Electrochemical cell and bipolar assembly for an electrochemical cell
First Claim
1. An assembly for use in an electrochemical cell stack comprising:
- a gas barrier;
an array of electronically conductive protrusions disposed across the gas barrier, wherein the electronically conductive protrusions enable electrical communication between an anode opposite a first side of the gas barrier and a cathode opposite a second side of the gas barrier.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A bipolar assembly for use in electrochemical cell stacks, especially stacks operated at low pressure. The bipolar assembly is lightweight and provides a “post-type” flow field that operates with a low pressure drop. The bipolar assembly comprises a gas barrier having an array of electronically conducting posts disposed approximately perpendicular to the gas barrier. Each end of the posts is in electrical communication with the surface of an electrode. Because the bipolar assembly separates a cathode from an anode, the posts contact an anode electrode on one end and a cathode electrode on the other end. The posts provide current conduction through the stack as well as provide the flow fields for the electrochemical reactants. Optionally, the bipolar assembly may contain cooling fluid channels formed by adding additional gas barriers to the bipolar assembly. The space between the gas barriers form a channel through which cooling fluids may be circulated.
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Citations
85 Claims
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1. An assembly for use in an electrochemical cell stack comprising:
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a gas barrier;
an array of electronically conductive protrusions disposed across the gas barrier, wherein the electronically conductive protrusions enable electrical communication between an anode opposite a first side of the gas barrier and a cathode opposite a second side of the gas barrier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A fluid-cooled assembly for use in an electrochemical cell stack comprising:
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at least two gas barriers, wherein a first gas barrier opposes an anode electrode and a last gas barrier opposes a cathode electrode and wherein the gas barriers are approximately parallel; and
an array of electronically conductive protrusions disposed across the gas barriers, wherein the electronically conductive protrusions enable electrical communication between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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79. An electrochemical cell stack comprising:
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a plurality of membrane and electrode assemblies;
bipolar assemblies disposed between each of the plurality of membrane and electrode assemblies, wherein the bipolar assemblies comprise a gas barrier, and an array of electronically conductive protrusions disposed across the gas barrier, wherein the electronically conductive protrusions enable electrical communication between an anode opposite a first side of the gas barrier and a cathode opposite a second side of the gas barrier. - View Dependent Claims (80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85)
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Specification