Fuel cell system

• US 20070148512A1
• Filed: 12/27/2006
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Shimoi, Ryoichi, Iimori, Takashi, Goto, Kenichi, Kamihara, Tetsuya
• Granted Patent: US 7,976,995 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/415
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04097 with recycling of the reactants H01M8/04119, H01M8/04104 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04225 during start-up
• 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: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells

Abstract

A fuel cell system that has a fuel cell stack with a plurality of laminated cells, each of the laminated cells includes an electrolyte membrane interposed between a fuel electrode receiving a supply of fuel gas and an oxidizing agent electrode receiving a supply of oxidizing agent gas. A fuel gas supply device supplies a fuel gas to the fuel electrode. An oxidizing agent gas supply device supplies an oxidizing agent gas to the oxidizing agent electrode. A fuel electrode side discharge system discharges a discharge gas from the fuel electrode to an external. A circulation device re-circulates the discharge gas discharged from the fuel electrode into an upstream side of the fuel electrode. A voltage limit device limits a voltage across the fuel cell stack by drawing a current from the fuel cell stack at a time of an activation of the fuel cell system. A controller halts the supply of the oxidizing agent gas to the oxidizing agent electrode from the oxidizing agent gas supply device at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system, inhibits a discharge of the discharge gas to the external through the fuel electrode side discharge system, and starts the supply of fuel gas to the fuel electrode from the fuel gas supply device in a state where the discharge gas is circulated through the circulation device.

Claims

1. A fuel cell system comprising:

a fuel cell stack comprising a plurality of laminated cells, each of the laminated cells including an electrolyte membrane interposed between a fuel electrode receiving a supply of fuel gas and an oxidizing agent electrode receiving a supply of oxidizing agent gas;

a fuel gas supply device that supplies a fuel gas to the fuel electrode;

an oxidizing agent gas supply device that supplies an oxidizing agent gas to the oxidizing agent electrode;

a fuel electrode side discharge system that discharges a discharge gas from the fuel electrode to an external;

a circulation device that recirculates the discharge gas discharged from the fuel electrode into an upstream side of the fuel electrode;

a voltage limit device that limits a voltage across the fuel cell stack by drawing a current from the fuel cell stack at a time of an activation of the fuel cell system; and

a controller that, at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system, halts the supply of the oxidizing agent gas to the oxidizing agent electrode from the oxidizing agent gas supply device, inhibits a discharge of the discharge gas to the external through the fuel electrode side discharge system, and starts the supply of fuel gas to the fuel electrode from the fuel gas supply device in a state where the discharge gas is circulated through the fuel cell by the circulation device.

2. The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the circulation device is a circulation pump and the controller starts the supply of fuel gas after the circulation pump is rotated at a rotation speed at which a quantity of circulation of fuel gas to the fuel electrode in each of the laminated cells is uniformly distributed.

3. The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the circulation device is a circulation pump and the controller starts the supply of fuel gas after a predetermined time has passed from a time at which a rotation speed of the circulation pump reaches a target rotation speed.

4. The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises a cell voltage sensor that detects a cell voltage for each of the laminated cells, the circulation device is a circulation pump, and the controller starts the supply of the fuel gas after controlling a rotation speed of the circulation pump in order for a deviation of each of the cell voltages detected by the cell voltage sensor to fall within a predetermined value that indicates an acceptably uniform distribution of the fuel gas in the fuel electrode.

5. The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the circulation device is a circulation pump and the controller starts the supply of the fuel gas after the circulation pump has reached a rotation speed at which a gas flow quantity at an inlet of the fuel electrode becomes equal to the gas flow quantity at an outlet of the fuel electrode.

6. The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises a control valve that regulates a pressure of the fuel gas at the fuel electrode and wherein the controller boosts the pressure of the fuel gas at the fuel electrode to a predetermined pressure when supplying the fuel gas.

7. The fuel cell system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the fuel gas supply device comprises:

a storage tank that stores the fuel gas under a first pressure;

a fuel gas supply line, one end thereof being connected to the storage tank and the other end thereof being connected to an inlet of the fuel electrode, that introduces the fuel gas in the storage tank to the fuel cell stack;

a first control valve installed in the fuel gas supply line;

a second control valve installed at a portion of the fuel gas supply line from the first control valve to the fuel cell stack, and wherein the controller, in a case where the controller supplies fuel gas at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system, opens the first control valve to raise the pressure of the fuel gas at a portion of the fuel gas supply line from the first control valve to the second control valve to the first pressure and, thereafter, the controller adjusts an opening angle of the second control valve to regulate the pressure of the fuel gas at the fuel electrode.

8. The fuel cell system of claim 6, wherein the controller regulates the pressure of the fuel gas at the fuel electrode such that a difference between a pressure at the fuel electrode and a pressure at the oxidizing agent electrode is not greater than an allowable pressure over which the deterioration of the electrolyte may result.

9. The fuel cell system of claim 6, wherein the controller regulates the pressure of the fuel gas at the fuel electrode such that a concentration of the fuel gas at the oxidizing agent electrode does not exceed a predetermined concentration within an activation time from a time at which the controller starts the supply of the fuel gas to a time at which the controller completes the activation of the fuel cell system.

10. The fuel cell system of claim 6, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises:

a stack casing enclosing the fuel cell stack; and

a discharged fuel gas concentration detection device that detects a fuel gas concentration leaked from the fuel electrode, wherein the controller regulates the pressure of the fuel gas at the fuel electrode such that a quantity of fuel gas leaked from the fuel electrode to the stack casing is not greater than a predetermined quantity.

11. The fuel cell system of claim 6, wherein at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system, the controller sets a pressure boosting rate such that a deviation of a degree of rise in a voltage of each of the laminated cells is minimum.

12. The fuel cell system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises a cell voltage sensor that detects a voltage for each of the laminated cells and wherein at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system the controller corrects a pressure boosting rate such that the pressure of the fuel gas at the fuel electrode is boosted to become higher as a deviation of a degree of rise in voltage for each of the laminated cells becomes larger.

13. The fuel cell system of claim 6, wherein at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system the controller corrects a pressure boosting rate such that the pressure of the fuel gas at the fuel electrode is boosted to become higher as a maximum value of the current that is drawn by means of the voltage limit device becomes smaller.

14. The fuel cell system of claim 6, wherein the controller operates the voltage limit device within a range such that an activation time from a time at which the controller starts the supply of fuel gas to a time at which the controller completes the activation of the fuel cell system falls within a target time and corrects a pressure boosting rate to minimize a peak voltage of the fuel cell stack.

15. The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises an oxidizing agent electrode side discharge system that discharges the oxidizing agent gas from the oxidizing agent electrode to the external and wherein the controller inhibits discharge of the oxidizing agent gas through the oxidizing agent electrode side discharge system at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system.

16. The fuel cell system of claim 1, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises a draw enabling power detection device that detects an electric power that is maximally taken out from the fuel cell stack and wherein the controller completes the activation of the fuel cell system when the electric power detected by the draw enabling power detection device indicates a predetermined electric power.

17. The fuel cell system of claim 16, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises a fuel gas concentration detection device that detects a fuel gas concentration at the fuel electrode and wherein the draw enabling power detection device indicates the predetermined electric power when the concentration of the fuel gas detected by the fuel gas concentration detection device indicates a predetermined concentration for sufficient power supply.

18. The fuel cell system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller completes the activation of the fuel cell system after a predetermined time that indicates the activation of the fuel cell system has passed from a time at which the controller starts the supply of fuel gas.

19. The fuel cell system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller controls a circulation flow quantity of fuel gas, when starting the supply of fuel gas through the circulation device, to be smaller than that when a degree of deterioration of the fuel cell stack, obtained from a correlative data representing a correlation between the degree of deterioration of the fuel cell stack previously derived and the gas recirculation flow quantity at the time of the start of supply of fuel gas, becomes minimum but is larger than a prescribed flow quantity that permits a short activation time.

20. A fuel cell system comprising:

a fuel cell stack comprising a plurality of laminated cells, each of the laminated cells including an electrolyte membrane interposed between a fuel electrode for receiving a supply of fuel gas and an oxidizing agent electrode for receiving a supply of oxidizing agent gas;

means for supplying a fuel gas to the fuel electrode;

means for supplying an oxidizing agent gas to the oxidizing agent electrode;

means for discharging discharge gas from the fuel electrode to outside of the fuel cell;

means for recirculating the discharge gas discharged from the fuel electrode into an upstream side of the fuel electrode;

means for limiting a voltage across the fuel cell stack by drawing a current from the fuel cell stack at a time of an activation of the fuel cell system; and

a controller means, at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system, for halting the supply of the oxidizing agent gas to the oxidizing agent electrode from the means for supplying oxidizing agent gas at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system, for inhibiting a discharge of the discharge gas to outside of the fuel cell through the fuel electrode side discharging means at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system, and for starting the supply of fuel gas to the fuel electrode from the fuel gas supplying means in a state where the discharge gas is circulated through the fuel cell by the recirculation means at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system.

21. A method of reducing polarity reversal in a fuel cell system of the type with a fuel cell stack having a plurality of laminated cells, each of the laminated cells including an electrolyte membrane interposed between a fuel electrode for receiving a supply of fuel gas and an oxidizing agent electrode for receiving a supply of oxidizing agent gas;

a fuel gas supply to the fuel electrode;

an oxidizing agent gas supply to the oxidizing agent electrode;

a discharge of discharge gas from the fuel electrode to outside of the fuel cell;

the method comprising;

recirculating the discharge gas discharged from the fuel electrode into an upstream side of the fuel electrode;

limiting a voltage across the fuel cell stack by drawing a current from the fuel cell stack at a time of an activation of the fuel cell system; and

controlling the fuel cell system by halting the supply of the oxidizing agent gas to the oxidizing agent electrode from the oxidizing agent gas supply at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system, by inhibiting a discharge of the discharge gas to outside of the fuel cell at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system, and by starting the supply of fuel gas to the fuel electrode from the fuel gas supply in a state where the discharge gas is recirculating through the fuel cell at the time of the activation of the fuel cell system.