Experimental results with a natural gas cogeneration system using a polymer exchange membrane fuel cell

This paper reports experimental results of an investigation of five identical CHP (combined heat and power) units using PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) and running on natural gas. The natural gas is reformed locally to produce hydrogen. The net electric power is 4.5 kWe and the installations are designed for low temperature heat recovery (6 kW at 60 °C). The performances of the CHP units are analyzed in terms of electrical, thermal and total efficiencies. The electrical efficiency is low and it is shown that this is due mostly to the reforming process and to electric losses, while fuel cell performances are fully satisfying.