Electrochemical Removal of Carbon Monoxide in Reformate Hydrogen for Fueling Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Sivagaminathan Balasubramanian, University of South Carolina - Columbia
Charles E. Holland, University of South Carolina - Columbia
John W. Weidner, University of South Carolina - Columbia

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© The Electrochemical Society, Inc. 2009. All rights reserved. Except as provided under U.S. copyright law, this work may not be reproduced, resold, distributed, or modified without the express permission of The Electrochemical Society (ECS). The archival version of this work was published in Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters.

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DOI: 10.1149/1.3267850

Publisher's Version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1149/1.3267850

Abstract

A twin-cell electrochemical filter is demonstrated to reduce the CO concentration in reformate hydrogen. In this design, the potential and gas flow are switched between the two filter cells so that alternative CO adsorption and oxidation occur in each cell while providing a continuous flow of H2 to a fuel cell. The effects of filter switching time and applied potential on the CO concentration of gas exiting the filter are presented here for a CO concentration of 1000 ppm in nitrogen flowing at 100 cm3/min. The parasitic loss of hydrogen from a corresponding reformate stream was estimated to be 1.5%.