Carbon monoxide poisoning of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells

The platinum-alloy catalyst used in proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell anodes is highly susceptible to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. CO reduces the catalyst activity by blocking active catalyst sites normally available for hydrogen chemisorption and dissociation. The reaction kinetics at the anode catalyst surface can be used to estimate the decrease in cell voltage due to various levels of CO contamination in the inlet fuel stream. Literature data on the effects of CO-contaminated fuel streams on PEM fuel cell performance have been reviewed and analysed in an attempt to further understand the electrochemical properties of the CO adsorption process. A fuel cell performance model of a bipolar, Nafion 117 PEM fuel cell stack has been developed which predicts equilibrium cell output voltage as a function of current density and partial pressure of CO. The model contains both empirical and mechanistic parameters and evolved from a steady-state electrochemical model for a PEM fuel cell fed with a CO-free anode gas. Reaction kinetics and equilibrium surface coverage have been incorporated into the electrochemical model to predict the decrease in fuel cell performance at equilibrium. The effects of CO were studied at various concentrations of CO in hydrogen as the anode feed gas. Literature data were used to develop the model parameters and the resulting model is used to compare the model-predicted voltages, with and without CO, to data found in the literature.