ITM UNIVERSE, VADODARA

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION (2140908)

Experiment no: 08
Date of Performance: _________

Date of Submission: __________

Aim: Study of Current-Voltage Characteristic of Electrolyzer

function of Reversible PEM Fuel Cell.

Apparatus:

1. Fuel Cell Trainer NV6007

2. Solar Panel or
3. Connecting wires
4. Digital Multimeter

Theory:

A. Introduction.

Diminishing resources, more severe environmental pollution & an ever-

increasing demand for energy force us to reconsider the structure of our energy
supply system. The necessary changes in our energy supply system can be
accomplished if we are able to establish regenerative energies like solar, wind and
hydroelectric energy as a fundamental part of the energy market.
One issue we are faced with when we use solar panels or wind power plants
to produce electricity is that energy supply & demand often does not coincide. For
example, a solar panel will provide electricity during the day but we might want to
use electricity to power a light in the evening. Or, we might want to use wind-
generated electricity in a place far away from the power plant. Hence, when supply &
demand do not coincide we need a convenient way to both store and transport
regenerative energy. This is where hydrogen comes into play, as a future storage &
transport medium for energy. The combination of solar energy for electricity
production and hydrogen for energy transport & storage is called the solar-hydrogen
energy cycle. During times when solar panels and wind power plants supply more
energy than needed the excess energy is used to produce hydrogen. This is
accomplished with Electrolyzers that use electricity to split water into oxygen and
hydrogen. The hydrogen (and potentially the oxygen) can be stored and transported
as necessary. When we need electricity the gases are fed into a fuel cell which

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converts the chemical energy of the hydrogen & oxygen into electricity, water & heat.
In this way our energy demands can be met anywhere & anytime.

What is Fuel Cell?

A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts
the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process it produces
electricity.

B. PEM Electrolyzes:

Hydrogen and oxygen can be produced by the electrolysis of water.

Electrolysis is an electrochemical process through which a substance (the
electrolyte) is decomposed when an external DC voltage is applied to two electrodes
(cathode and anode) that are in contact with the electrolyte. For electrolysis to
happen the DC voltage must be equal to or exceed a certain material-dependent
threshold voltage known as the decomposition voltage. Different types of
Electrolyzer are usually distinguished by their type of electrolyte and/or electrodes.
PEM electrolyzers have a particularly simple and compact design. The central
component is a proton-conducting polymer membrane which is coated with a layer of
catalyst material on either side. These two layers are the electrodes of the cell.
When a DC voltage greater than the decomposition voltage of water is applied to its
electrodes, the PEM electrolyzer splits pure water into hydrogen and oxygen. The
theoretical decomposition voltage of water is 1.23 V, however, because of transition
resistances, somewhat higher voltages are necessary in practice.

Higher power electrolyzers are built as stacks in which individual electrolyzers

are connected in series and voltages are added. PEM electrolyzers have efficiencies
of up to ~ 85 %.

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C. PEM Electrolyzer working:

Suppose a DC voltage is applied to the PEM electrolyzer electrodes (solar panel on

the transparency). At the anode (electrode on the right) water is oxidized, leaving
oxygen, protons (H+-ions) and free electrons. While the oxygen gas can be collected
directly at the anode, the protons (yellow +) migrate through the proton-conducting
membrane to the cathode where they are reduced to hydrogen (the electrons for this
are provided by the external circuit).
Anode reaction : 2H2O → 4H+ + 4e- + O2
Cathode reaction : 4H+ + 4e- → 2H2
Total reaction : 2H2O → 2H2 + O2

PEM Electrolyzers are named after their electrolyte material, a proton-conducting

polymer membrane. The acronym PEM stands for proton exchange-membrane or
polymer electrolyte -membrane. A PEM consists of a Teflon-like polymer structure to
which sulfuric acid groups (SO3H) are attached. When the membrane becomes wet
the sulfuric acid dissociates, the membrane becomes acidic and thereby proton-
conducting. While this allows for an easy transport of protons (H+- ions), anions
(negatively charged ions) cannot pass the membrane.

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 Procedure:

1. Insert the reversible fuel cell into its slot located on the Fuel Cell Trainer
NV6007.Remember to place the reversible fuel cell with the side marked as H 2
(Black Terminal) on the Oxygen and Hydrogen Tank side i.e. O 2 (Red Terminal)
side on the outer side.
2. Take the black pin and short rubber tube and place the black pin into one end of
the short rubber tube of around 2 to 4 cm length.
3. Connect the short rubber tube with the black pin to the top nozzle on the
hydrogen side of the reversible fuel cell (marked as H2).
4. Connect the other short tube to the top nozzle on the oxygen side of the
reversible fuel cell (marked O2). Don’t place the red pin in the tube, only keep it
aside. Good ion conductivity is critical to the performance of the reversible fuel
cell. In order to ensure good conductivity, the reversible fuel cell’s membrane
needs to be properly humidified. In order to humidify the reversible fuel cell,
complete the following steps:
5. Take the syringe and push in its plunger in, to remove all the air inside. Draw
distilled water into the syringe.
6. On the reversible fuel cell, insert firmly the syringe nozzle into the upper nozzle
tube on the oxygen side. Slowly push the plunger to let the water into the oxygen
side of the reversible fuel cell.
7. Stop pushing on the plunger once the water starts to come out from the chamber
of the reversible fuel cell. Disconnect the syringe from the nozzle tube and attach
the red pin to the tube. Let the reversible fuel cell settle for 3 minutes.
8. Now insert the Hydrogen Outer Storage Container (marked as H2) into the round
slot named as ‘Hydrogen Tank’ on the Fuel Cell Trainer. Remember to place the
container with the scale side facing towards you.
9. Insert the Oxygen Outer Storage Container (marked as O2) into the round slot
named as ‘Oxygen Tank’ on the Fuel Cell Trainer. Remember to place the
container with the scale side facing towards you.
10. Now take the Hydrogen Inner Container and connect one end of the long tube
(Around 16 to 18cm) to it.
11. Now insert the Hydrogen Inner Container into the Hydrogen Outer Container.
Note: There are two openings at the bottom of the inner container. These openings
allow for gas to escape the inner container into the outer container to limit the
amount of gas stored. Make sure these openings are not blocked by the raised
plastic frame holding the inner containers. Push on the top of the inner container
to be sure they fit firmly onto the plastic rim located at the bottom of the outer
storage container.
12. Connect the other end of the tube connected to the nozzle of Hydrogen Inner
Container to the lower nozzle located on the hydrogen side of the reversible fuel
cell.
13. Now take the Oxygen Inner Container and connect one end of the long tube
(around 20 to 24 cm) to it.
14. Now insert the Oxygen Inner Container into the Oxygen Outer Container.
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Note: There are two openings at the bottom of the inner container. These openings
allow for gas to escape the inner container into the outer container to limit the
amount of gas stored. Make sure these openings are not blocked by the raised
plastic frame holding the inner container. Push on the top of the inner container
to be sure they fit firmly onto the plastic rim located at the bottom of the outer
storage container.
15. Connect the other end of the tube connected to the nozzle of Oxygen Inner
Container to the lower nozzle located on the oxygen side of the reversible fuel
cell.
16. Pour distilled water into the outer Hydrogen and Oxygen containers respectively
(reach upper 20 marks on the outer container).
17. Disconnect the red pin of the short tube on the oxygen side of the reversible fuel
cell. You should observe that water fills the inner container. Once it is full,
connect the red pin back onto the short tube.
18. Repeat the same step on the hydrogen side. If the water cannot flow into the
inner container please see note in step 14.
19. Use the solar panel to turn solar energy into hydrogen. Connect the square
shape stand on the back side of the solar panel so that the solar panel can be
placed at an angle of 45° with ground.
20. Position the solar panel in the face of strong sunlight outside.
Note: If sunlight is not properly available then any source of light like lamp can be
used for solar panel. Secondly, directly for reversible fuel cell you can use any
conventional DC Supply Source of 2 to 3 Volt or use two pencil cells (each of
1.5V) and connect them in series.
21. Connect one end of the red and black patch cords to the solar panel.
22. Connect the other end (open ends) of the patch cords to the reversible fuel cell
being careful to match up red plug with the red socket and black plug with the
black socket. Note: If you cross the patch cords, or do not connect these cords
correctly, the reversible fuel cell could be permanently damaged.
23. On Application Board Set the potentiometer P1 of Application Board at fully anti
clockwise position.
24. Record the values of corresponding voltage and current into the Observation
Table.
25. Look closely at the reversible fuel cell, you will notice water is slowly being
replaced. These changing water levels show that gases are formed inside the
containers : hydrogen is being produced on the negative side or “cathode” of the
fuel cell, and oxygen is being produced on the positive side or ”anode” of the fuel
cell. The hydrogen produced will be twice the volume of the oxygen produced.
26. The hydrogen production cycle is complete when bubbles start surfacing from
the inner container. When bubbles start to appear, disconnect the solar panel
from the reversible fuel cell. Now you can see that hydrogen and oxygen are
produced at a 2:1 ratio.
27. Now gradually move the potentiometer P1 in clockwise direction to continually
increase the voltages in 0.1V DC increments from 0 to maximum voltage. And

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 record both each voltage and the corresponding current in the Observation
Table.
Note: Wait 20 seconds between each pair of measurements to obtain representative
values.
28. Plot the I- V characteristics graph from the measurements recorded in the table,
to find the practical decomposition voltage of the water.

Conclusion:

Electrical Power Generation (2140908)