International Journal of Exergy, vol.43, no.2, pp.163-176, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
In this research, thermodynamic analysis of a PEMFC operating at constant temperature (303 K) and pressure (3 atm) with 50 cm2 active surface area was performed, considering the changes in thermal efficiency, exergy destruction, and exergy efficiency when using nafion polymer membranes of different thicknesses (0.0051, 0.0089, 0.0127, and 0.0183 cm). It is observed that the exergy efficiency was lower for a thicker membrane. The exergy efficiency of the system for NF-1135 was 35.93% meanwhile 30.67% for NF-117. Ascending the membrane thickness (MT) from 0.0089 to 0.0183 cm descended the exergy efficiency by 10.31% and thermal efficiency by 12.09%.