Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kabushiki Kaisha

Takafumi Okamoto

Manabu Tanaka

Akio Yamamoto

Shuji Sato

Hideo Kato

Yosuke Fujii

Norimasa Kawagoe

Narutoshi Sugita

Koji Okazaki

Ichiro Tanaka

Ichiro Baba

Masahiro Ise

Hidemitsu Ono

Arne Watson Ballantine

James F McElroy

Masaharu Suzuki

Yoshinori Wariishi

Hiroyuki Oyanagi

Eri Ishikawa

Michael D Gasda

Robert A Dross

A technique includes operating a fuel cell, which produces an effluent flow. The technique includes routing the effluent flow through an electrochemical pump to extract fuel from the effluent flow to produce a first feedback flow. The technique includes using the effluent flow to produce a second feedback flow separate from the first feedback flow and routing the second feedback flow through a venturi to the fuel cell.

High efficiency fuel cell system

A process for coating the inner wall surface of a thin tube having an inside diameter of 0.2 to 5 mm with a resin. The tube is first filled with a resin particulate dispersion. The dispersion filling the tube is held therein by its surface tension and does not flow out. A heater is positioned about the upper end of the tube and is moved down toward its lower end to heat the tube and thereby cause minute resin particles to adhere to its inner wall surface. Then, the tube is heated in a furnace and is cooled to have its inner wall surface coated with the resin.

Process for coating inner wall of a thin tube with a resin

A method of operating a phosphoric acid fuel cell is provided, in which the phosphoric acid fuel cell effects power generation at a high output. A power-generating cell is provided with an electrolyte layer comprising a matrix composed of basic polymer impregnated with acidic liquid electrolyte such as phosphoric acid. The phosphoric acid fuel cell has a fuel cell stack comprising a single unit of the power-generating cell or a predetermined number of the power-generating cells electrically connected in series to one another. When the phosphoric acid fuel cell is operated, the supply pressures of the oxygen-containing gas and the hydrogen-containing gas are set so that the pressure on a cathode electrode of the power-generating cell is higher than that of an anode electrode.

Method of operating phosphoric acid fuel cell

A fuel cell system comprises a fuel cell stack including stacked power-generating cells, a cooling medium-circulating passage for supplying a cooling medium to the fuel cell stack in a circulating manner to cool the power-generating cells, and a heat exchange means arranged for the cooling medium-circulating passage, for performing a heat exchange treatment for the cooling medium used to cool the power-generating cells, wherein the operation temperature of the fuel cell stack is set to be within a range of 100&deg; C. to 210&deg; C. Accordingly, it is possible to improve durability of the fuel cell system in the high output operation and to easily miniaturize the fuel cell system.

Fuel cell system

A fuel cell system comprises a medium-circulating passage for supplying, in a circulating manner, a temperature-adjusting medium to a fuel cell stack, and first and second temperature sensors for detecting medium temperatures at a temperature-adjusting medium inlet and a temperature-adjusting medium outlet. The medium-circulating passage is provided with a pump for circulating the medium, a heater for heating the medium, a radiator for cooling the medium, a bypass passage for bypassing the radiator, and first through third opening/closing valves for selectively supplying the temperature-adjusting medium to the radiator and the bypass passage.

Fuel cell system and method for operating the same

The present invention provides a fuel cell having a simple structure which is suitable for miniaturization, and which makes it possible to reduce ion conductive resistance of a solid polymer oxide itself and ion conductive resistance and contact resistance between the solid polymer oxide and electrode plates, and a fastening method therefor.

Fuel cell and fastening method therefor

A fuel cell is of a simple structure for preventing a partial temperature difference from being developed in a fuel cell structural body, and maintaining an effective operative area and performance. The fuel cell includes a plurality of fuel cells each sandwiched between separators , and has circulatory passages defined therein for circulating cooling water, which has been used to cool the fuel cells , along opposite sides of electric generation sections of the fuel cells

Method of cooling a fuel cell

Disclosed is a fuel cell stack comprising fuel cell units and first and second separators which are alternately stacked with each other. Wedge members are integrally inserted, over the plurality of fuel cell units, into communication holes of a fuel gas supply passage, an oxygen-containing gas supply passage, and a cooling water supply passage, as well as a fuel gas discharge passage, an oxygen-containing gas discharge passage, and a cooling water discharge passage. A fluid is uniformly delivered to each of the fuel cell units by the aid of the wedge members. Accordingly, the fluid of any one of a fuel gas, an oxygen-containing gas, and a cooling medium is uniformly delivered to each of the fuel cell units. Further, it is possible to simplify the arrangement of the fuel cell stack.

Fuel cell stack

Disclosed is a fuel cell stack comprising a fuel cell unit and separators which are stacked with each other. The separator is provided with a cooling medium supply port corresponding to a central portion of an electrode power-generating section and a cooling medium discharge port corresponding to an outer circumferential portion of the electrode power-generating section. The cooling medium supply port communicates with the cooling medium discharge port via a cooling medium flow passage having a spiral configuration. Accordingly, the entire fuel cell unit can be uniformly cooled, and the power-generating function can be effectively improved.

First gas flow passage grooves communicating with a fuel gas inlet and second gas flow passage grooves communicating with a fuel gas outlet are provided on a surface of a first separator. First and second united sections are provided at merged portions of the first gas flow passage grooves and the second gas flow passage grooves. Accordingly, the number of gas flow passage grooves is throttled from the side of the fuel gas inlet to the side of the fuel gas outlet. The turbulence is allowed to occur at the throttled portion to make it possible to improve the gas diffusion performance.

A fuel gas and an oxygen containing gas are supplied downwardly through different passages into a first manifold plate,, a first surface pressure generating plate,, a separator body,, a second surface pressure generating plate,, a second manifold plate,, a first gasket,, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane,, and a second gasket,, into which cooling water is supplied upwardly. The cooling water rises upwardly in the separator body,to reduce a temperature distribution in a fuel cell

Fuel cell and method of controlling same

A fuel cell is of a simple structure for preventing A partial temperature difference from being developed in a fuel cell structural body, and maintaining an effective operative area and performance. The fuel cell,includes a plurality of fuel cells,each sandwiched between separators,, and has circulatory passages,defined therein for circulating cooling water, which has been used to cool the fuel cells,, along opposite outer sides of electric generation sections,of the fuel cells

Fuel cell with cooling medium circulation arrangement and method

A fuel cell stack comprises first and second separators for holding a fuel cell unit therebetween. The first separator has a fuel gas flow passage and the second separator has an oxygen-containing gas flow passage. The gas flow passages are formed by grooves with the number of grooves decreasing from the inlet to the outlet. In one embodiment, the gas flow passage comprises twelve individual first gas flow passage grooves which communicate with an inlet hole on a gas inlet side, six individual second gas flow passage grooves which communicate with the first gas flow passage grooves, and three individual third gas flow passage grooves which communicate with the second gas flow passage grooves. The third gas flow passage grooves communicate with an outlet hole on a gas outlet side.

A fuel gas supply device is equipped with a reformer for conducting steam reforming of methanol which is supplied from a methanol tank, and a hydrogen gas supply means for supplying hydrogen gas only, which is contained in the fuel gas derived from the reformer, to a fuel cell. By passing the fuel gas through a hydrogen permeable membrane or a pressure-swing adsorption device, a fuel gas in which any unreacted methanol is reliably removed therefrom can be supplied to the fuel cell. According to further embodiments, unreacted methanol is caused to positively react on a fuel electrode side of a fuel cell stack, so as to remove excess amounts of unreacted methanol from a fuel chamber. The method can further include a step of controlling the humidity of the fuel gas, by either removal or supply of moisture, before the fuel gas is supplied to the fuel cell.

Growing community of inventors

Koshigaya, Japan

Takafumi Okamoto