Separator for fuel cell and fuel cell including the same

Abstract

There are provided a separator for a fuel cell and a fuel cell including the same able to enhance the horizontal distribution of fuel or an oxidizing agent and secure an effective flow area, the separator including: a separator body; a first intake manifold provided at one end portion of the separator body; a second intake manifold provided at the other end portion of the separator body to be partitioned from the first intake manifold; a first exhaust manifold provided outwardly of the second intake manifold at the other end portion of the separator body; and a second exhaust manifold provided outwardly of the first intake manifold at one end portion of the separator body to be partitioned from the first exhaust manifold.

Claims

1. A separator for a fuel cell, comprising: a separator body; a first intake manifold provided at one end portion of the separator body; a second intake manifold provided at the other end portion of the separator body to be partitioned from the first intake manifold; a first exhaust manifold provided outwardly of the second intake manifold at the other end portion of the separator body; and a second exhaust manifold provided outwardly of the first intake manifold at one end portion of the separator body to be partitioned from the first exhaust manifold, wherein the first intake manifold and the second exhaust manifold are arranged in separate rows in a longitudinal direction perpendicular to a width direction of the separator body at one end portion of the separator body, and the second intake manifold and the first exhaust manifold are arranged in separate rows in the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the width direction of the separator body at the other end portion of the separator body, wherein the first exhaust manifold and the second exhaust manifold are elongated in the width direction of the separator body.

2. The separator for a fuel cell of claim 1, wherein the separator body is provided with one or more of the first and second intake manifolds.

3. The separator for a fuel cell of claim 2, wherein the separator body has a circulation path between the first intake manifold and the first exhaust manifold in the interior thereof.

4. The separator for a fuel cell of claim 1, wherein the separator body has a circulation path between the first intake manifold and the first exhaust manifold in the interior thereof.

5. A fuel cell comprising one or more unit cells stacked therein, wherein the unit cell includes the separator for a fuel cell of claim 1, the separator comprising a plurality of separators, and the separators for a fuel cell are stacked to intersect perpendicularly to allow fuel or an oxidizing agent to intersect and circulate.

6. A fuel cell of claim 5, wherein the separator body has a circulation path between the first intake manifold and the first exhaust manifold in the interior thereof.

7. The fuel cell of claim 6, wherein the circulation path allows a gas supplied by the first intake manifold to pass between the second intake manifolds and be discharged through the first exhaust manifold.

8. The fuel cell of claim 5, wherein the second intake manifold of the separator is connected to a first intake manifold of another separator by sealing, and the second exhaust manifold of the separator is connected to a first exhaust manifold of another separator by sealing.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the operation of a fuel cell using a co-flow scheme according to the related art;

(2) FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the operation of a fuel cell using a counter-flow scheme according to the related art;

(3) FIG. 3 is a view illustrating the operation of a fuel cell using a cross-flow scheme according to the related art;

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fuel cell using a cross-shift flow scheme according to the related art;

(5) FIG. 5 is a plan view of an odd-numbered separator of a fuel cell using a cross-shift flow scheme according to the related art;

(6) FIG. 6 is a plan view of an even-numbered separator of a fuel cell using a cross-shift flow scheme according to the related art;

(7) FIG. 7 is a plan view of a modified separator of a fuel cell using a cross-shift flow scheme according to the related art;

(8) FIG. 8 is a plan view of another modified separator of a fuel cell using a cross-shift flow scheme according to the related art;

(9) FIG. 9 is a view illustrating an effective flow area of a fuel cell using a cross-shift flow scheme according to the related art;

(10) FIG. 10 is a plan view of a separator for a fuel cell according to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure;

(11) FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a reaction region of a separator for a fuel cell according to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure; and

(12) FIG. 12 is a plan view of a separator for a fuel cell according to another exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(13) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The disclosure may, however, be exemplified in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the specific embodiments set forth herein. In the drawings, the shapes and dimensions of elements may be exaggerated for clarity, and the same reference numerals will be used throughout to designate the same or like elements.

(14) FIG. 10 is a plan view of a separator for a fuel cell according to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure.

(15) Referring to FIG. 10, a fuel cell 100 according to the present embodiment may be provided with one or more unit cells stacked therein. For example, the fuel cell 100 may have a stack structure in which separators and cells are alternately stacked in order of a separator, a cell, a separator, a cell and so on.

(16) Such a unit cell may include one or more separators 110 and 120 and may generate energy through the oxidation-reduction reaction of fuel and an oxidizing agent supplied to the separators 110 and 120.

(17) In the fuel cell 100 according to the present embodiment, the separators 110 and 120 of the unit cells may be alternately stacked, wherein even-numbered separators may be connected to each other and odd-numbered separators may be connected to each other.

(18) In addition, the fuel cell 100 according to the present embodiment may be a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) by way of example.

(19) Such unit cells used in the fuel cell 100 may be stacked and connected to each other so as to increase the amount of voltage supplied thereto.

(20) The fuel cell 100 may include an electrolyte membrane provided to separate the fuel from the oxidizing agent in the separators, and an anode and a cathode provided on both sides of the separators based on the electrolyte membrane, besides the separators 110 and 120 for separately supplying and discharging the fuel and the oxidizing agent.

(21) More specifically, the fuel cell 100 according to the present embodiment may include the separator 110 to which the fuel is supplied, and the separator 110 for fuel may be associated with the separator 120 to which the oxidizing agent is supplied.

(22) The separator 110 for fuel and the separator 120 for the oxidizing agent may be provided to intersect in directions perpendicular to each other, and accordingly, the fuel or the oxidizing agent may be supplied while intersecting and circulating in the directions perpendicular to each other.

(23) Meanwhile, the separator 110 or 120 may include a flat plate which is a separator body having a circulation path for guiding the flow of the fuel or the oxidizing agent in the interior thereof.

(24) In addition, one end portions of the separator bodies of the separators 110 and 120 may be provided with first intake manifolds 112 and 122 to which a gas, namely, the fuel or the oxidizing agent is supplied.

(25) Furthermore, the other end portions of the separator bodies of the separators 110 and 120 may be provided with second intake manifolds 116 and 126 which are partitioned from the first intake manifolds 112 and 122. The second intake manifolds 116 and 126 may be provided at the other end portions of the separator bodies to be sealed by using a sealing member or the like, and accordingly, the second intake manifolds 116 and 126 do not supply the gases to the separators 110 and 120, but supply the gases to other separators 110 and 120 connected thereto through first intake manifolds 112 and 122 of the other separators 110 and 120.

(26) In addition, the other end portions of the separators 110 and 120, which are opposing regions in which the gases reach after passing through an effective reaction region of the cell, may be provided with first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 from which the gases supplied by the first intake manifolds 112 and 122 are discharged after passing between the second intake manifolds 116 and 126.

(27) Furthermore, one end portions of the separator bodies of the separators 110 and 120 may be provided with second exhaust manifolds 118 and 128, outwardly of the first intake manifolds 112 and 122, as spaces partitioned from the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124.

(28) In addition, the second exhaust manifolds 118 and 128 may be provided outwardly of the first intake manifolds 112 and 122 at one end portions of the separator bodies of the separators 110 and 120 to be sealed by using a sealing member or the like. The second exhaust manifolds 118 and 128 may be connected to first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 of other separators 110 and 120 connected thereto, and accordingly, without the discharge of the gases to the separators 110 and 120, the second exhaust manifolds 118 and 128 may be connected to the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 of the other separators 110 and 120 connected thereto to discharge the gases.

(29) According to the present embodiment, one or more first intake manifolds 112 and 122 may be provided at one end portions of the separator bodies. Preferably, according to the present embodiment, two first intake manifolds 112 and 122 may be provided to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval.

(30) Furthermore, the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 may be formed at the other end portions of the separator bodies to be elongated in the width direction of the separator bodies. That is, the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124, according to the present embodiment, may be provided in the form of a hole, and may be provided as a long slot elongated in the width direction.

(31) Therefore, the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 may rapidly discharge the fuel or the oxidizing agent that has undergone an electrochemical reaction in the interior of the cell to the second exhaust manifolds 118 and 128, and the biased flow or the like may be prevented. Without the occurrence of a bottleneck phenomenon, a flow restriction may be minimized.

(32) Meanwhile, the second intake manifolds 116 and 126 may be provided inwardly of the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 and may be connected to first intake manifolds 112 and 122 of other separators 110 and 120. Such second intake manifolds 116 and 126 may be provided as paths for supplying the fuel or the oxidizing agent to the first intake manifolds 112 and 122 of the other separators 110 and 120.

(33) In addition, the second exhaust manifolds 118 and 128 may be provided outwardly of the first intake manifolds 112 and 122 and may be connected to the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 of the other separators 110 and 120.

(34) As described above, according to the present embodiment, both end portions of the separator bodies may be provided with the second exhaust manifolds 118 and 128 and the first intake manifolds 112 and 122 arranged in two rows and the second intake manifolds 116 and 126 and the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 arranged in two rows.

(35) Therefore, the gases, namely, the fuel or the oxidizing agent, supplied by the first intake manifolds 112 and 122 may pass through spaces between the second intake manifolds 116 and 126 to be discharged through the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124.

(36) Meanwhile, according to the present embodiment, the fuel may include gaseous hydrogen. In addition, the oxidizing agent may include gaseous oxygen.

(37) Furthermore, pure oxygen may be used as the gaseous oxygen. In the present embodiment, air containing oxygen may also be used.

(38) Meanwhile, according to the present embodiment, the separators 110 and 120 may be stacked together with adjacent other separators 110 and 120, while having the electrolyte membranes interposed therebetween.

(39) At this time, the fuel may be circulated to one separator 110 and the oxidizing agent may be circulated to the other separator 120. Here, the electrolyte membrane may block the permeation of the fuel and the oxidizing agent, have no electronic conductivity and allow oxygen ions or hydrogen ions to be permeated therethrough.

(40) Therefore, through an electrochemical reaction between the fuel passing through one cell and the oxidizing agent passing through the other cell, the hydrogen ions of the fuel or the oxygen ions of the oxidizing agent may pass through the electrolyte membrane to trigger an oxidation-reduction reaction to thereby produce water (H.sub.2O), and during this procedure, electrons are generated. Such a reaction is represented by the following chemical formula 1 or chemical formula 2:
Cathode:½O.sub.2+2e.sup.−O.sup.−2
Anode:O.sup.−2+H.sub.2H.sub.2O+2e.sup.−  [Chemical Formula 1]
Cathode:½O.sub.2+2H.sup.+.fwdarw.H.sub.2O
Anode:H.sub.2.fwdarw.2H.sup.++2e.sup.−  [Chemical Formula 2]

(41) The fuel cell 100, according to the exemplary embodiment, may improve the flow distribution in the horizontal direction, without a reduction in the effective flow area of the gases, the fuel or the oxidizing agent, supplied by the first intake manifolds 112 and 122 of the separators 110 and 120, to thereby increase the actual circulation flow. Thus, the fuel utilization rate and reactivity may be improved.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(42) FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a reaction region of a separator for a fuel cell according to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure.

(43) Meanwhile, according to the present embodiment, the separators 110 and 120 for the fuel cell 100 may have a reaction region formed while the gases introduced into the first intake manifolds 112 and 122 are being discharged through the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124.

(44) In the fuel cell 100 according to the exemplary embodiment, the separators 110 and 120 may have the first intake manifolds 112 and 122 and the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 corresponding thereto, wherein the gas from the first intake manifolds 112 may be discharged through a single first exhaust manifold 114 and the gas from the first intake manifolds 122 may be discharged through a single first exhaust manifold 124, and may have the second intake manifolds 116 and 126 and the second exhaust manifolds 118 and 128 connected to the first intake manifolds 112 and 122 and the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 of other separators 110 and 120, respectively. However, the present inventive concept is not limited thereto, and various modifications may be made.

(45) For example, referring to FIG. 12, the fuel or the oxidizing agent introduced into three first intake manifolds 112 or 122 of the separators 110 or 120 of the fuel cell 100, which are connected to second intake manifolds 116 or 126 of other separators 110 or 120 thereof, may be discharged through a single first exhaust manifold 114 or 124. In addition, the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 may be connected to second exhaust manifolds 118 and 128 of the other separators 110 or 120, respectively.

(46) As described above, according to the present embodiment, the first intake manifolds 112 and 122 and the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124 may be sequentially arranged in two rows, unlike the alternate arrangement according to the related art, such that the fuel or the oxidizing agent is supplied in the front row, passes through the reaction region, and then the reacted fuel or oxidizing agent is discharged in the rear row.

(47) In addition, the separators 110 and 120 may be provided to intersect perpendicularly, and accordingly, for example, the fuel may be circulated in one separator 110 while the oxidizing agent may be circulated in the other separator 120 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of fuel circulation.

(48) Furthermore, the separators 110 and 120 may be provided with guide protrusions 119 for guiding the circulation of the fuel or the oxidizing agent.

(49) Meanwhile, according to the present embodiment, the connections of the manifolds provided in the fuel cell 100 are illustrated to help in visualization thereof, but are not limited thereto and may be modified in various manners. For example, the manifolds may be connected below the separators. Specifically, the first intake manifolds 112 and 122, the first exhaust manifolds 114 and 124, the second intake manifolds 126 and 128 and the second exhaust manifolds 118 and 128 of the separators 110 and 120 may be connected below other separators 110 and 120, while passing through other separators.

(50) While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations could be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.