High temperature PEM (HTPEM) fuel cell based on
polybenzimidazole polymer (PBI) and phosphoric acid, can be
operated at temperature between120°C and 180°C. Reactants
humidification is not required and CO content up to 1% in fuel
can be tolerated, affecting only marginally performance. This is
what makes HTPEM fuel cells very attractive, as low quality
reformed hydrogen can be used and water management
problems are avoided. This paper aims to present the
preliminary experimental results obtained on a HTPEM fuel
cell fed with LPG using a compact steam reformer. The
analysis focus on the reformer start up transient, on the
influence of the steam to carbon ratio on reformate CO content
and on the single fuel cell performance at different operating
conditions. By analyzing the mass and energy balances of the
fuel processor, fuel cell system, and balance-of-plant, a
previously developed system simulation model has been used
to provide critical assessment on the conversion efficiency for a
1 kWel system. The current study attempts to extend the
previously published analyses of integrated HTPEM fuel cell
systems.
