Exhaust gas purification system for a fuel cell or a fuel cell stack

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This patent presents an exhaust gas purification system designed for use with fuel cells or fuel cell stacks, especially those using alcohol-based fuels like methanol. The invention introduces an extra electrochemical cell located on the cathode exhaust line, which electrochemically converts unreacted alcohol and other organic impurities in the exhaust gas into CO2 and water, with minimal impact on the system's overall energy efficiency.

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• Reducing harmful alcohol emissions from direct-methanol fuel cells in portable and stationary power generation systems
• Enabling fuel cells to comply with stricter environmental and emission standards for indoor or urban applications
• Purifying exhaust gases from high-temperature PEM fuel cells in transportation (e.g. fuel cell vehicles) or industrial applications
• Retrofitting existing fuel cell systems to minimize their environmental impact, especially where sensitive emission control is required

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Reduces emission of unreacted alcohols and other organic pollutants, improving environmental safety
• Requires minimal additional energy input, so it does not significantly reduce the fuel cell's overall efficiency
• Allows fuel cell systems to be more safely used in sensitive environments (e.g. indoors, urban areas) where VOC emissions are a concern
• The solution is flexible and can be applied to various types of fuel cells, including both low- and high-temperature designs

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Patent Abstract

Provided is a fuel cell or a fuel cell stack, wherein a means for reducing the concentration of unreacted alcohol is disposed on the cathode exhaust gas side. This means comprises in particular an additional electrochemical cell, to which a voltage is applied and which at least partially converts the unreacted alcohol into CO2 and hydrogen or water by way of an electrochemical reduction reaction. Since the concentration of unreacted alcohol is generally low, the loss of power required for the additional reduction reaction does not result in any notable impairment of the efficiency of the fuel cell stack. The invention is thus not limited to direct-methanol fuel cells, but may also be similarly applied to high-temperature fuel cells, and particularly to high-temperature PEM fuel cells, in which the additional electrochemical cell disposed on the cathode exhaust gas side is advantageously able to convert the residual CO.