Professional Documents
Culture Documents
www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhydene
Abstract
Life-cycle assessment is a useful instrument to evaluate the ecological performance of innovative energy systems. This
paper investigates the production process of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) stacks, identies the ecological contributions of various components and materials and compares the results with impacts due to utilization of the stacks in a
vehicle (i.e. hydrogen or methanol production and direct emissions). The production of fuel cell stacks leads to environmental impacts which cannot be neglected compared to the utilization of the stacks in a vehicle (the actual driving process). These impacts are mainly caused by the platinum group metals for the catalyst and, to a lesser degree, the materials
and energy for the
ow eld plates. The paper identies several options how to further enhance the environmental advantages of fuel cells. ? 2000 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.
Keywords: Fuel cells; Stack; Life cycle assessment; LCA; Polymer electrolyte fuel cell; Proton exchange membrane fuel cell; PEFC;
PEMFC; Hydrogen; Methanol; Platinum; PGM
1. Introduction
Before innovative energy systems are introduced into the
market, a thorough investigation of technical, ecological and
economic aspects is necessary. The ecological investigation
should take into account the full life cycle of that system.
In the past, for instance, it has been doubted that solar cells
have a positive total energy balance, meaning that they produce more energy in their lifetime than is required for their
production. Only detailed investigations into the energy need
and the dierent environmental aspects of the various production steps showed that the energy balance is positive and
that energy payback times on the order of several years only
can be expected [1].
Fuel cells are a future energy system with a high potential for environmentally benign energy production. Fuel
cells can be used in stationary as well as mobile applications. Depending on the type of fuel cells, stationary applications include small residential, medium-sized cogeneration
or large power plant applications. In the mobile sector, fuel
0360-3199/01/$ 20.00 ? 2000 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 6 0 - 3 1 9 9 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 5 3 - 7
92
portable applications, kilowatt systems for residential heating and hundreds of kilowatt systems for combined heat and
power production (CHP).
The high eciency can lead to a signicant reduction of
fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition,
the electrochemical nature of the reaction, the low temperature in reforming steps and the necessity to remove impurities in the fuel (such as sulfur) result in extremely low local
emissions an important feature especially in highly populated areas. Because of their good dynamic response, PEFC
are particularly suitable for mobile applications, and the
high power-to-heat ratio increases the economically attractive electricity output in cogeneration applications. Finally,
the
exibility regarding possible fuels with secondary energy carriers produced from natural gas, coal, crude oil as
well as biomass, solar energy and other renewable energy
sources being suitable primary energy carriers places fuel
cells in a hybrid position between fossil and renewable
fuels.
3. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of future energy systems
LCA is a tool for the assessment of potential environmental impacts of products and services along the
whole life cycle (cradle-to-grave approach), from the
exploration of materials and fuels to the production of
the investigated objects and the disposal=recycling of the
objects. The LCA basically consists of four steps: the
Goal and Scope Denition in which the investigated
product, the data sources and system boundaries are described and the functional unit i.e. the reference of all
related in and outputs is dened. The Inventory
Analysis involves data collection and calculation procedure to quantify relevant inputs and outputs [7]. The
potential impacts of the in- and outputs of the Inventory
Analysis are then determined by the Impact Assessment
which categorises and aggregates the environmental interventions. For that purpose, impact categories, such as
global warming, are dened and characterization factors
calculated which determine the contribution of dierent substances to that particular impact category. In the
fourth, optional step, the Interpretation, the ndings from
the inventory analysis and the impact assessment are
combined to give recommendations or draw conclusions
(Fig. 1).
The environmental impacts of conventional power plants
or combustion engines are usually dominated by the fuel
production and combustion. The construction of the plant
and the infrastructure required are usually a factor 10 less environmentally relevant than the energy conversion because
of the high throughput and the long lifetime of the system.
Many renewable energy systems, such as solar cells, in contrast, show only zero or minimal emissions during the energy
conversion. Thus, the construction of the plant becomes the
dominant factor.
93
5. Inventory analysis
94
Table 1
Reference stacks and sensitivity analysis for the LCA of stack production
Reference stack PEFC
Electrical power
Status
Materials
PGM
PGM loading
Production country
Graphite
Membrane
Data source
75 kWel (mobile)=275 kWel (stationary)
future series production (relevant for
energy consumption, catalyst loading,
yields)
[8]
0:3 mg=cm2 (mobile)=1 mg=cm2
(stationary)
South Africa
natural graphite
manufactured graphite
BAM membrane
PTFE
Carbon bre
Sensitivity analysis
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
Case 4
Ballard
[6]
Streamlined LCA
according to [21]
[6] according to
Ballard
[8]
[8]
95
Both natural and manufactured graphite consume significant amounts of energy. Up to 160 MJ of non-renewable
energy resources per kg graphite are consumed for manufacturing. The energy consumption for manufactured graphite
is dominated by the electricity for the graphitization step
which is accomplished in an Acheson oven. In the case of
natural graphite, the electricity for mining and sizing is the
main factor.
5.1.3. Membrane
The production of the proton conducting membrane follows the Ballard membrane production process which is
based on tri
uorostyrene and substituted tri
uorostyrene
copolymers [14]. The production process includes the
production of the monomer, the polymerization, the liquid
solid extraction, drying and reaction with SO3 in organic
solvents. For the future, the use of solvent-less processes are
planned. The sulfonated polymer is then isolated, washed,
dryed and embedded into a porous structure. The LCA
comprises the necessary materials as well as energy inputs
for the production step.
5.1.4. Other Materials
The production of carbon bres resembles that of
graphite. In this LCA, however, polyacrylnitrile (PAN) is
assumed as the precursor material. The LCA is carried out
with industry data according to [8]. The PTFE (Te
on)
production is assessed using industry data. Various other
materials as well as transports are assessed using the GaBi
3 professional database.
5.2. The production process
For the purpose of studying the environmental impacts
of PEFC production, the full production process (see
Fig. 3) at Ballard Power Systems Inc. was evaluated. De-
96
Table 2
Inventory and impact assessment results of the LCA of fuel cell stacks
Mobile stack
Case 1
German mix
No
Case 2
Hydropower
No
Case 3
German mix
Yes (75%)
Case 4
Hydropower
Yes (75%)
Stationary stack
Case I
Case 3
German mix
German mix
No
Yes (90%)
940
581
744
369
5,100
1,446
57
0.1
0.005
38
0.1
0.004
40
0.1
0.005
20
0.0
0.004
275
0.5
0.019
78
0.2
0.014
0.17
0.02
0.17
0.02
0.03
1.4E-03
2.7E-05
4.0E-07
0.14
0.02
0.15
0.02
0.03
1.3E-03
2.7E-05
3.7E-07
0.10
0.02
0.07
0.02
0.01
1.4E-03
2.7E-05
3.3E-07
0.06
0.02
0.05
0.02
0.01
1.3E-03
2.7E-05
3.1E-07
0.73
0.14
0.74
0.09
0.14
2.5E-03
4.3E-04
6.2E-06
0.17
0.10
0.14
0.04
0.03
2.0E-03
3.6E-04
4.9E-06
61
0.29
41
0.25
43
0.15
22
0.10
293
1.25
86
0.27
Global emissions(kg=kWel )
CO2
CH4
N2 O
Local=regional emissions(kg=kWel )
SO2
CO
NOx
NMHC
Dust and particles
NH3
Benzene
Benzene(a)pyren
Impact categories(Kg=kWel )
Global warming potential (CO2 -eq.)
Acidication (SO2 -eq.)
6. Results
6.1. Cumulated environmental impacts
The cumulated environmental impacts are given in
Table 2.
To analyze the issues associated with the production of
fuel cell stacks it is interesting to consider the contributions
of the components and materials to the total environmental
impacts (Fig. 4). Two components are of special relevance.
The gas diusion electrode (GDE) is responsible for 74%
of the total acidication and for more than half of the global
warming gas emissions. The SO2 and NOx emitted during
processing the PGM (see above) cause this acidication.
If PGMs from, e.g., Russia had been used, these emissions
would be even more dominant due to the lack of desulfurization devices.
The carbon bre causes 5 7% of the environmental impacts. Given the low weight of the bres, this is a considerable share which is caused by the high-energy consumption
for the PAN precursor and the stabilisation.
The
ow eld plate is the second important component
particularly because of electricity input for resin impregnation of the plate. Higher throughputs for series production
has already been assumed. Even higher production volumes
could half the specic energy consumption. It is interesting
that the graphitic plates, commonly considered as a main
ecological factor, contribute 13% the global warming potential compared to 17% of the electricity consumption. This is
also a result of the eorts to reduce the weight of the
ow
plates. These 13% are partly caused by the graphite production and partly by the use of a resin impregnant.
The membrane is, from an ecological point of view, not
very relevant because of the low energy consumption and
the closed production process (e.g. solvent recycling).
The NMVOC emissions stem mainly from the production
of the carbon bre (30%) and the methylacrylate (25%).
This calculation assumes that the emissions from the impregnation of the plates are burnt in an afterburner. If this
were not realized in future series production, the NMVOC
emissions would rise by 40%.
The stationary stack results, in terms of the primary
energy demand, the global warming and the acidication,
in specic impacts (per kilowatt) which are roughly a
factor 25 higher (Table 2). This is mainly due to the
higher PGM loading, the higher input of graphite and the
lower power density at lower current densities. Compared
to the contribution of the components of the mobile stack,
97
98
99
Fig. 6. Hydrogen (left) and methanol (right) production from natural gas.
100
Table 3
Results of the LCA of 1 km driven in a fuel cell car with hydrogen (steam reforming of natural gas) and methanol (combined reforming of
natural gas) in a mixed driving cycle (Fig. 7) without vehicle production
Fuel cell car (750 kg base weight)
1.80
2.32
97, 585
239.0
0.29
119,430
160.5
0.42
34
32
63
73
4
9.0E-03
2.6E-02
7.6E-05
72
33
94
79
8
3.5E-02
8.2E-02
7.7E-05
Impact categories
Global warming, potential (CO2 -eq.)
Acidication (SO2 -eq.)
102,694
78
122,930
138
Table 4
Life-cycle environmental impacts due to fuel cell stack production compared to impacts due to the use phase of fuel cell cars and combustion
engines
Fuel cell car
Advanced
ICEVc
(gasoline)
Stack production
Impact category
Unit
Case 1a
Case 2a
Case 3a
Case 4a
Primary energy
Global warming (CO2 -eq.)
Acidication (SO2 -eq.)
MJ
kg
kg
70,498
4,585
22
43,589
3,080
20
55,816
3,212
11
27,653
1,663
8
Useb
(Hydrogen)
Useb
(Methanol)
Useb
270,000
15,349
12
348,000
18,440
21
289,350
20,275
30
a See
total CHP system red with natural gas including the periphery of the system [6]. To most impact categories, the
production of the total system, assuming PGM recycling of
90%, contributes less than 8% of the life-cycle emissions.
If no PGM were recycled, the production would contribute
less than 13%.
Therefore, in stationary systems, the impacts of stack production are of much less relative importance than in mobile
systems. It has to be noted that in
eet or truck applications
of fuel cells, higher life times and, therefore, lower specic
environmental impacts will be achieved as well.
7. Conclusions
The use of fuel cell cars oers advantages in terms of
(almost) zero local emissions. This advantage is especially
important for urban areas with severe environmental conditions. The production of fuel cell stacks, however, leads to
environmental impacts which cannot be neglected compared
to the utilization of the stacks in a vehicle (the actual driving
process). These impacts are mainly caused by the PGM materials for the catalyst and, to a lesser degree, the materials
and energy for the
ow eld plates. Recycling of the PGM
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
References
[1] Pehnt M, Bubenzer A. Environmental aspects of photovoltaics.
In: Luther J, Bubenzer A, editors. Photovoltaics guidebook
for decision makers technological status and future role in
energy economy and industrial development. Berlin: Springer,
2000.
[2] DLR, Dienhart H, Pehnt M, Nitsch J. Analyse von
Einsatzmoglichkeiten und Rahmenbedingungen verschiedener
Brennstozellensysteme in Industrie und zentraler o entlicher
Stromversorgung (Analysis of applications and framework
of fuel cell systems in industrial cogeneration and central
power generation). Investigation for the Oce for Technology
Assessment of the German Parliament. German Aerospace
Center (DLR) e.V., Institut fur Technische Thermodynamik,
Stuttgart, 1999 [in German].
[3] Dienhart H, Nitsch J, Pehnt M. Okologische
und o konomische Bewertung von PEFC-BHKW am Beispiel einer
Nahwarmeversorgung (Environmental and economic assessment of PEFC cogeneration plants). Elektrizitatswirtschaft
1998;97:50 3 [in German].
[4] Pehnt M. Life Cycle Assessment of biomass fuels for fuel
cell and engine combined heat and power (CHP) production.
Biomass for Energy and Industry, Proceedings of the 10th
European Conference and Technology Exhibition, 811 June
1998. Wurzburg: C.A.R.M.E.N.
[5] Pehnt M. Okobilanz
von Methanol aus Holz und Erdgas
(Life cycle assessment of methanol from wood and natural
gas.) Energiewirtschaftliche Tagesfragen 1999;4:246 52 [in
German].
[6] Pehnt M. Ganzheitliche Bilanzierung von Brennstozellen
als zukunftigen Energiesystemen (Life cycle assessment of
fuel cells as future energy systems). Dissertation, German
Aerospace Center, Institut fur Technische Thermodynamik,
Stuttgart, 2000, in preparation [in German]; Pehnt M. Life
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
101