Applied Chemistry for Engineering (공업화학)

The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (한국공업화학회)
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Eco-friendly Separation and Recycling of Catalysts from Used MEA in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

  • Hyunkyoung Moon (Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Kunsan University) ;
  • Subashis Kumar Roy (Department of Chemical Engineering, Kunsan University) ;
  • Gyungse Park (Department of Chemistry, Kunsan National University) ;
  • Hyung-Ryul Rim (Department of Energy & Electrical Engineering and Fuel Cell Regional Innovation Center, Woosuk University) ;
  • Hong-Ki Lee (Department of Energy & Electrical Engineering and Fuel Cell Regional Innovation Center, Woosuk University) ;
  • In-Tae Kim (SungEel HiMetal) ;
  • Ho-Jung Sun (Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Kunsan University) ;
  • Joongpyo Shim (Department of Chemical Engineering, Kunsan University)
  • Received : 2024.11.02
  • Accepted : 2024.11.16
  • Published : 2024.12.10
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Abstract

To separate and recycle the Pt/C catalyst from the waste membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of proton exchange membrane fuel cells in an eco-friendly manner, used MEA was treated with ultrasound in a solution to separate the Pt/C catalyst and the proton exchange membrane after the gas diffusion layer (GDL) was removed. To eliminate the ionomer from the separated Pt/C, two methods were used: high-temperature heat treatment and environmentally friendly solvent treatment. MEA was remanufactured using the ionomer-free Pt/C catalyst, and fuel cell performance was evaluated. The residual content and removal rate after ionomer separation were examined using TGA and FT-IR analysis, revealing the potential for reuse of the catalyst in fuel cells through optimal ionomer separation.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) grant funded by the Korea Government (MOTIE) (P0018390), Gunsan City, Korea, under the Human Resources Program for the EV industrial cluster, and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation & Planning (KETEP) grant funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) (No. 20229A10100070).

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