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US 4,175,165 AGranted
Fuel cell system utilizing ion exchange membranes and bipolar plates
AssigneeEngelhard Minerals & Chemicals Corporation
InventorOtto J. Adlhart
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AssigneeEngelhard Minerals & Chemicals Corporation
InventorOtto J. Adlhart
Estimating the term…
Fuel cell assemblies and methods for manufacturing same are disclosed, the fuel cell assemblies comprising a stacked configuration of fuel cell laminates, each including a catalytic fuel electrode, a catalytic oxygen electrode, and an electrolyte therebetween the electrolyte comprising an ion exchange membrane, bipolar plates separating each laminate so that the opposite surfaces of each bipolar plate contacts the fuel and oxygen electrodes, respectively, fuel gas flow channel in the bipolar plate for supplying fuel to the fuel electrodes, and oxygen gas flow channels in the bipolar plates for supplying oxygen-containing gas to the oxygen electrodes, the fuel and oxygen gas flow channels being substantially perpendicular to each other. In a preferred embodiment a particular perfluorosulfonic acid membrane is employed as the electrolyte, the surfaces of the bipolar plates are treated so as to render them hydrophillic, so that water produced in the cell can be collected at the edges thereof, and the configuration of the bipolar plates is such that the diffusion paths for the oxygen-containing gas is as short as practical. The method disclosed for manufacturing such fuel cell assemblies comprises preparing the fuel cell laminates by bonding catalytic fuel electrodes and catalytic oxygen electrodes to opposite surfaces of an electrolyte member comprising an ion exchange membrane, and stacking the laminates alternatingly with the bipolar plates described above so that the plates contact fuel and oxygen electrodes on the opposite surfaces thereof, and providing means for collecting current from the top and bottom of the stacked configuration.
A fuel cell assembly comprising a plurality of fuel cell laminates stacked together in substantially parallel relationship to each other, each fuel cell laminate comprising a catalytic fuel electrode to which a fuel is fed;
A method of manufacturing a fuel cell assembly comprising the steps of providing a plurality of catalytic fuel electrodes, providing a plurality of catalytic oxygen electrodes, providing a plurality of electrolytes comprising ion exchange membranes, preparing a plurality of fuel cell laminates by bonding a catalytic fuel electrode and a catalytic oxygen electrode to each side of said electrolyte, preparing a stacked fuel cell assembly by stacking said plurality of fuel cell laminates alternatingly with a plurality of bipolar plates, said bipolar plates including means for supplying fuel to said catalytic fuel electrodes in contact with one surface thereof, said fuel supply means comprising fuel gas flow channels extending from one end of said bipolar plate to the opposite end of said bipolar plates, and said bipolar plates further including means for supplying oxygen to said catalytic oxygen electrode in contact with the other surface thereof, said oxygen supply means comprising oxygen-containing gas flow channels extending from one side of said bipolar plates to the opposite side of said bipolar plates, so that said fuel gas flow channels and said oxygen-containing gas flow channels are substantially perpendicular to each other but of unequal cross-sectional area favoring the oxygen-containing channels.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.