Performance Test of Marine Fuel Cell System with LNG Reformer

Abstract

  As part of a study to build a marine fuel cell system with reformer, a series of performance tests of a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC) which generates 1 kilowatt of electricity was carried out. Effects of fuel cell temperature, cell stack inclination and back pressure on power output were investigated. Followability of cell output to load variation was also examined. Prior to the performance tests, a reformer function verification test was conducted. It was confirmed that the reformer worked normally and that the concentration of carbon monoxide in the reformed gas was lower than the allowable value. As for the fuel cell stack, the following results were obtained: (1) Within a temperature range of 60 to 75 degrees Celsius, the temperature level of the cell stack did not affect its power output. (2) At a cell stack inclination of 22.5 degrees to the lamination direction of the cell, the power output was almost the same as that at upright attitude. (3) When back pressure was increased, the electromotive force of the cell stack increased to a value larger than that which can be derived from the Nernst equation. (4) The cell stack can follow rapid temporal and stepwise variations in electrical current.