Study on Thermal Degradation Characteristics of Ion Exchange Resins of Fuel Cell Vehicles

The thermal degradation of ion E/R (ion exchange resin) has been investigated in the pure water generation power plants, but not in electric power generation in Fuel Cell Vehicle (FC-V). Electric power generation fuel cell uses its coolant water of 50wt% ethylene glycol (EG). When EG degraded in the heated condition, ions elute in the coolant. This ion elution reduces the ion E/R performance through reduction of its capacity. This paper describes the effect of thermal degradation of ion E/R in FC-V.