Introduction

DIEGO FEROLDI; MARTA BASUALDO

PEM Fuel Cells with Bio-Ethanol Processor systems

Springer

Año: 2010;

The use of Fuel Cell based Systems is advantageous because of the high efficiency in the energy conversion and the null emissions of these electrochemical devices. In this chapter, a general overview of Fuel Cell Systems is provided. Special emphasis is placed in PEM Fuel Cell (PEMFC) Systems because of the important benefits of technology. First, the main concepts about different fuel cell technologies are introduced, focusing in PEMFC Important issues like operation, efficiency  and working temperature of each type of fuel cells are covered. Then, an introduction to the control and diagnosis of PEMFC Systems is provided.  Later, the Fuel Cell Hybrid Systems are introduced and described, showing the important advantages of hybridization and energy management. Since the PEMFC needs to be fed with high quality hydrogen the problematic related to hydrogen production for an on board implementation is addressed at the end of this chapter.  Therefore, topics such as design, modeling, simulation, control and fault diagnosis are briefly introduced here and covered in detail in the rest of the chapters of this book.