Thermography of (LaCe)Ni-5 metal hydride storage system during reversible H-2 sorption and subsequent thermal distribution in a fuel cell

Abstract

Hydrogen is a modern energy carrier, but storage and transportation to the end consumer still stay a weak point. In this work, an experimental energetic system with implemented hydrogen technologies was developed. This system includes a hydrogen storage system based on (LaCe)Ni-5 metal hydride (MH) and fuel cells (FC) that lose significant part of heat when converting chemical energy into electricity. The purpose of this analysis is to find the problematic points of the FC with higher heating of the stack and its potential causes during metal hydride discharging via FC. This weak spots with overheating bring the risk of electrolyte drying (the PEM polymer membrane), with next membrane degradation or even destruction. Thermography of the MH storage system during reversible sorption allows controlling temperature more accurate during charging-discharging processes, which leads to the more efficient use of a hydrogen storage system. The effects of cooling and heating curves of the FC heat exchange module have been demonstrated, and the stable condition of the FC stack at constant load was determined.