Synfuel development impacts— econometric modelling and policy analysis

The prospects for rapid near-term development of a synfuel industry in the USA have decreased, due to depressed world oil prices, synfuel project cost overruns, and the lukewarm support of the Reagan administration. Nonetheless, socioeconomic and environmental impact analysis studies can provide valuable information for determining the regional welfare effects of proposed projects. The author discusses the results of a regional econometric analysis of the synfuel projects planned for Western Kentucky, which focuses on environmental impacts, and reveals the inevitable trade-offs that would accompany synfuel development. Some policy issues are briefly reviewed, especially that of efficient energy pricing.     

Electron transport in direct methanol fuel cells

A three-dimensional (3D), two-phase, isothermal model of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) was employed to investigate effects of electron transport through the backing layer and the land in bipolar plates. It was found that the electronic resistance of the backing layer, affected by backing layer electronic conductivity, backing layer thickness and flow channel width, played a relatively important role in determining the current density distribution and cell performance. In order to ignore the electron transport effect on the average current density, the minimum electronic conductivity of the backing layer has to be 1000 S m⁻¹, with the relative error in the average current density less than 5%, under the given conditions.     

A new alloy design concept for austenitic stainless steel with tungsten modification for bipolar plate application in PEMFC

The feasibility of a new alloy design concept utilizing the principle of ‘tungsten bronze effect’ is critically evaluated for the development of metallic bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). An austenitic stainless steel (ASS) is modified with W and La to improve the stability of the passive film in an acidic environment as well as to reduce the contact resistance by the tungsten bronze effect. The experimental ASS containing W and La was evaluated in a simulated PEMFC environment of H₃PO₄ and H₂SO₄ solutions at 80 °C, and the electrical property was evaluated by performing a contact resistance test. The test results show that the ASS modified with W and La has good passive film stability for corrosion resistance and low contact resistance. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis clearly suggests the possibility of the tungsten bronze effect from the change in valency state of W⁶⁺ to W⁵⁺ in the passive film formed on the modified ASS. The feasibility of a new alloy design concept utilizing the ‘tungsten bronze effect’ is well demonstrated; however, more study is highly required for the development of metallic bipolar plates of PEMFC.     

阴极开放式质子交换膜燃料电池实验性研究

本文围绕实验室自制的开放式阴极自增湿型质子交换膜燃料电池开展了大量相关实验,采用FLUKETi25红外温度成像仪测得了各种操作条件下电池表面温度分布图像。实验结果表明：在封闭式阳极（anodedead—end）操作条件下,液态水会在阳极逐渐积累而影响反应气的传质,造成电池输出性能的衰减。通过阳极排气可以使电池性能恢复。纵观电堆表面温度分布情况,总体呈现出沿氢气流道方向递增的趋势,且随着电流密度的增大,这种温度分布的不均匀性变得更加明显。在实验所测试的范围内,电堆的平均输出功率密度达到了583mW／cm2。     

Intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell based on fully integrated plasma-sprayed components

This work addresses the fabrication of membrane-type solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) operating at medium temperatures, where all components are fabricated by plasma spray technology, and the evaluation of the performance of the SOFC single unit in a temperature range of 500 to 800 °C. Single cells composed of LaSrMgO₃ cathodes, LaSrGaMgO₃ (LSGM) electrolytes, and Ni/yttria-stabilized zirconia anodes were fabricated in successive atmospheric plasma-spraying processes. Plasma-spraying processes have been optimized and tailored to each layer to achieve highly porous cathode and anode layers as well as high-density electrolyte layers. A major effort has been devoted to the production of the LSGM electrolyte that has a high density and is free of cracks. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to investigate the conductivity of the electrode layers, and particularly the resistance of the electrolyte layer. It revealed that the heat treatment had a great influence on the specific conductivity of the sprayed electrolyte layers and that the specific conductivity of the heat-treated layers was dramatically increased to the same magnitude as is typical for sintered LSGM pellets. The experimental results have demonstrated that the plasma-spraying process has a great potential for the integrated fabrication of medium-temperature SOFC units. The original version of this article was published as part of the ASM Proceedings, Thermal Spray 2003: Advancing the Science and Applying the Technology, International Thermal Spray Conference (Orlando, FL), May 5–8, 2003, Basil R. Marple and Christian Moreau, Ed., ASM International, 2003.     

基于有限元方法的CeCl3和NdCl3在LiCl-KCl熔盐中的电极动力学模拟

充分理解锕系元素和镧系元素在熔盐中的行为和性质是实现反应堆乏燃料熔盐电解后处理的关键,然而熔盐电解实验所需的高温环境、腐蚀性熔盐甚至放射性物质等条件限制了实验的广泛开展。为寻求一种低成本且可靠的获取元素在熔盐中性质的途径,采用有限元方法在不同温度下模拟了不同浓度的三氯化铈和三氯化钕在LiCl-KCl熔盐中的循环伏安曲线,并与实验数据做了对比。结果表明,有限元方法能够较为准确地反映实际电化学过程,继而为乏燃料熔盐电解后处理提供数据支持。     

Dissipative Particle Dynamics Simulation: A Review on Investigating Mesoscale Properties of Polymer Systems

Polymer systems have typical multiscale characteristics, both in space and time. The mesoscopic properties of polymers are difficult to describe through traditional experimental approaches. Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) is a simulation method used for solving mesoscale problems of complex fluids and soft matter. The mesoscopic properties of polymer systems, such as conformation, dynamics, and transport properties, have been studied extensively using DPD. This paper briefly summarizes the application of DPD to research involving microchannel flow, electrospinning, free-radical polymerization, polymer self-assembly processes, polymer electrolyte fuel cells, and biomedical materials. The main features and possible development avenues of DPD are described as well.     

An experimental evaluation of the effects of ripple current generated by the power conditioning stage on a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack

In this article, an impedance model of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack (PEMFCS) is proposed. The proposed study employs an equivalent circuit of the PEMFCS derived by the frequency response analysis technique. An equivalent circuit for the PEMFCS is developed to evaluate the effects of ripple currents generated by the power-conditioning unit. The calculated results are then verified by means of experiments using a commercially available PEMFCS. The relationship between ripple current and fuel cell performance, such as power loss and fuel consumption, is investigated. Experimental results show that the ripple current can contribute up to a 6% reduction in the available output power. This paper was presented at the Fuel Cells: Materials, Processing, and Manufacturing Technologies Symposium sponsored by the Energy/Utilities Industrial Sector & Ground Transportation Industrial Sector and the Specialty Materials Critical Technologies Sector at the ASM International Materials Solutions Conference, October 13–15, 2003, in Pittsburgh, PA. The symposium was organized by P. Singh, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, S.C. Deevi, Philip Morris USA, T. Armstrong, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and T. Dubois, U.S. Army CECOM.     

HVOF喷涂NiCr-Cr3C2过程中Laval管壁结瘤成因的探讨

围绕超音速火焰喷涂NiCr-Cr3C2涂层时在Laval管内壁产生结瘤的问题，在分析结瘤产物显微结构的基础上探讨了形成结瘤的原因。研究发现，结瘤产物具有层状组织结构，说明结瘤的形成机制与涂层形成机制相似；在HVOF喷涂时，导致Laval管内壁结瘤的原因主要包括：喷涂材料、喷涂粉末颗粒粒度、喷涂工艺参数、Laval管的内表面粗糙度。     

Electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction on a carbon supported platinum-vanadium alloy in polymer electrolyte fuel cells

The electrocatalysis of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on carbon supported Pt:V 1:1 catalyst in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) was investigated. At an oxygen pressure of 1 atm results indicate a lower electrocatalytic activity for the ORR in the presence of vanadium. However, at an O₂ pressure ≥2 atm an enhanced electrocatalytic property of PtV/C compared with Pt/C is revealed. This result indicates the occurrence of a different electrocatalytic mechanism for the ORR on Pt/C and PtV/C. An increase of mass transport overpotentials is observed for the PtV/C catalyst, and this was related to the presence of vanadium oxide. Indeed, XRD analysis revealed that only about 30% of V present in the catalyst is alloyed with Pt, forming a face centred cubic (fcc) Pt₃V solid solution. A thermal treatment at 850 °C under reducing atmosphere leads to the formation of an ordered fcc Pt₂V phase. After this, the ORR activity of PtV/C at O₂ pressure 1 atm is higher than that of Pt/C.