Effect of carbon dioxide in hydrogen on PEMFC for using reformed gas from biogas

Abstract

Hydrogen gas reformed from the biogas has recently been paid attention particularly from the point of view of environmental protection. In order to investigate the effect of the biogas on a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, the cell performances using CO2 containing gas as anode gas were measured by fuel cell experiments and cyclic voltammetry. The membrane-electrolyte assemblies were manufactured with a Pt or PtRu catalyst and Nafion 117 or Nafion 212, and some electrodes were loaded with a Nafion solution. As a result, it was found that the presence of coexisting CO 2 gas decreased the cell performance, while PtRu suppressed the negative effect. In the case of Nafion 212, which was a thinner membrane than Nafion 117 used as the electrolyte, it was more sensitive to the presence of CO2. It was found that the cathode catalyst in the cell was also poisoned by the crossovered CO2.