Development of some exergetic parameters for PEM fuel cells for measuring environmental impact and sustainability
Adnan Mi̇di̇lli̇a b✉, İbrahim Dinçerc d
- aEnergy Division, Mechanical Engineering Dept., Nigde University, 51100 Nigde, Turkey
- bEnergy Division, Mechanical Engineering Department, Nigde University, 51100, Nigde, Turkey
- cFaculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada L1H 7K4
- dFaculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario, Institute of Technology, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada L1H 7K4
- ✉Corresponding author
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Abstract
This paper presents some new exergy-based parameters for PEM fuel cells to study how some of their operating aspects and system characteristics affect the environment and sustainability, based on some actual and literature data. The exergetic parameters of a PEM fuel cell developed here, in conjunction with environmental impact and sustainable development, are exergy efficiency, exergetic stability factor, environmental benign index and exergetic sustainability index. Any increase in efficiency improves exergetic sustainability. However, any increase in waste exergy ratio, exergy destruction factor, environmental destruction coefficient and environmental destruction index results in an increasing environmental impact of the PEM fuel cell and hence, a decreasing sustainability. Such parameters are expected to quantify how PEM fuel cells become more environmentally benign and sustainable.