METHOD FOR REUSING CURRENT COLLECTORS/DISTRIBUTORS OF SOLID POLYMER ELECTROLYTE FUEL CELL STACKS

摘要

The method for reusing current collectors/distributors is employed in an electrochemical generator (1, 20) comprising a multiplicity of elementary cells (2, 21) assembled in a filter-press configuration and comprising an array of conductive sheets (3) and of current collectors/distributors (7, 22). The method of the invention provides disassembling the electrochemical generator (1) once the presence of a damaged elementary cell (2, 21) is detected. Subsequently, the method of the invention provides repairing/replacing the damaged cell for later reassembling the electrochemical generator (1, 20) reusing the original current collectors/distributors (7,22). To achieve this, while reassembling the electrochemical generator (1, 20), a mechanical means for adapting (8, 12, 13, 14, 15) is inserted between each conductive sheet (3) and the respective current collector/distributor (7, 21). Such mechanical means may consist in metallic meshes, metallic textiles, interwoven fibres, foraminous sheets or expanded sheets, thin sealing gaskets, sealing gaskets provided with sealing rings on a surface thereof, sealing gaskets made of an elastic material with low elasticity modulus.