A novel electrochemical refrigeration system based on the combined proton exchange membrane fuel cell-electrolyzer

This study presents an electrochemical cooling system consisting of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cell (PEMEC) based on a continuous thermally regenerative electrochemical refrigerator (TRER) cycle. The three-dimensional model of the PEMFC and PEMEC are numerically simulated. The cooling system performance was investigated in terms of coefficient of performance (COP), cooling capacity, and external added power. The practical limits of operating current density for the cooling system are extracted. Moreover, the effects of the operating temperature and pressure on the cooling system performance are investigated. Results showed that the COP and cooling capacity of the system increase with increasing the temperature of PEMEC while the consumed power by the system decreases. The PEMFC temperature had a reverse effect on the COP and cooling capacity and consumed power. Also, higher operating pressure increases the COP while decreasing the cooling capacity and consumed power. The COP to Carnot COP of the integrated cooling system is about 0.017-0.067. Furthermore, the cooling system is compared with other cooling technologies. Considering that the efficiency and cost of the PEMFCs and PEMECs are expected to improve drastically over time, this system could be a promising option for cooling applications.