• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.604-612
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• 2009

Water management has been recognized as a crucial factor for achieving better performance and stability in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Proper water management should provide favorable water conditions, including the local humidity, membrane water content, and liquid water saturation in PEMFCs, thereby leading to more uniform electrochemical reaction and current generation. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was conducted to investigate the effects of the cathode relative humidity (RH) on the performance of a 3 by $3\;cm^2$ PEMFC with serpentine flow fields. The CFD results showed that the best performance of the PEMFC was obtained for the cathode RH of 80%, but the performance variation was small for the cathode RH range of $60{\sim}100%$. However, the loss of the PEMFC performance was significant when the cathode RH was reduced below 40%. The reason for such performance variation was investigated through the detailed inspection of ohmic loss, activation and concentration overpotential, and water and current distributions.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.155-162
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• 2016

A proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) produces only water at cathode by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. The generated water is transported across the membrane from the cathode to the anode. The transported water collected in water-trap and drained to the cathode within the humidifier outlet. If the condensate water is not being drained at the appropriate time, condensate water in the anode can cause the performance degradation or fuel efficiency degradation of fuel cell by the anode flooding or unnecessary hydrogen discharge. In this study, we proposed an optimization method of condensate water drain logic for the water drain performance and the water drain algorithm as considered the condensate water generating speed prep emergency case. In conclusion, we developed the water management strategy of fuel processing system (FPS) as securing fuel efficiency and operating stability.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.3 no.2 s.10
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• pp.24-30
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• 2007

The transient response of PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) is important criteria in the application of PEM fuel cell to real automotive system. In this work, using a transparent unit PEM fuel cell, the transient response and cathode flooding during load change are investigated. The cell voltage is acquired according to the current density change($0.3Acm^2$ to $0.6A/cm^2$) under various stoichiometry conditions and different flooding intensities, Also the cathode gas channel images are obtained by CCD imaging system simultaneously. The different level of undershoots appeared at the moment of load changes under different cathode stoichiometries and flooding intensities. It takes about 1s that the product water comes up onto the flow channel so that oxygen supply is temporarily blocked which causes voltage loss in that "undershoot". The correlation of the dynamic behavior with stoichiometry and cathode flooding is induced from the results of these experiments.

• Clean Technology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.79-84
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• 2000

In this study, to reduce the consumption of chemicals in cleaning processes, Si-wafers contaiminated with metallic impurities were cleaned with electrolyzed water(EW), which was generated by the electrolysis of a diluted electrolyte solution or ultra pure water(UPW). Electrolyzed water could be controlled for obtaining wide ranges of pH and ORP(oxidation-reduction potential). The pH and oxidation-reduction potential of anode water and cathode water were measured to be 4.7 and +1000mV, and 6.3 and -550mV, respectively. To analyze the amount of metallic impurities on Si-wafer surfaces, ICP-MS was introduced. Anode water was effective for Cu removal, while cathode water was more effective for Fe removal.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1765-1773
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• 2013

The cathode reaction is one of the most seriously limiting factors in a microbial fuel cell (MFC). The critical dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of a platinum-loaded graphite electrode was reported as 2.2 mg/l, about 10-fold higher than an aerobic bacterium. A series of MFCs were run with the cathode compartment inoculated with activated sludge (biotic) or not (abiotic) on platinum-loaded or bare graphite electrodes. At the beginning of the operation, the current values from MFCs with a biocathode and abiotic cathode were $2.3{\pm}0.1$ and $2.6{\pm}0.2mA$, respectively, at the air-saturated water supply in the cathode. The current from MFCs with an abiotic cathode did not change, but that of MFCs with a biotic cathode increased to 3.0 mA after 8 weeks. The coulomb efficiency was 59.6% in the MFCs with a biotic cathode, much higher than the value of 15.6% of the abiotic cathode. When the DO supply was reduced, the current from MFCs with an abiotic cathode decreased more sharply than in those with a biotic cathode. When the respiratory inhibitor azide was added to the catholyte, the current decreased in MFCs with a biotic cathode but did not change in MFCs with an abiotic cathode. The power density was higher in MFCs with a biotic cathode ($430W/m^3$ cathode compartment) than the abiotic cathode MFC ($257W/m^3$ cathode compartment). Electron microscopic observation revealed nanowire structures in biofilms that developed on both the anode and on the biocathode. These results show that an electron-consuming bacterial consortium can be used as a cathode catalyst to improve the cathode reaction.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.251-257
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• 2001

A present semiconductor cleaning technology is based upon RCA cleaning, high temperature process which consumes vast chemicals and ultra Pure water(UPW). This technology gives rise to the many environmental issues, therefore some alternatives have been studied. In this study, intentionally contaminated Si wafers were cleaned using the electrolyzed water(EW). The EW was generated by an electrolysis equipment which was composed of anode. cathode, and toddle chambers. Oxidative water and reductive water were obtained in anode and cathode chambers, respectively. In case $NH_4$Cl electrolyte, the oxidation-reduction potential(ORP) and pH for anode water(AW) and cathode water(CW) were measured to be +1050mV and 4.7, and -750mV and 9.8, respectively. For cleaning metallic impurities, AW was confirmed to be more effective than that of CW, and the particle distribution after various particle removal processes was shown to be same distribution.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.204-206
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• 2003

Electron beam generator of cold cathode type has been developed for industrial application, for example, waste water cleaning, flue gas cleaning, and pasteurization etc. The operational principle is based on the emission of secondary electrons from cold cathode when ions in the plasma hit the cathode, which are accelerated toward exit window by the gradient of an electric potential. The characteristics of secondary electron emission are studied by comparing total cathode current with ion current.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society for Energy Engineering kosee Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.101-108
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• 2008

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells are promising power generation devices which are ideal for residential and automobile applications, thanks to their fast transient characteristics. However, liquid water produced in PEM fuel cells should be properly managed to enhance the performances and durabilities of the cells. In this study, a visualization experiment was conducted to investigate the flow behavior of water droplets in cathode channels. The visualization experiment was done with four different model flow channels which were made by varying the material (Acrylic and Teflon) and the channel width (1 mm and 2 mm). Acrylic is hydrophilic (contact angle is about $80^{\circ}$) while Teflon is hydrophobic (contact angle is about $120^{\circ}$). A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was also performed to compare the observed and the simulated two-phase water/air flow characteristics in cathode channels. The computational models were made to be consistent with the geometries and surface properties of the model flow channels. Both the experimental and numerical results showed that the Teflon cathode channel with 1 mm width has the best water management performance among four model flow channels considered. A close correlation was found between the experimental visualization results and the numerical CFD simulation results.

• Proceedings of the KAIS Fall Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.124-128
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• 2001

A present semiconductor cleaning technology is based upon RCA cleaning technology which consumes vast amounts of chemicals and ultra pure water(UPW) and is the high temperature Process. Therefore, this technology gives rise to the many environmental issues, and some alternatives such as functional water cleaning are being studied. The electrolyzed water was generated by an electrolysis system which consists of anode, cathode, and middle chambers. Oxidative water and reductive water were obtained in anode and cathode chambers, respectively. In case of NH$_4$Cl electrolyte, the oxidation-reduction potential and pH for anode water(AW) and cathode water(CW) were measured to be +1050mV and 4.8, and -750mV and 10.0, respectively. AW and CW were deteriorated after electrolyzed, but maintained their characteristics for more than 40 minutes sufficiently enough for cleaning. Their deterioration was correlated with CO$_2$ concentration changes dissolved from air. It was known that AW was effective for Cu removal, while CW was more effective for Fe removal. The particle distributions after various particle removal processes maintained the same pattern. In this work, RCA consumed about 9$\ell$chemicals, while EW did only 400$m\ell$ HCI electrolyte or 600$m\ell$ NH$_4$Cl electrolyte. It was hence concluded that EW cleaning technology would be very effective for eliminating environment, safety, and health(ESH) issues in the next generation semiconductor manufacturing.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.33-36
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• 2008

The transient behavior of a passive air breathing direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) operated on vapor-feeding mode is studied in this paper. It generally takes 30 minutes after starting for the cell response to come to its steady-state and the response is sometimes unstable. A mathematical dynamic one-dimensional model for simulating transient response of the DMFC is presented. In this model a DMFC is decomposed into its subsystems using lumped model and divided into five layers, namely the anodic diffusion layer, the anodic catalyst layer, the proton exchange membrane (PEM), the cathodic catalyst layer and the cathodic diffusion layer. All layers are considered to have finite thickness, and within every one of them a set of differential-algebraic governing equations are given to represent multi-components mass balance, such as methanol, water, oxygen and carbon dioxide, charge balance, the electrochemical reaction and mass transport phenomena. A one-dimensional, isothermal and mass transport model is developed that captures the coupling between water generation and transport, oxygen consumption and natural convection. The single cell is supplied by pure methanol vapor from a methanol reservoir at the anode, and the oxygen is supplied via natural air-breathing at the cathode. The water is not supplied from external source because the cell uses the water created at the cathode using water back diffusion through nafion membrane. As a result of simulation strong effects of water transport were found out. The model analysis provides several conclusions. The performance drop after peak point is caused by insufficiency of water at the anode. The excess water at the cathode makes performance recovery impossible. The undesired crossover of the reactant methanol through the PEM causes overpotential at the cathode and limits the feeding methanol concentration.