Biomass-derived hydrogen for PEM fuel cell performance

PETR 102

Hazem Tawfik, TAWFIKHH@FARMINGDALE.EDU1, Mouzhgun Anjom, manjom@gmail.com2, Gary P. Halada, ghalada@ms.cc.sunysb.edu2, Henry White2, Yue Hung, hungy@farmingdale.edu1, K. El-Khatib1, and Devinder Mahajan, dmahajan@bnl.gov3. (1) Institute for Research and Technology Transfer (IRTT), State University of New York at Farmingdale, Farmingdale, NY 11735, (2) Materials Science & Engineering Department, SUNY at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, (3) Energy Science and Technology Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973
Biomass-derived H2, being CO2-net neutral, is a choice fuel for PEM fuel cells. The thermochemical processing of biomass may involve gasification that takes place at 800-1000°C to yield H2-rich gas. The synthetic hydrogen produced via this route contains a variety of impurities such as N2, CO2, CO, NH3, H2S, mercaptans, halogenated compounds, hydrocarbons, formaldehyde, formic acid, and trace metals. Some of these impurities present in both the H2 fuel stream and the air intake to a fuel cell negatively impact the fuel cell's performance and durability. The impurity induced poisoning of the platinum catalyst involves a mechanism of blocking active surface sites. We are investigating a catalyst system to remove CO, one of the major impurities, by pretreatment of impure H2 produced from a gasifier. The paper will focus on results of catalyst formulation and its operating conditions and testing of the purified gas in a fuel cell. A successful development of such a system will help improve the economics of PEM fuel cells and promote H2 synthesis from renewable energy sources.
 

Symposium on Clean Fuels from Biomass
1:30 PM-5:15 PM, Tuesday, 12 September 2006 Palace -- Twin Peaks North, Oral

Division of Petroleum Chemistry

The 232nd ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, September 10-14, 2006