ELECTROCHEMICAL APPARATUS

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent damage to an electrolyte membrane as much as possible by satisfactorily reducing the pressure of a seal groove communicating with a second flow path having high pressure in the reduction of the high pressure of the second flow path.

SOLUTION: A unit cell 12 constituting a water hydrolysis apparatus 10 has an electrolyte membrane-electrode structure 32 sandwiched between an anode side separator 34 and a cathode side separator 36. A first flow path 54 which is supplied with water is formed in the anode side separator 34 and a second flow path 58 which produces high-pressure hydrogen through an electrolysis of the water is formed in the cathode side separator 36. A first seal groove 62a which extends around the second flow path 58 and into which the first seal member 64a is inserted is provided. The first seal groove 62a and the second flow path 58 communicate with each other through a passageway 66. The passageway 66 keeps the second flow path 58 and the first seal groove 62a in direct fluid communication with each other in bypassing relation of a boundary part between the cathode side separator 36 and a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 38.

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