Phosphoric acid fuel cell PAFC prototype of 1 kW, integrated by a methanol reforming unit, has been designed and developed at CNR (National Research Council) Institute for Transformation and Storage of Energy, Messina, Italy, (“Progetto Volta”, Enea contract) on the basis of the development of proprietary component materials (catalyst, electrodes and matrix).
The 1 kW stack is provided with process and cooling plates of proprietary design and construction; internal gas collectors for the working gases in order to have a more compact system and to simplify the gas sealing; an original electrolyte replenishment system.
With regard to the projected goals (to determine the optimal working conditions of the system: temperature, pressure, utilization of the alimentation gas, start-up and shut- down procedure, etc.), this paper describes the technical features regarding the engineering design and, particularly, the results of our investigations on the stack performance, the air cooling and the acid replenishment systems efficiencies.
The results provided useful information in relation with material and stack design improvements.