Problematic
Globally, the need for energy is rapidly growing and it is thus necessary to develop new solutions for the energy production in order to satisfy this demand. Actually, renewable energy sources are more and more used to meet this demand; nevertheless they cannot ensure a stable energy production. However, the electrochemical energy storage, in the form of hydrogen, can be used to overcome the fluctuations caused by the weather conditions. Fuel cells, such as Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC), produce electricity and heat from dihydrogen and oxygen, whereas the only by-product is water. The redox reactions involved are catalyzed by the platinum nanoparticles present in the electrodes of the PEMFC. Taking into account the cost of this metal and its limited resources, it is necessary to develop an efficient recycling process for the end-of-life fuel cells.
The main objective of this work is to study the feasibility of the recycling of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) of the PEMFC and to assess the environmental impact of this process.
The major part of this research is devoted to the laboratory development and optimization of the Pt particles recovery process from the electrodes of the PEM fuel cells.
PhD Student: Lucien DUCLOS
Grenoble University, Octobre 2013 – Octobre 2016
Directors: Guillaume MANDIL (GSCOP), Pierre-Xavier THIVEL and Lenka SVECOVA (LEPMI), Valérie LAFOREST (Mines Saint-Etienne).
Partners:
Research Process
Expected Results
Finally, based on the experimental results and the LCA analysis some guidelines can be proposed to improve the fuel cells’ design in order to facilitate the recycling step at their end-of-life.