Fuel cell design and control method to facilitate self heating through catalytic combustion of anode exhaust

摘要

A fuel cell system that provides a flow of anode exhaust gas into the cathode side of the fuel cells without allowing the anode exhaust gas flow and the cathode input flow to mix in a large volume. In one embodiment, strategically positioned perforations in the MEAs allow the anode exhaust gas to cross over to the cathode channels near the cathode input. These perforations could be provided as an array of small holes in an MEA sub-gasket or an MEA carrier frame. In an alternate embodiment, openings are provided through the bipolar plates that allow the anode exhaust to flow into the cathode channels. This configuration would require a special anode half-plate at one end of the stack to provide the opening.