Biogas as a fuel source for proton-exchange membrane fuel cell

Abstract

Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.This paper discusses the use of biogas in Proton exchange Membrane fuel cells. Biogas is a mixture of gases, mainly methane and carbon dioxide. This mixture must be purified and then reformed, producing syngas and separating hydrogen from its composition. The CO present in the reformed gas in contact with the surface of the catalyst particles (a platinum-based) of the anode of PEM fuel cell is adsorbed impairing the oxidation of hydrogen, which leads to a decrease in cell efficiency. The reformed gas may not contain in its composition carbon monoxide concentrations greater than 50 ppm. The operating conditions of the system and the cost of the process are the main challenges of using biogas in PEM fuel cells.