High-temperature proton exchange membrane electrochemical reactor suitable for low-temperature storage

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10797326-B2
Application number	US-201816211774-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 6, 2018
Priority date	Dec 13, 2017
Publication date	Oct 6, 2020
Grant date	Oct 6, 2020

Abstract

An electrochemical reactor, including a flow guide; a membrane/electrode assembly; a peripheral seal; an intermediate seal encircled by the peripheral seal and encircling a reaction zone of the electrochemical reactor; a first flow circuit for cooling fluid arranged between the peripheral seal and the intermediate seal, including a first flow channel extending along the peripheral seal; a second flow channel extending along the intermediate seal; and a third flow channel connecting the respective second ends of the first and second flow channels, so that a fluid introduced at the level of the first manifold must pass through the third flow channel to return to the second manifold.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electrochemical reactor, comprising:
a flow guide;
a membrane/electrode assembly;
a peripheral seal arranged between the flow guide and the membrane/electrode assembly;
wherein:
an intermediate seal arranged between the flow guide and the membrane/electrode assembly, the intermediate seal being encircled by the peripheral seal and encircling a reaction zone of the electrochemical reactor;
at least one first flow circuit for cooling fluid arranged between the peripheral seal and the intermediate seal, the flow circuit comprising:
a first flow channel extending along the peripheral seal between a first end connected to a first manifold for cooling fluid and a second end opposite to the first;
a second flow channel extending along the intermediate seal between a first end connected to a second manifold of cooling fluid and a second end opposite to the first; and
either a third flow channel connecting the respective second ends of the first and second flow channels, so that a fluid introduced at the level of the first manifold must pass through the third flow channel to return to the second manifold;
or fourth flow channels distributed along the first flow channel and connecting each first flow channel to the second flow channel, so that a fluid introduced at the level of the first manifold must pass through a fourth flow channel to return to the second manifold, the first end of the first flow channel being positioned close to the second end of the second flow channel, said fourth flow channels being configured to induce pressure losses in a fluid flow between the first and second flow channels.

2. The electrochemical reactor according to claim 1 , wherein the peripheral seal and the intermediate seal of comprise different materials, the material of the peripheral seal comprising a temperature of −20° C. in its range of use, and the material of the intermediate seal including a temperature of 180° C. in its range of use.

3. The electrochemical reactor according to claim 1 , wherein fifth flow channels for cooling fluid are provided inside a bipolar plate vertically in the reaction zone, the flow circuit for cooling fluid and the fifth flow channels for cooling fluid including one and the same cooling fluid.

4. The electrochemical reactor according to claim 2 , wherein fifth flow channels for cooling fluid are in communication with third and fourth manifolds arranged in the reaction zone, the third and fourth manifolds being encircled by seals formed of the same material as the intermediate seal.

5. The electrochemical reactor according to claim 1 , wherein the flow circuit for cooling fluid includes a cooling fluid selected from the group consisting of air, dihydrogen, water and glycol.

6. The electrochemical reactor according to claim 1 , wherein the first manifold is closer to the peripheral seal than to the intermediate seal.

7. The electrochemical reactor according to claim 1 , wherein the second manifold is closer to the intermediate seal than to the peripheral seal.

8. The electrochemical reactor according to claim 1 , comprising several cooling fluid flow circuits arranged between the peripheral seal and the intermediate seal, similar to the first flow circuit for cooling fluid, the cumulative length of the first flow channels of these flow circuits being at least equal to 60% of the length of the peripheral seal.

9. The electrochemical reactor according to claim 1 , wherein said first flow channel is arranged between the peripheral seal and said second flow channel.

10. A system comprising an electrochemical reactor according to claim 1 , further comprising a compressor connected to the first and second manifolds, said compressor being configured for introducing compressed air at the level of the first manifold.

11. The system according to claim 10 , further comprising a heat exchanger having an inlet connected to an outlet of the compressor and an outlet connected to said first manifold for cooling fluid.

12. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the inlet of the compressor is connected to an exhaust manifold for cathodic reactant.

13. The system according to claim 10 , wherein said cooling fluid is air, the flow of said cooling fluid through said first flow channel having a pressure loss less than that of the flow of said cooling fluid through said fourth flow channels.

Assignees

• Commissariat Energie Atomique

Inventors

• Poirot-Crouvezier Jean-Philippe

Classifications

• H01M8/0276 Primary

  Sealing means characterised by their form (H01M8/0273 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M8/0273

  with sealing or supporting means in the form of a frame · CPC title

• H01M8/1004

  characterised by membrane-electrode assemblies [MEA] (H01M8/12 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M8/028

  Sealing means characterised by their material · CPC title

• H01M8/0247

  characterised by the form (characterised by a channel configuration H01M8/0258) · CPC title