Patent · US Active

Fuel cell with electroosmotic pump

US7799453B2 · kind B2 · utility

1Cited by

9References

47Claims

0Family size

Assignees

Inventors

Juan G. Santiago · Fremont, US
Jonathan Posner · Seattle, US
Friedrich B. Prinz · Stanford, US
Tibor Fabian · Mountain View, US
John Eaton · Houston, US
Suk-Won Cha · Stanford, US
Cullen Richard Buie · Cambridge, US
Daejoogn Kim · Stanford, US
Hideaki Tsuru · Mountain View, US
Jun Sasahara · Saitama, JP
Tadahiro Kubota · Asaka, JP
Yuji Saito · Tokyo, JP

Key dates

Filing date	Aug 4, 2004
Grant date	Sep 21, 2010
Priority date	—
Expiry date	May 24, 2028

Classification

Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
CPC primaryY02E60/50
WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Water flooding at the cathode of a fuel cell is a common problem in fuel cells. By integrating an electroosmotic (EO) pump to remove product water from the cathode area, fuel cell power can be increased. Integration of EO pumps transforms the designs of air channel and air breathing cathodes, reducing air pumping power loads and increasing oxidant transport. Hydration of gas streams, management of liquid reactants, and oxidant delivery can also be accomplished with integrated electroosmotic pumps. Electroosmotic pumps have no moving parts, can be integrated as a layer of the fuel cell, and scale with centimeter to micron scale fuel cells.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.