Publication at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics |
2008
Abstract
We perform a first step to assess the efficiency of a polymer-electrolyte fuel cell operation -- the evaluation of the efficiency of the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) transport processes. Using an irreversible-thermodynamics approach, we describe two coupled transport processes inside the PEM, water diffusion and proton flux namely.
By evaluating the degree of coupling between these two processes, we are able to calculate a theoretical maximum efficiency of the conversion of energy of one process into the other. The degree of coupling and the maximum efficiency are functions of measurable transport properties of the membrane, i.e. the water diffusion coefficient, the proton conductivity, and the electroosmotic drag coefficient.