196results about "Fuel cells disposal/recycling" patented technology

The Manclaw-Harrison Fuel Cell is a new Environmentally SAFE Fuel Cell (Lead Free, Acid Free, Mercury Free and has No Heavy Metals), and as such, it sets the definition of a new Class of Fuel Cell device because it has been verified to be a Non-Faraday device, making it the first such device discovered in the past 160+ years. See the “Preamble” for a more technical explanation.

A method for recovering and recycling catalyst coated fuel cell membranes includes dissolving the used membranes in water and solvent, heating the dissolved membranes under pressure and separating the components. Active membranes are produced from the recycled materials.

The invention relates to a method for treating all types of lithium anode cells and batteries by means of a hydrometallurgical process at room temperature. The treatment method enables cells and batteries comprising a metallic lithium-based anode or an anode containing lithium incorporated in an anodic insertion compound to be treated under safe conditions, thus enabling the metallic casings, electrode contacts, cathode metal oxides and lithium salts to be separated and recovered.

The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of a PEM fuel cell can be recycled by contacting the MEA with a lower alkyl alcohol solvent which separates the membrane from the anode and cathode layers of the assembly. The resulting solution containing both the polymer membrane and supported noble metal catalysts can be heated under mild conditions to disperse the polymer membrane as particles and the supported noble metal catalysts and polymer membrane particles separated by known filtration means.

The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of a PEM fuel cell is recycled by contacting the MEA with a lower alkyl alcohol solvent which separates the membrane from the anode and cathode layers of the assembly.

An apparatus and method for transporting used, damaged, or defective galvanic cells while impeding and combating safety-critical states of the galvanic cells, in particular lithium-ion-based cells and/or lithium-ion polymer cells, includes an outer container, which defines a space, an inner container being arranged in the space. The inner container has spacers in order to maintain a distance from the bottom and inner faces of the outer container, an accommodating container for accommodating at least on galvanic cell being arranged in the inner container, free intermediate spaces being filled with a fire protection agent composed of inert, non-conductive, non-flammable, absorbent hollow glass granular material.

The invention is a method of reducing catalyst dissolution in the cathode of a membrane electrode assembly fuel cell, said method comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a membrane electrode assembly comprising an anode, a cathode and a polymer electrolyte membrane interposed between said anode and said cathode; (b) assembling a fuel cell using said membrane electrode assembly; (c) applying a fluid comprising an oxidant to said cathode of said membrane electrode assembly; (d) applying a fluid comprising a fuel to said anode of said membrane electrode assembly; and (e) supplying a sufficient quantity of reducing agent to said cathode to maintain the average open-circuit voltage of said cathode at less than about 0.98 V.

The invention provides a recovery method of key materials of membrane electrode assembly for fuel cells. The recovery method adopts concentrated sulfuric acid, concentrated nitric acid, or mixed acid of the concentrated sulfuric acid and the concentrated nitric acid in any proportion to treat waste membrane electrode assemblies, and is characterized in that acting force between proton exchange resin molecular chains in proton exchange membranes and catalyst layers is reduced by acid treatment, thereby separating the proton exchange resin molecular chains to scatter in acid to form a solution, catalyst noble metals can be sufficiently isolated by carbon carriers of oxidization supported catalysts, and additionally, gas diffusion layer materials (carbon paper or carbon fabric) can be isolated. The recovery method includes steps of (1) after cleaning, drying and shredding, immersing used membrane electrode assembly in the acid for further stirring and heating, (2) using NaOH solution to neutralize excess acid after reaction, and (3) isolating proton exchange resin solution, noble metal catalyst or gas diffusion layer materials. The recovery method has the advantages of simple operation, high recovery rate, low cost and the like.

The invention provides a battery device and a method for packaging, disassembling, and recycling the battery device, wherein the anode conductive element is disposed in a reaction trough frame with a bump thereof protruding from the frame; two sets of the cathode conductive elements cover on a first opening and a second opening of the reaction trough frame, respectively, so as to form a reaction region for accommodating electrolyte therein; and a metallic fastener is disposed on surfaces of the cathode conductive elements and the reaction trough frame and fastened with a buckling member. The invention provides a simple structure that can be packaged rapidly, disassembled and recycled to thereby overcome the drawbacks of conventional batteries.

Respective heaters 21 through 24 receive power supply and start heating. The heaters 21 through 24 keep heating sealing layers 8 to or over a softening temperature at which the sealing layers 8 are softened or molten. After the sealing layers 8 are softened or molten to weaken the adhesive force between a pair of separators 6 and 7, the heaters 21 through 24 are detached from a fuel cell 10. The worker then completely separates the pair of separators 6 and 7 from each other with some tool or by hand and removes an MEA 2 from the fuel cell 10.

The invention relates to a process for recycling fuel cell components containing fluorine-containing and precious metal-containing constituents: in this process, the fluorine-containing constituents are separated off from the precious metal-containing constituents by treatment with a medium present in the supercritical state. Preference is given to using water as supercritical medium. After the fluorine-containing constituents have been separated off, the precious metal-containing residues can be recovered in a recycling process without harmful fluorine or hydrogen fluoride emissions. The fluorine-containing constituents can likewise be recovered. The process is used in the recovery of precious metals and/or fluorine-containing constituents from membrane fuel cells, electrolysis cells, batteries, sensors and other electrochemical devices.

Process to recover ruthenium in the form of ruthenium halide, particularly ruthenium chloride, from a ruthenium-containing supported catalyst material comprising:

• a) chemically decomposing the ruthenium-containing supported catalyst material;
• b) producing a raw ruthenium salt solution;
• c) purifying the raw ruthenium salt solution and optionally stripping gaseous ruthenium tetroxide from the raw ruthenium salt solution; and
• d) treating the purified ruthenium compound obtained in c), particularly the ruthenium tetroxide, with hydrogen halide or hydrohalic acid to obtain ruthenium halide, particularly with hydrogen chloride or hydrochloric acid to obtain ruthenium chloride.

A process of disassembling a fuel cell 10 supplies a fluid to both a fuel gas conduit 6g and an oxidizing gas conduit 7g. Since outlets of the respective gas conduits 6g and 7g are shielded, the internal pressure or in-passage pressure of the respective gas conduits 6g and 7g gradually rises and eventually exceeds a specific in-passage pressure level for power generation of the fuel cell 10. The high in-passage pressure expands a gas diffusion electrode 4b of a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) 2 and a separator 6, which define the fuel gas conduit 6g, in opposite directions to make a clearance between the gas diffusion electrode 4b and the separator 6. Similarly the high in-passage pressure expands a gas diffusion electrode 5b of the MEA 2 and a separator 7, which define the oxidizing gas conduit 7g, in opposite directions to make a clearance between the gas diffusion electrode 5b and the separator 7. The supplied fluid then flows out through these clearances into seals between the separators 6 and 7 and the MEA 2. These flows raise the in-passage pressure and release the seals.

The invention relates to a recycling method of a vanadium flow battery electrolyte. According to the method, the electrolyte of the flow battery of which the capacity fades after charge and discharge use is taken as a raw material, a reducing agent or an oxidizing agent is added to the raw material after pretreatment, the concentration of vanadium ions in the electrolyte is adjusted and the electrolyte can be repeatedly recycled. A waste electrolyte is pretreated, a proper reducing agent or oxidizing agent is added to the waste electrolyte and the concentration of the vanadium ions in the electrolyte is adjusted, so that the problem of recycling of the waste electrolyte is finally solved and efficient utilization of the electrolyte is achieved. The recycling method is simple in process, simple and convenient to operate, simple and available in raw material, low in cost and significant in effect.

The invention relates to a rapid activation method for a film electrode of a proton exchange film fuel cell and an application of the rapid activation method, and aims to enable the film electrode toreach an optimal state in a shorter time. The rapid activation method is continuous high-frequency variable-voltage forced activation in which voltage is linearly reduced at a constant rate. Comparedwith a constant-current activation mode in the prior art, an activation mode provided is simple and feasible, the activation time can be obviously shortened, and the activation mode has important significance for improving activation efficiency of the fuel cell, saving energy and reducing emission.

The invention relates to a recovery method of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell, belonging to the field of resource recycling. The method comprises disassembly of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell, dissolution of a perfluorosulfonic acid (Nafion) membrane and regeneration of a cast membrane, oxidative complexation and purification of platinum, finally obtaining a bipolar plate, regeneratingthe Nafion membrane and the platinum ingot. The invention adopts organic solvent to dissolve and recover high-value Nafion membrane, avoids fluoride pollution caused by traditional direct incineration, and has remarkable economic benefit; Platinum ingots with purity over 99.99% are obtained by cationic resin adsorption and pyrometallurgical refining. The process is short and no pollutant is discharged, so it is suitable for industrial application.

One embodiment provides a method for predicting maintenance of a redox flow battery, the method including: receiving, from a plurality of sensors, data regarding characteristics of the redox flow battery; weighting, using a processor, each of the characteristics to form an estimated state parameter for the redox flow battery; and determining, using the processor, a maintenance action for the redox flow battery using the estimated state parameter. Other aspects are described and claimed.

The invention provides a method for recycling vanadium electrolytic solution. The method comprises the steps of determining the concentration of all-vanadium ion in the high valence vanadium positive electrolytic solution C1 and V<5+> concentration c11; adding V205, wherein the quantity of V205 substance n1 is determined by C1, V1, concentration of vanadium ion of target electrolyte solution C2 and volume V2; adding reductant to conduct reduction reaction; measuring the concentration of sulfate radical in the solution after reduction reaction CS1 and volume V1-2; adding vitriol, wherein the quantity of vitriol substance n2 is determined by CS1, V1-2, V2 and concentration of sulfate radical needed by target electrolyte solution; adding water into the solution after vitriol is added to obtain the target electrolyte solution with the volume V2. According to the method for recycling vanadium electrolytic solution, waste electrolyte solution can be recycled and treated in batches, recycling of the electrolytic solution is achieved, moreover, the method is simple to operate. The vanadium electrolytic solution can be treated nearby, and is beneficial to prolonging operational cycle of the vanadium battery.

There is disclosed a fuel cell system in which a poisoned electrode catalyst can be recovered while meeting a demand for an output power. When a controller detects that an electrode catalyst is positioned, the controller derives a target operation point adequate for recovering a function of the poisoned electrode catalyst to realize shift of an operation point so that the output power is kept constant. Specifically, an FC voltage is controlled using a DC/DC converter, and an amount of an oxidizing gas to be fed from an oxidizing gas supply source is adjusted, thereby controlling an FC current.