The expected end of the “oil age” will lead to increasing focus and reliance on alternative energy conversion devices, among which fuel cells have the potential to play an important role. Not only can phosphoric acid and solid oxide fuel cells already efficiently convert today’s fossil fuels, including methane, into electricity, but other types of fuel cells, such as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, have the potential to become the cornerstones of a possible future hydrogen economy. This handbook offers concise yet comprehensive coverage of the current state of fuel cell research and identifies key areas for future investigation. Internationally renowned specialists provide authoritative introductions to a wide variety of fuel cell types and hydrogen production technologies, and discuss materials and components for these systems. Sustainability and marketing considerations are also covered, including comparisons of fuel cells with alternative technologies.

"This volume contains papers presented at the 3rd Symposium on Proton Conducting Membrane Fuel Cells, which took place at the Salt Lake City ECS meeting in the fall of 2002."--p. iii.

From the late-1960’s, perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSAs) ionomers have dominated the PEM fuel cell industry as the membrane material of choice. The “gold standard’ amongst the many variations that exist today has been, and to a great extent still is, DuPont’s Nafion® family of materials. However, there is significant concern in the industry that these materials will not meet the cost, performance, and durability requirementsnecessary to drive commercialization in key market segments – es- cially automotive. Indeed, Honda has already put fuel cell vehicles in the hands of real end users that have home-grown fuel cell stack technology incorporating hydrocarbon-based ionomers. “Polymer Membranes in Fuel Cells” takes an in-depth look at the new chem- tries and membrane technologies that have been developed over the years to address the concerns associated with the materials currently in use. Unlike the PFSAs, which were originally developed for the chlor-alkali industry, the more recent hydrocarbon and composite materials have been developed to meet the specific requirements of PEM Fuel Cells. Having said this, most of the work has been based on derivatives of known polymers, such as poly(ether-ether ketones), to ensure that the critical requirement of low cost is met. More aggressive operational requi- ments have also spurred the development on new materials; for example, the need for operation at higher temperature under low relative humidity has spawned the creation of a plethora of new polymers with potential application in PEM Fuel Cells.

The symposium was devoted to all aspects of research development and engineering of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Three subareas were covered: materials and electrode processes, fuel cell systems, and durability.

The fields covered by the hydrogen energy topic have grown rapidly, and now it has become clearly multidisciplinary. In addition to production, hydrogen purification and especially storage are key challenges that could limit the use of hydrogen fuel. In this book, the purification of hydrogen with membrane technology and its storage in "solid" form using new hydrides and carbon materials are addressed. Other novelties of this volume include the power conditioning of water electrolyzers, the integration in the electric grid of renewable hydrogen systems and the future role of microreactors and micro-process engineering in hydrogen technology as well as the potential of computational fluid dynamics to hydrogen equipment design and the assessment of safety issues. Finally, and being aware that transportation will likely constitute the first commercial application of hydrogen fuel, two chapters are devoted to the recent advances in hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines for transport vehicles. - Hydrogen from water and biomass considered - Holistic approach to the topic of renewable hydrogen production - Power conditioning of water electrolyzers and integration of renewable hydrogen energy systems considered - Subjects not included in previous books on hydrogen energy - Micro process technology considered - Subject not included in previous books on hydrogen energy - Applications of CFD considered - Subject not included in previous books on hydrogen energy - Fundamental aspects will not be discussed in detail consciously as they are suitably addressed in previous books - Emphasis on technological advancements - Chapters written by recognized experts - Up-to date approach to the subjects and relevant bibliographic references

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells convert chemical energy in hydrogen into electrical energy with water as the only by-product. Thus, PEM fuel cells hold great promise to reduce both pollutant emissions and dependency on fossil fuels, especially for transportation—passenger cars, utility vehicles, and buses—and small-scale stationary and portable power generators. But one of the greatest challenges to realizing the high efficiency and zero emissions potential of PEM fuel cells technology is heat and water management. This book provides an introduction to the essential concepts for effective thermal and water management in PEM fuel cells and an assessment on the current status of fundamental research in this field. The book offers you: • An overview of current energy and environmental challenges and their imperatives for the development of renewable energy resources, including discussion of the role of PEM fuel cells in addressing these issues; • Reviews of basic principles pertaining to PEM fuel cells, including thermodynamics, electrochemical reaction kinetics, flow, heat and mass transfer; and • Descriptions and discussions of water transport and management within a PEM fuel cell, including vapor- and liquid-phase water removal from the electrodes, the effects of two-phase flow, and solid water or ice dynamics and removal, particularly the specialized case of starting a PEM fuel cell at sub-freezing temperatures (cold start) and the various processes related to ice formation.