Suggested Citation:
Tang, Hong-Yue (Ray), Anthony Santamaria, John Bachman, Jae Wan Park (2013) Vacuum-Assisted Drying of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell. Applied Energy 107, 264 - 270

Purging a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with dry N₂ to remove water in the catalyst layer and the membrane during shutdown is necessary for ensuring successful startup and avoiding damages from the freeze/thaw cycling during cold-start. However, carrying N₂ onboard may be impractical for mobile applications. Vacuum-assisted drying can accelerate and aid in water removal by reducing the boiling point of water, thus enhancing the evaporation and diffusion rate. This method is applied to a single cell PEMFC and compared to purging using dry N₂. The drying process was monitored using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and the results were fitted to an equivalent circuit model. Our experimental results show the vacuum-assisted drying method may provide faster and more thorough water removal than N₂ purging.

Keywords: PEM fuel cell, Vacuum-assisted drying, Purging, Membrane