Fuel cell, fuel cell stack, and fuel cell system

• US 20060286426A1
• Filed: 06/05/2006
• Published: 12/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kikuchi, Tetsuro, Sakajo, Yuichi, Usami, Hiroyuki, Kudo, Hiroyasu
• Application Number:
  US11/446,161
• Publication Number:
  US 20060286426A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/429
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0234 Carbonaceous material
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0247 characterised by the form characterised by a channel configuration H01M8/0258
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0258 characterised by the configuration of channels, e.g. by the flow field of the reactant or coolant
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0267 having heating or cooling means, e.g. heaters or coolant flow channels
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04156 with product water removal
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/1007 with both reactants being gaseous or vaporised H01M8/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/241 with solid or matrix-supported electrolytes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/2457 with both reactants being gaseous or vaporised
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/2483 characterised by internal manifolds
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells

Abstract

A fuel cell stack has plural fuel cells stacked in series along a direction vertical to a main surface of each fuel cell. Each fuel cell has a lamination body made of an anode, a cathode, and a polymer proton exchange membrane. The lamination body is sandwiched between a pair of separators. Each of the anode and cathode has a catalyst layer and a diffusion layer laminated. A water collecting groove and fuel gas passages are formed in the inner surface of each separator. The bottom end of the water collection groove is lower in position than the end of the catalyst layer and the diffusion layer. The water collecting groove is not joined to the fuel gas passages and collects water produced by electrochemical reaction in each fuel cell, and drains the collected water.

Claims

1. A fuel cell stack comprising a plurality of fuel cells stacked in series along a direction vertical to a main surface of each fuel cell, and

each fuel cell comprising:

an anode;

a cathode;

an electrolyte membrane sandwiched between the anode and the cathode; and

a pair of the separators by which the anode, the cathode, and the electrolyte membrane are sandwiched,

wherein a water collecting groove, configured to collect water generated by electrochemical reaction in the fuel cell, is formed in a bottom area of an inner surface of the separator in each fuel cell, and the bottom of the water collecting groove is formed lower in position than a bottom end of each of the electrolyte membrane, the anode, and the cathode.

2. The fuel cell stack according to claim 1, wherein the water collecting groove is formed in the inner surface of at least the separator faced to the cathode.

3. The fuel cell stack according to claim 1, wherein the electrolyte membrane is made of a polymer proton exchange membrane,

the anode comprises a diffusion layer and a catalyst layer, the catalyst layer being contacted to the polymer proton exchange membrane, and

the cathode comprises a diffusion layer and a catalyst layer, the catalyst layer being contacted to the polymer proton exchange membrane.

4. The fuel cell stack according to claim 3, wherein fuel gas passages are formed in the inner surface of each of the separators faced to the anode and the cathode, and adjacent fuel gas passages are separated to each other through a land area formed between adjacent fuel cell passages, and the water collecting groove is not joined to the fuel gas passage by the land area.

5. The fuel cell stack according to claim 4, wherein a distance measured from the electrolyte membrane to the surface of the land area formed between the water collecting groove and the fuel gas passage adjacent to the water collecting groove in each separator is longer than a distance measured from the electrolyte membrane to the surface of the land area formed between the adjacent fuel gas passages.

6. The fuel cell stack according to claim 3, wherein the diffusion layer is made of one of carbon fiber cloth and carbon fiber nonwoven cloth, and the carbon fibers are approximately aligned toward a direction to the water collecting groove.

7. The fuel cell stack according to claim 4, wherein the diffusion layer is made of one of carbon fiber cloth and carbon fiber nonwoven cloth, and the carbon fibers are approximately aligned toward a direction to the water collecting groove.

8. The fuel cell stack according to claim 1, further comprising a water exhaust manifold configured to drain water accumulated in the water collecting grooves.

9. The fuel cell stack according to claim 3, further comprising a water exhaust manifold configured to drain water accumulated in the water collecting grooves.

10. The fuel cell stack according to claim 1, further comprising a pressure fastening means configured to press and fasten the fuel cells stacked toward the stacked direction, and capable of applying a larger pressure force to the stacked fuel cells during the electricity generation than in the stoppage of the electrical power generation.

11. The fuel cell stack according to claim 3, further comprising a pressure fastening means configured to press and fasten the fuel cells stacked toward the stacked direction, and capable of applying a larger pressure force to the stacked fuel cells during the electricity generation than in the stoppage of the electrical power generation.

12. The fuel cell stack according to claim 10, wherein the pressure fastening means comprises an actuator, and a length of the actuator on applying a voltage thereto is longer than a length of the actuator on not applying a voltage thereto, and the magnitude of the pressure force by the pressure fastening means is decreased according to decrease of the length of the actuator.

13. The fuel cell stack according to claim 11, wherein the pressure fastening means comprises an actuator, and a length of the actuator on applying a voltage thereto is longer than a length of the actuator on not applying a voltage thereto, and the magnitude of the pressure force by the pressure fastening means is decreased according to decrease of the length of the actuator.

14. The fuel cell stack according to claim 10, wherein the pressure fastening means comprises an actuator, and a volume of the actuator is decreased according to falling a temperature of the actuator, and the magnitude of the pressure force by the pressure fastening means is decreased by decreasing the volume of the actuator.

15. The fuel cell stack according to claim 11, wherein the pressure fastening means comprises an actuator, and a volume of the actuator is decreased according to falling a temperature of the actuator, and the magnitude of the pressure force by the pressure fastening means is decreased by decreasing the volume of the actuator.

16. A fuel cell system comprising:

the fuel cell stack according to claim 1;

a hydrogen gas supply section configured to supply hydrogen gas to the anode of the fuel cells forming the fuel cell stack; and

an air supply section configured to supply air to the cathode of the fuel cells forming the fuel cell stack,

wherein the electrical power generation is performed by electrochemical reaction of oxygen involved in the air and the hydrogen gas supplied to the fuel cells in the fuel cell stack.

17. The fuel cell system according to claim 16, wherein water produced in each fuel cell is collected by a difference between the pressures of the gases to be supplied to the anode and the cathode after stoppage of the electrical power generation in the fuel cell stack so that the water flows from a high pressure gas side to a low pressure gas side.

18. A fuel cell comprising:

an electrolyte membrane made of a polymer proton exchange membrane sandwiched between an anode and a cathode;

the anode made of a diffusion layer and a catalyst layer;

the cathode made of a diffusion layer and a catalyst layer; and

a pair of separators by which a lamination body made of the anode, the electrolyte membrane, and the cathode laminated is sandwiched, and at least one separator having a water collecting groove, configured to collect water generated by electrochemical reaction, formed in a bottom area of the inner surface of the separator and lower in position than a bottom end of each of the electrolyte membrane, the anode, and the cathode.