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Model Study of a Cold Start of a Power Plant Based on a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells in the Conditions of Arctic Temperatures

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Abstract

A model calculation of the startup of a power plant based on a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The power plant is equipped with a recombiner with a nanostructured hydrogen oxidation catalyst and a bubbler, filled with methanol, which absorbs water vapor, drying the heated air to prevent ice formation inside the fuel cell, which allows for autonomous cold start and operation in the Arctic region. A mathematical model was developed of start-up of PEMFC capacity 1 kW from ambient temperature in the Arctic region to the operating temperature of the fuel cell (warming up from –50 to +50°C). The characteristics of the heating modes were determined for the gradients of the fuel cell heating rate from 0.1 to 0.5°C/s. The proposed scheme of the heating unit and the mode of starting the power plant make it possible to reduce the heating element heating time to the operating temperature to ~6 min, as well as to reduce the volume of the heating unit used and to reduce the consumption of hydrogen supplied in a mixture with air to 3 vol %. The proposed scenario of cold start ensures the temperature stability of the heating unit, which guarantees the safety of heating the fuel cell and the installation as a whole. The use of methanol to remove water vapor from the hydrogen stream and replace them with methanol vapor allows the cold start temperature of the fuel cell to be reduced to -50°C due to the prevention of crystallization of water vapor in the bulk of FC components at the initial stages of heating.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 18-29-23030) and within the framework of scientific research at the NRC Kurchatov Institute (order no. 1808).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Center Kurchatov Institute, 117556, Moscow, Russia

    G. N. Voloshchenko, A. A. Zasypkina & D. D. Spasov

  2. National Research University Moscow Power Engineering Institute, 111250, Moscow, Russia

    D. D. Spasov

Authors
  1. G. N. Voloshchenko
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  2. A. A. Zasypkina
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  3. D. D. Spasov
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Correspondence to A. A. Zasypkina.

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Voloshchenko, G.N., Zasypkina, A.A. & Spasov, D.D. Model Study of a Cold Start of a Power Plant Based on a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells in the Conditions of Arctic Temperatures. Nanotechnol Russia 15, 326–332 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995078020030155

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995078020030155

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