PHOSPHORIC ACID

FUEL CELL
Presented by – Ashish Kumar Ranjan
Roll no. – 18171501
Research Scholar
Physics Department
 WHAT IS A FUEL CELL ?

 A device that generates electricity

by a chemical reaction.

 Uses oxygen or another oxidizing

agent.

 Another fuel, generally hydrogen.

 Electrochemical process.
 Introduction

 Fuel cells, which use phosphoric acid solution as the

electrolyte, are called phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs).

 The phosphoric acid in aqueous solution dissociates into

phosphate ions and hydrogen ions; the hydrogen ions (𝐻 + )
act as the charge carrier.
 Types of Fuel Cells
Mobile Operating Power
ion temperature range

Phosphoric Acid H+ ~220 oC 10 - 1000 kW

Fuel Cell (PAFC)

Proton Exchange
Membrane Fuel Cell H+ 50 - 100 oC 1 - 100 kW
(PEMFC)

Direct Methanol Fuel H+ 50 - 100 oC 1 - 100 kW

Cell (DMFC)

Molten Carbonate Fuel

CO32- ~650 oC 0.1 - 10 MW
Cell (MCFC)

Solid Oxide Fuel O2- 500 - 1000 oC 0.01 - 10 MW

Cell (SOFC)
 Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell

 Uses highly concentrated or pure liquid

phosphoric acid as electrolyte.

 Efficiency ranges from 40 - 80%.

 First commercially developed fuel cell.

 Operating temperature ~ 220 degree

celcius.
 Components of PAFC

 Anode
• Negative post of the fuel cell.
• Conducts the electrons that are freed from the hydrogen molecules so that
they can be used in an external circuit.
 Cathode
• Positive post of the fuel cell.
• Conducts electrons back from the external circuit to the catalyst
• Recombine with the hydrogen ions and oxygen to form water.
 Electrolyte
• Phosphoric acid solution(Pure).

 Catalyst
• Platinum is used as catalyst.
Power Efficiency Comparison

System
Technology Efficiency
Fuel Cell 24-32%
Electric Battery 26%
Gasoline Engine 20%
 Efficiency Comparison

Fuel Cell Type Efficiency(%)

PEMFC 39 - 52

PAFC 38 - 42

MCFC 40 - 55

SOFC 45 - 60

AFC 60 - 70
 Reactions In PAFC

 At anode

 At cathode

 Net fuel cell reaction produces water

 PAFC Stack

 Consists of a repeating arrangement of a ribbed bipolar

plate, the anode, electrolyte matrix, and cathode.

 The ribbed bipolar plate serves to separate the individual

cells and electrically connect them in series.

Fig: Standard one piece bipolar plate

 Effect of Temperature
Temperature has only
a minimal effect on
H2 at anode

H2S impurity reduces

the effectiveness of
fuel cell catalysts

Increasing Temp.
results CO absorption
and there will be
some voltage loss

A strong temperature
effect is also seen at
simulated coal
gas(SCG) Fig: Effect of temperature on PAFC cell voltage for different fuels
 Effect of Pressure

 Increase in the cell operating pressure increases the performance of PAFCs.

Increase in voltage resulting from a change in system pressure from P1 to P2 is
given by
RT
∆𝑉 = ln(𝑃2/𝑃1)
4F
For an PAFC operating at temperature range of 200o C , we get

∆𝑉 = 0.01 ln(𝑃2/𝑃1)
But the theoretical value at higher temperature is
∆𝑉 = 0.063 ln(𝑃2/𝑃1)

For very high temperature cells, increasing the pressure also reduces the losses at the
electrodes, especially at the cathode.
 Characterization of PAFC

Typical fuel cell curve Curves for various fuel cells

 Usage of PAFC
 The half-reaction at the anode:

H2 → 2H+ + 2e–

 The half-reaction at the cathode:

(1/2)O2 + 4H+ + 2e–→ H2O

 The net fuel cell reaction:

H2 + ½O2 → H2O
Based on these there are different amount of usage of PAFC

1. Usage of oxygen
2. Usage of hydrogen
3. Water production
4. Heat generation rate

Usage of Hydrogen:

Since, 1 mole of hydrogen produce 2 mole of electrons.

Charge generated (q)= 2F x amount of hydrogen
Rate of charge generation (I) = q/t
= 2F x (amount of Hydrogen)/t
= 2f x usage of hydrogen
If n number of cell then,
𝑛𝐼
Usage of hydrogen =
2𝐹
𝑃 𝑒𝑉 𝑐
= (but the electric power is (Pe) = Vc I n)
2𝐹

molar mass of hydrogen is 2.02 gm, and F=96485C

Pe Kg
Usage of hydrogen = 1.05 x 10-8
Vc sec

Usage of Oxygen
Cost of one mole of oxygen there is 4 mole electrons,
Charge generated (q) = 4F x amount of oxygen
Rate of charge generation (I) = q/t = 4F x (amount of oxygen )/ t
= 4F x usage of oxygen

If n number of cells then, Usage of Oxygen = nI/4F mole/sec

𝑃𝑒𝑉𝑐
Usage of Oxygen = 4𝐹
Molar mass of oxygen = 32gm/mole then,
𝑷𝒆 𝒌𝒈
Usage of Oxygen = 8.29 x10-8
𝑽𝒄 𝒔𝒆𝒄

Water production

1 mole of H2O response by 2 mole of electrons

The net charge (q) = 2F x amount of water

The rate of charge generation (I) = 2F x water product (Wp)
𝑛𝐼 𝑃𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒
Water product (Wp) = 2𝐹 = 2𝐹𝑉𝑐 𝑠𝑒𝑐

Molar mass of H2O is 18.02 gm/mole

𝑃𝑒 𝑘𝑔
Water product (Wp) = 9.34 x 10-8 𝑉𝑐 𝑠𝑒𝑐
 Advantages/Disadvantages of PAFC

Advantages

• Phosphoric acid electrolyte can operate above the boiling point of water.
• PAFCs are able to provide power on a scale that is useful for industrial and
commercial applications.
• Their overall efficiency can reach 80% when they are combined for heat and
power applications.

Disadvantages

• PAFC still suffer as they rely upon hydrocarbon fuels.

• When compared to other fuel cells of similar weight and volume, it produces
less power.
• PAFCs are expensive because of the platinum catalyst.
 Conclusion

1. Fuel cells carry out chemical to electricity conversion with high efficiency and
low pollutant emission.

2. PAFCs generate high temperature waste heat that can be used for heating water
and space heating.

3. Efficiency of PAFCs can be increased upto 80%, when the energy produced by
the waste heat is considered.

4. The voltage obtained from a single fuel cell is from 0.6 - 0.8 Volts.
THANK YOU