Degradation of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) can be accelerated by impurities in the air. In maritime environments in particular, sodium chloride (NaCl) can reduce the performance of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) in PEMFCs. In this context, we experimentally analyzed effect of flow channel depth on PEMFCs humidified with a NaCl solution at the cathode side. The analysis was conducted in serpentine flow channels with different depths of 0.4, 0.8, and 1.6 mm. The initial performance of unit cells was compared to their performance after applying a constant current for 10 hours. Results showed that the degradation rate correlated positively with the flow-channel depth. Channel depths of 0.4 and 1.6 mm resulted in 2.4% and 7.3% decreases in the maximum power density, respectively. For the 1.6 mm channel depth, the activation loss after 10 hours was larger than the initial loss.

In this study, we developed and evaluated a simple device for removing ionic impurities that affect the performance of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) in a marine environment. In such environments, PEMFCs may experience performance degradation due to the presence of Na+ and Cl- in the air. To address this issue, the decontamination device was designed with both heating and cooling components. This device was positioned between a humidifier containing NaCl solution and a humidifier containing deionized water, both connected on the cathode side. The decontamination device effectively removed impurities (Na+ and Cl-) during experiments. As a result, the electrochemical performance of the fuel cell with the decontamination device improved compared to that of the fuel cell without it. Notably, the activation resistance and electrochemical surface area were significantly enhanced, and the ohmic resistance also improved when compared to the fuel cell without the decontamination device.