Hydrogen and its applications; Fuel cells

Daniela Stoenescu, Laurentiu Patularu, Mihai Culcer, Roxana Elena Lazar, Elena Carcadea, Dumitru Mirica, Mihai Varlam, Ioan Stefanescu 

National Institute for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies-ICIT-Rm. Vilcea, PO Box 10, 240050, Rm. Vilcea, Romania

The National R&D Institute for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies – ICIT Rm. Valcea Romania has started a research project financed by the National Research-Development Program with the main purpose to develop an experimental- demonstrative pilot plant for energy conversion and storage using hydrogen proton exchange (PEM) fuel cells. 
This paper presents the  results obtained  in an experimental-demonstrative conversion energy system which contains a sequence of hydrogen purification units and a CO removing reactors until a CO level lower than 10ppm, that finally feeds a hydrogen fuel stack. 
The research activity has been directed to the development of a fuel processor adequate to supply a fuel cell stack; the fuel processor consists in a unit for hydrogen production based on methane catalytic steam reforming process and a series of hydrogen purification units. 
The reactor designed woks at 700º C and 3 atm, the steam reforming process being produced on a Ni based catalyst disposed in ten columns, circle distributed. The output gas is drawn into the HTS (high-temperature shift) and LTS (low-temperature shift) In the first purification unit, HTS, the water-gas shift reaction is produced at 500º C, the reaction taking place on a Fe2O3/Cr2O3 catalyst, disposed in three columns, circle distributed. In the second reactor, LTS, the reaction takes place at 200º C, before the LTS the gas being cooled. The LTS reaction is based on a CuO/ZnO alumina supported catalyst disposed in three columns, circle distributed. The hydrogen will be finally purified so that the CO concentration to be lower than 10 ppm, the CO easily poisoning the exchange protons membrane used for fuel cells construction.
 The paper also describes the design of a 300W PEM fuel cell system which can be used for both validating fuel cell models and for measuring the fuel cell model parameters.
Keywords: Hydrogen, production, purification, storage, PEM fuel cells