Real-time gas analyser can provide detailed data on fuel cell processes, revealing any chemical impurities in incoming fuels, processed feeds and reformer output
Agilent Technologies Europe has announced a method for fast analysis of fuel cell processes using the Agilent 5000A real-time gas analyser, which offers response times as fast as two to five seconds.
The 5000A real-time gas analyser can provide quick, detailed qualitative and quantitative data on fuel cell processes, revealing any chemical impurities in incoming fuels, processed feeds and reformer output.
Such impurities can significantly degrade fuel cell performance.
Monitoring impurities is particularly important for hydrocarbon-based fuels such as natural gas -- the primary source of hydrogen needed to power fuel cells in the foreseeable future.
Natural gas fuels can contain naturally occurring contaminants, including hydrogen sulphide and odorants such as mercaptans or tetrahydrothiophene. These compounds are detrimental to subsystems within the fuel processor and to the fuel cell stacks.
The Agilent 5000A real-time gas analyser, based on the Agilent 5973N mass selective detector, can monitor and quantify low-level sulphur species and gas odorants in high hydrogen content feeds, hydrocarbons, and natural gas down to parts-per-billion levels.
The analyser can also monitor other impurities and reactants that may be encountered in fuel cell systems, including ammonia, halides, methane, carbon dioxide and water.
Such information is critical to fuel cell developers challenged with optimising fuel clean-up processes and to the development of better catalytic materials throughout the fuel cell system.
The analyser is also useful in evaluating new anode materials and membrane electrode assemblies. For further information, request Agilent application note 'Chemical analysis in fuel cell systems: application of the Agilent 5000A real-time gas analyser for monitoring low-level sulphur', publication number 5988-7736EN.
This note is available without charge from any Agilent sales office or its website (link above).
