Performance Characteristics of a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell with the Anodic Supply Mode

The transport phenomena inside the PEFC varied according to the anodic supply mode. In the dead-end mode, without having any discharged gas, the impurities could remain inside the cell. Moreover, the externally supplied water and diffused water from the cathode can be accumulated in the channel, which blocks the flow path. The flow-through mode can prevent the problem by letting the excess hydrogen flow through the anode free into the atmosphere, but the waste of fuel is inevitable. The anodic recirculation may help the removal of the accumulated water with additional power consumption for the recirculation pump. In this study, the performance characteristics of a PEFC were investigated according to the anodic supply mode. The anodic supply mode tested in this study included the dead-end, the flow-through, and the recirculation mode. The efficiency of the system in accordance with the anodic supplied mode was also estimated.