverable items are a final report and a prototype energy and moisture recovery system. This report is the deliverable document. In the project, both heat exchanger and turbocharger based systems were considered. A turbocharger based system was selected. With a heat exchanger the only available heat sinks are incoming air, water, and fuel. Using these fluids limits the exhaust temperature to a value somewhat above ambient temperature. This constraint would limit moisture recovery severely, especially in warm weather. Since the fuel cell under consideration operates at elevated pressure, it is possible to use a turbocharger to cool and condense the moisture in the reaction products. Preliminary simulations and testing reveal that much of the moisture in the products of reaction can be condensed and recovered. The turbine also extracts power from the hot gases to compress the reaction air. Condensed moisture in the turbine exhaust is removed with a commercial water separator.