Effect of orthohydrogen–parahydrogen composition on performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The effect of orthohydrogen–parahydrogen concentration on the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell is calculated and experimentally investigated. Gibbs free energy and reversible cell potential calculations predict that parahydrogen at room temperature produces a voltage 20 mV/cell higher than normal hydrogen and a 1.6% increase in efficiency over normal hydrogen. Experimental data based on a 1 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell rapidly switched between normal and parahydrogen did not show a statistically significant difference in performance. Variations due to stack humidity and anode purging are found to dominate fuel cell output. The experimental results confirm that, as anticipated, parahydrogen concentration has a negligible impact on fuel cell performance for the majority of practical applications.