Emmanuel Balogun | Simon Fraser University (original) (raw)
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Papers by Emmanuel Balogun
In this paper, membrane electrode assemblies were constructed using catalyst-coated membranes to ... more In this paper, membrane electrode assemblies were constructed using catalyst-coated membranes to investigate the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and electrical circuit model analysis was used to analyze the impact of two major fuel cell operating conditions, namely relative humidity and back pressure. These were explored to study their effects on water management within the cell and by extension, on the overall cell performance for various conditions at both the anode and cathode electrodes. By introducing a pressure gradient at both the anode and cathode at varying relative humidity, it was observed that the pressure gradient in the anode to cathode direction at both dry and wet relative humidity (15% and 100%) conditions gave a better cell performance compared to the reverse process. Also, it was discovered that for optimized PEMFC performance, there is need for a form of relative humidity gradient between the anode and cathode with the anode being more humidified than the cathode.
In this study, the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells was investigated. Two i... more In this study, the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells was investigated. Two important operating conditions, namely the anode stoichiometry ratio and cell's back pressure were considered, whereby their effect on the cell performance was analyzed in isolation and relative to each other. Polarization curves showed that when operating the cell at low back pressure, an increase in the anode stoichiometry resulted in an increase in the cell performance due to enhanced fuel cell thermodynamics. However, upon increasing the back pressure, an increase in the anodic stoichiometry resulted in a poorer performing cell due to an increase in the hydrogen crossover rate and an increase in membrane resistance. From this work it became evident that the relationship between back pressure increment and anodic fuel stoichiometry was not linear, and requires optimization.
Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2020
Highly performing, sulfo-phenylated poly(phenylene)sPPB-H + solid polymer electrolyte is reported... more Highly performing, sulfo-phenylated poly(phenylene)sPPB-H + solid polymer electrolyte is reported as a complete substitute for incumbent PFSA materials in PEMFCs, serving both as the electrode catalyst binder, and membrane. Power densities of 1.1 W cm −2 are achieved using H 2 /O 2 when 15 wt% ionomer content is present in the catalyst layer. This represents a 25% increase in performance over previously reported values (up to 0.8 W cm −2) for fully non-fluorous, hydrocarbon solid polymer electrolytes, and the first to demonstrate >1 W cm −2 .
Journal of Electrochemical Society, 2020
Freshly assembled proton exchange fuel cells (PEMFC) require conditioning to reach maximum power ... more Freshly assembled proton exchange fuel cells (PEMFC) require conditioning to reach maximum power density. This process may last up to tens of hours and adds to the cost of commercial fuel cell technology. We present an accelerated conditioning procedure involving starving the cathode of oxidant. In single cells, this procedure conditions a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) within 40 min, without compromising durability. The performance and durability of MEAs conditioned using this technique are compared with US Department of Energy (DOE) and European Union (EU) harmonized protocols, and to an amperometric conditioning protocol. The time to reach peak power density using cathode starvation conditioning is <10% of the time required for DOE, EU, and amperometric protocols. Conditioned MEAs were subjected to accelerated degradation by cycling the cell voltage between 0.6 V and open-circuit voltage under low relative humidity. Degradation was found to be caused by loss of electrochemical surface area of the cathode, which in turn increases the charge transfer resistance of the MEA. MEAs conditioned using cathode starvation experienced only a 15% loss in performance; in contrast to 19, 17 and 17% losses in performance caused by the DOE, EU, and amperometric protocols, respectively.
This paper aims to address the use of hybrid renewable energy sources to supply power to the base... more This paper aims to address the use of hybrid renewable energy sources to supply power to the base station, hence to enhance the minimum Operational Expenditure (OPEX) and alleviate the effect of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) which are detrimental to the environment and human health at large. Using Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) software for simulation and optimization, we discovered that we can reduce the carbon emission by over 87.47%, and the total fossil fuel consumption by over 10,400 litres annually. Hence, it is safe to conclude that the existing (diesel-only) system for powering the Base Station (BS) though, has the least initial capital cost, in the end, it has the highest Net Present Cost (NPC) and cost of energy per kilowatt over the life span of the BS.
In this paper, membrane electrode assemblies were constructed using catalyst-coated membranes to ... more In this paper, membrane electrode assemblies were constructed using catalyst-coated membranes to investigate the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and electrical circuit model analysis was used to analyze the impact of two major fuel cell operating conditions, namely relative humidity and back pressure. These were explored to study their effects on water management within the cell and by extension, on the overall cell performance for various conditions at both the anode and cathode electrodes. By introducing a pressure gradient at both the anode and cathode at varying relative humidity, it was observed that the pressure gradient in the anode to cathode direction at both dry and wet relative humidity (15% and 100%) conditions gave a better cell performance compared to the reverse process. Also, it was discovered that for optimized PEMFC performance, there is need for a form of relative humidity gradient between the anode and cathode with the anode being more humidified than the cathode.
In this study, the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells was investigated. Two i... more In this study, the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells was investigated. Two important operating conditions, namely the anode stoichiometry ratio and cell's back pressure were considered, whereby their effect on the cell performance was analyzed in isolation and relative to each other. Polarization curves showed that when operating the cell at low back pressure, an increase in the anode stoichiometry resulted in an increase in the cell performance due to enhanced fuel cell thermodynamics. However, upon increasing the back pressure, an increase in the anodic stoichiometry resulted in a poorer performing cell due to an increase in the hydrogen crossover rate and an increase in membrane resistance. From this work it became evident that the relationship between back pressure increment and anodic fuel stoichiometry was not linear, and requires optimization.
Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2020
Highly performing, sulfo-phenylated poly(phenylene)sPPB-H + solid polymer electrolyte is reported... more Highly performing, sulfo-phenylated poly(phenylene)sPPB-H + solid polymer electrolyte is reported as a complete substitute for incumbent PFSA materials in PEMFCs, serving both as the electrode catalyst binder, and membrane. Power densities of 1.1 W cm −2 are achieved using H 2 /O 2 when 15 wt% ionomer content is present in the catalyst layer. This represents a 25% increase in performance over previously reported values (up to 0.8 W cm −2) for fully non-fluorous, hydrocarbon solid polymer electrolytes, and the first to demonstrate >1 W cm −2 .
Journal of Electrochemical Society, 2020
Freshly assembled proton exchange fuel cells (PEMFC) require conditioning to reach maximum power ... more Freshly assembled proton exchange fuel cells (PEMFC) require conditioning to reach maximum power density. This process may last up to tens of hours and adds to the cost of commercial fuel cell technology. We present an accelerated conditioning procedure involving starving the cathode of oxidant. In single cells, this procedure conditions a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) within 40 min, without compromising durability. The performance and durability of MEAs conditioned using this technique are compared with US Department of Energy (DOE) and European Union (EU) harmonized protocols, and to an amperometric conditioning protocol. The time to reach peak power density using cathode starvation conditioning is <10% of the time required for DOE, EU, and amperometric protocols. Conditioned MEAs were subjected to accelerated degradation by cycling the cell voltage between 0.6 V and open-circuit voltage under low relative humidity. Degradation was found to be caused by loss of electrochemical surface area of the cathode, which in turn increases the charge transfer resistance of the MEA. MEAs conditioned using cathode starvation experienced only a 15% loss in performance; in contrast to 19, 17 and 17% losses in performance caused by the DOE, EU, and amperometric protocols, respectively.
This paper aims to address the use of hybrid renewable energy sources to supply power to the base... more This paper aims to address the use of hybrid renewable energy sources to supply power to the base station, hence to enhance the minimum Operational Expenditure (OPEX) and alleviate the effect of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) which are detrimental to the environment and human health at large. Using Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) software for simulation and optimization, we discovered that we can reduce the carbon emission by over 87.47%, and the total fossil fuel consumption by over 10,400 litres annually. Hence, it is safe to conclude that the existing (diesel-only) system for powering the Base Station (BS) though, has the least initial capital cost, in the end, it has the highest Net Present Cost (NPC) and cost of energy per kilowatt over the life span of the BS.