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I N T E R N AT I O N A L J O U R N A L O F H Y D R O G E N E N E R G Y 33 (2008) 2300– 2310

Available at www.sciencedirect.com

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/he

Exergy analysis of a regional-distributed

PEM fuel cell system

Shin’ya Obara, Itaru Tanno

Tomakomai National College of Technology, Nishikioka 443, Tomakomai, Hokkaido 0591275, Japan

ar t ic l e i n f o abs tra ct

Article history: In this paper, the exergy flow and exergy efficiency of a 3 kW proton-exchange-membrane
Received 30 August 2007 fuel cell were investigated, and the regional characteristic of the distributed energy system
Received in revised form was considered. In the environmental temperature range of 263–313 K, the difference in the
9 January 2008 total efficiency of the proposed system was 6%. On the other hand, the difference in the
Accepted 16 February 2008 exergy total efficiency of the same temperature range was 30%. Moreover, as a result of
Available online 3 April 2008 examining how to improve the exergy efficiency of this system, certain improvement
methods were proposed: (a) preheat the city-gas and air supplied to the system using
Keywords:
exhaust heat and raise the combustion temperature; (b) preheat the water supplied to
Exergy analysis
the system using exhaust heat; (c) change the catalyst material of each unit and reduce
Regional characteristics
the amount of cooling of the reformed gas; and (d) examine the combined cycle
Distributed power supply
power generation. The exergy efficiency, in the case of introducing the proposed
PEM fuel cell
system into individual homes in Sapporo, Tokyo, and Kagoshima, was evaluated.
Operation planning
Consequently, when the system was introduced into a community with low outside air
temperatures, exergy efficiency increased compared with communities with high outside
air temperatures.
& 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights
reserved.

1. Introduction mental temperature (standard reference temperature) [2,3].

When introducing a distributed energy system, consideration
of regional characteristics is required. However, no cases of
examination using exergy in relation to the regional char-
acteristics of a distributed energy system have been found.
The aspect of this study that differs from others is when
evaluating the regionality of a distributed fuel cell using
exergy analysis. This investigates the relationship between the
regionality (environmental temperature and load characteris-
tic) and the generation efficiency of the proton-exchange-
membrane fuel cell (PEM-FC). If the exergy efficiency of the
system components becomes clear, specification of a unit
with considerable exergy loss can be considered [1]. The
exergy flow of the energy system influences the environ-
Therefore, installation of the same energy system as an area
where climate differs will change the exergy flow. If the
exergy flow of the energy system differs for every community,
the system configuration and operation method will be
considered to have an optimal solution for every community.
Therefore, in this paper, the exergy of the fuel cell cogenera-
tion for houses where the environmental temperature differs
is investigated, and the regional characteristics of the system
are compared. The method of improving the exergy efficiency
of the system is not necessarily in agreement with that of
improving the energy efficiency. To date, the exergy of power
systems, such as fuel cells, cogeneration, and combined
cycle power generation systems, has been investigated [4–8].
However, no cases investigating the exergy efficiency of

Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +81 191 24 4835.

E-mail address: obara@indigo.plala.or.jp (S. Obara).
0360-3199/$ - see front matter & 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2008.02.036
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Nomenclature D DC–AC converter

dest destruction
Cp specific heat, J/mol K diss dissipation
e exergy, J/mol e exhaust heat (Fig. 2(b))
e0 standard chemical exergy, J/mol en energy
h enthalpy, J/mol ex exergy
_I exergy loss rate, W f cell stack
m_ molar flow rate, mol/s fa air supplied to the cell stack
Q_ heat, W fe exhaust gas of the cell stack
qlhv calorific value of city gas, J/mol ga air supplied to the combustor unit
R power load factor, % gc city-gas supplied to the combustor unit
r fuel utilization rate gv city-gas supplied to the vaporizer unit
s entropy, J/mol K I inverter
T temperature, K ki kinetic
V voltage, V m the number of composition of the fluid
DV overpotential, V n the number of composition of the fluid
W_ power, W op ohmic polarization
p potential
Greek letters r reformer unit
rb combustion gas
Z efficiency re reformed gas of the reformer unit
rt theoretical figure
Subscripts rw water supplied to the vaporizer unit
rx exhaust gas of the reformer unit
ap activation polarization s shifter unit
br combustion gas supplied to the reformer unit se reformed gas of the shifter unit
bv combustion gas supplied to the combustor unit sx cooling air of shifter unit
c CO oxidation equipment unit sys system
ca air supplied to the combustor unit tc thermomechanical
cb combustor unit v vaporizer unit
ce reformed gas of the CO oxidation equipment unit ve reformed gas of the vaporizer unit
ch chemical vt power voltage output
cp concentration polarization 0 standard reference
cx cooling air of the CO oxidation equipment unit

residential fuel cell systems in Japan due to differences in the

reference temperature have emerged. Moreover, no details of
reports investigating the regional characteristics of the
distributed fuel cell system using exergy analysis were found.
The fuel cell system used for the analysis in this paper is a
PEM-FC with a city-gas (with components almost equivalent
to those of natural gas) reformer [9–11]. The power demand of
the household electric appliances in an individual house is an
average of 1 kW or less at any one time. When the electric
power demand for cooling in the summer season is added to
this load, the instant power load will increase to between 2
and 3 kW. Therefore, in this paper, the capacity of a fuel cell is
set up for 3 kW. Based on the numerical analysis, the
relationship between the reference temperature and the
energy and exergy efficiencies is investigated. Moreover, the
characteristic of energy and exergy efficiencies when setting
the outside air temperatures, with Sapporo, Tokyo, and
Kagoshima taken as reference temperatures, is investigated
and the regional characteristics of the small-scale PEM-FC
cogeneration were considered from these results.
2. Scheme of the distributed energy system
2.1. Fuel cell cogeneration for houses
Fig. 1 shows the basic system of the small-scale fuel cell
cogeneration for houses as assumed in this paper. Fig. 1(a)
shows the system scheme, while Fig. 1(b) shows the flow of
the energy and the system substance. The proposed system
consists of a city-gas reformer, a fuel cell, and other auxiliary
machinery. The city-gas reformer consists of a combustion
chamber (burner) unit, a vaporizer unit, and a reforming unit.
Moreover, the fuel cell consists of a cell stack, a shifter unit,
and carbon monoxide combustion equipment. The main
auxiliary machinery is a heat storage tank, a backed boiler,
a DC–AC converter, an inverter, and a high-speed changeover
switch. Although city-gas is supplied to the reformer and the
backed boiler, as shown in Fig. 1(b), it is separated into the
reforming system and the combustion equipment system in
the reformer unit. Heat generation by the electrochemical
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Power grid B/L : boiler

C/E : CO oxidation equipment unit
C/R : combustor unit
Power load C/S : cell stack
Heat load
C/T : DC-AC converter
H/S I/T F/C : fuel cell
Power Heat H/S : high-speed changeover switch
C/T I/T : inverter
S/T R/M : reformer unit
V/Z C/E
R/M S/F B/L S/F : shifter unit
C/R C/S S/T : heat storage tank
it y g as ga s
V/Z : vaporizer unit
C w a t er C ity
a n d

Commercial power supply H/S Power supply

Tap water
C/T I/T
C/E Cell Stack

Blower Shifter
B/L Hot water supply
S/T
Reformer Exhaust heat
Hot water return
City gas 1 Vaporizer Exhaust
Water
City gas 2 C/R City gas 3
Offgas

Fig. 1 – PEM-FC system model for house. (a) System configuration. (b) Energy and substance flows.

reaction and overvoltage of the cell stack and the heat
generation of the reformer unit, the shifter unit, and the
carbon monoxide combustion unit are recovered. Exhaust
heat is stored in the heat storage tank, which can subse-
quently be supplied to the demand side when the period is
shifted. Moreover, the production of electricity (I/T outlet in
Fig. 1(b)) of the system is a maximum of 3 kW.
2.2. Operating condition of each unit
The reaction and exhaust heat temperatures of each unit are
shown in Fig. 2(a), which also shows the component of
reformed gas. The combustion gas of the combustor unit is
supplied to both the vaporizer and the reformer units,
following which combustion gas is supplied to the heat
exchanger in the heat storage tank. The steam used for steam
reforming is generated in the vaporizer unit. In the reformer
unit, reformed gas is produced from city-gas and steam and
many kinds of catalyst are used in the reformer unit, the
shifter unit, the CO oxidation unit, and the cell stack, with
proper temperature ranges for each reaction. The tempera-
ture ranges of the reformed gas system shown in Fig. 2(a) are
the optimal range of each catalytic reaction. Cooling air is
supplied to the shifter unit, the CO oxidation equipment unit,
and the cell stack by a blower. All such exhaust heat is
supplied to the heat storage tank and stored. The stored heat
shifts a period and can supply the heat to the demand side,
while the backed boiler is operated when the heat storage
temperature is low.
2.3. Energy and substance flow
The reaction formulas, mass transfer, efficiency, and the
relationship between the power and the heat output of each
unit are shown in Fig. 2(b). Although both city-gas and air are
supplied to the combustor, the air–fuel ratio is set to 3.0 based
on all operating conditions. Moreover, the fuel utilization
rates of the cell stack anode and cathode are set to 0.5 and 0.3,
respectively, and both the efficiencies of the DC–AC converter
and the inverter are fixed at 0.95. In the CO oxidation unit, a
little hydrogen also burns at the time of CO oxidization. In
this paper, the hydrogen-burning rate in reformed gas is set
up with 3 vol%. The oxygen is supplied to the combustor unit,
the CO oxidation equipment unit, the cell stack, and the
boiler. Moreover, water is supplied to the vaporizer unit using
a pump. As described above, in the proposed system, power is
consumed to provide a supply of air and water, but the
demand required is not included in the analysis of this paper.
3. Analysis method
3.1. Performance of the fuel cell
Fig. 3(a) shows the output performance of the cell stack used
for analysis [12]. The current density of the maximum output
point is about 1:5 A=cm2 , and ohmic polarization (DVop ),
concentration polarization (DVcp ), and activation polarization
(DVap ) exist as resistance components of the fuel cell [12]. The
voltage Vvt of the fuel cell is the value excluding DVop , DVcp ,
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Steam Reformed gas

CO
Vaporizer Reformer Shifter oxidation Cell stack
1073

Temperature
1073 H2 Reformed gas system
H2
873 H 2O H2
CH 4 H 2O

[K]
673 H 2O CO CO H 2O
473 373 450 CO 2 CO 2
373 353
273
1273 Exhaust gas system
Temperature

1073 1273
1173
873
[K]

673
473 450 373 353
273
Location

City gas m gc
Re active air mga Qrb CH 4 2 O 2 CO 2 2 H 2 O 880 [kJ/mol]
Combustor

City ga s m gv H 2 O(l ) H 2 O(l ) 75.3 [J/mol K]

Vaporizer
Wa ter pump mrw mbv H 2 O(l ) H 2 O( g ) 40.58 [kJ/mol]
mve
mrx
To Heat
storage tank Reformer CH 4 H 2 O 3 H 2 CO 206 [kJ/mol]
r mbr
Exhaust heat

Cooling ai r mre
Offgas

Sh ifte r Q CO H 2 O CO 2 H 2 41 [kJ/mol]
s
Cooling air mse msx
mca CO CO 1 / 2 O 2 CO 2 283 [kJ/mol]
Reactive air oxidation H 2 1/ 2 O 2 H 2 O 265 [kJ/mol]
Qc
Cooling air mce mcx
H 2 1/ 2 O 2 H 2 O 265 [kJ/mol]
Offgas m fe Ohmic polarization
Ce ll stack
Concentration polarization
Reactive air Wf f Qf
m fa Activation polarization
Qe
Heat
DC/AC storage
D Converter Hot water return
tank
Reactive air
I Inverter Boiler
City gas

E sys Qsys CH 4 2 O 2 CO 2 2 H 2 O 880 [kJ / mol ]

Power output Heat output

Fig. 2 – System configuration. (a) System operation temperature. (b) Chemical reaction and efficiency of each component.

DVap from the theoretical voltage Vrt , as expressed in Eq. (1). fuel cell is shown in Fig. 3(b)
From these resistance components, the relationship between
Vvt ¼ Vrt  DVap  DVop  DVcp . (1)
the load factor of the cell stack and the generation efficiency
is decided. Here, (production-of-electricity/power generation
capacity of the facility)100 [%] is defined as the load factor. 3.2. Energy balance and energy efficiency
As shown in Fig. 3(b), the reformer efficiency also changes
with the load factor [13]. Here, (calorific heat of the hydrogen Eqs. (2)–(7) show the energy balance equation of each unit,
in reformed gas)/(calorific heat of the city-gas supplied to the while m_ and h in each equation express the molar flow rate
reformer)100 [%] is defined as the reformer efficiency. The and enthalpy, respectively, and Q_ and W
_ express the heat and
generation efficiency of the system is the value multiplied by power, respectively. The left-hand side of each equation
the reformer efficiency, and the generation efficiency of the expresses inputs, and the right-hand side expresses outputs.
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1.2 1.2
80 Reformer
1.0 Maximum point 1.0
Current density

Power [W/cm2]
Efficiency [%]
η r = −0.0014 ⋅ R 2 + 0.281 ⋅ R + 64.1
Voltage [V]
0.8 0.8
60
0.6 0.6

0.4 Power 0.4 40

η f = −0.0006 ⋅ R 2 + 0.112 ⋅ R + 25.5
0.2 0.2
PEM-FC
0.0 0.0 20
0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 20 40 60 80 100 120
Current density [A/cm2] Power load factor [%]

Fig. 3 – Performance of the PEM-FC with natural gas reformer. (a) Characteristic of the single cell. (b) Reformer efficiency and
PEM-FC power generation efficiency.

Combustor unit: Eq. (11). However, in this paper, kinetic and potential exergies
are not calculated from very small values compared with
m _ fe  hfe þ Q_ rb ¼ m
_ ga  hga þ m
_ gc  hgc þ m _ bv  hbv þ m
_ br  hbr . (2)
chemical and thermomechanical exergies:
Vaporizer unit:
e ¼ ðh  h0 Þ  T0 ðs  s0 Þ, (10)
m _ bv  hbv  Q_ v ¼ m
_ rw  hrw þ m
_ gv  hgv þ m _ ve  hve . (3)
e ¼ ech þ etc þ eki þ ep . (11)
Reformer unit:
ech and etc in Eq. (11) are calculated using Eqs. (12) and (13),
m _ br  hbr  Q_ r ¼ Zr  m
_ ve  hve þ m _ re  hre þ m
_ rx  hrx . (4)
respectively [2]. Here, the number of components of the fluid
Shifter unit: is set to n, and ni and e0i express the number of moles and the
standard chemistry exergy of component i, respectively. Cp;i
_ re  hre þ Q_ s ¼ m
m _ se  hse þ m
_ sx  hsx . (5)
expresses the specific heat of component i:
CO oxidation unit:
X
n

_ ca  hca þ Q_ c ¼ m
_ se  hse þ m
m _ ce  hce þ m
_ cx  hcx . (6) ech ¼ ni  e0i , (12)
i¼1
Cell stack: ! 
X
n  
T
_ ce  hce þ m
m _ fe  hfe þ Q_ fe þ Zf  W
_ fa  hfa ¼ m _ f. (7) etc ¼ ni  Cp;i  T  T0  T0  ln . (13)
i¼1
T0
Eq. (8) is the energy balance equation of the system. The
left-hand side expresses the input terms and the right-hand
side expresses the output terms, while Q_ sys and W_ sys of the
right-hand side express the heat and power outputs of the 3.3.2. Exergy balance and exergy efficiency
system, respectively. Moreover, the total energy efficiency of The exergy balance of the system is described in Eq. (14) [14].
the system is calculated using Eq. (9). qlhv in this equation ein and eout express the input and output of exergy, while ediss
expresses the calorific heat of the city-gas. and edest express the exergy dissipation and exergy destruc-
tion, respectively. Moreover, Eq. (15) expresses exergy loss:
X
n X
m
_ in;i  hin;i ¼
m _ out;j  hout;j þ Q_ sys þ W
m _ sys þ Q_ loss , (8)
ein ¼ eout þ ediss þ edest , (14)
i¼1 j¼1

_ sys þ Q_ f þ Q_ e
W
Z_ en;sys ¼  100. (9) eloss ¼ ein  eout ¼ ediss þ edest . (15)
_ gc þ m
ðm _ gv Þ  qlhv
Eq. (16) is the exergy balance equation. The left-hand side is
3.3. Exergy analysis the input terms, comprising inputs of substance and heat,
while the right-hand side is the output terms. The first term
3.3.1. Exergy calculation of the right-hand side expresses the output of the substance,
By environmental temperature T0 , the exergy of the reversible the second expresses the output of heat, the third expresses
change of the open system is calculated using Eq. (10). It the power output, and the final term expresses the exergy loss
means that T0 ðs  s0 Þ is not convertible for mechanical energy rate _I.
among the enthalpy change ðh  h0 Þ. Here, h, s, and T express X
n

enthalpy, entropy, and temperature, respectively, and sub- _ in;i  ein;i þ ð1  T0 =Tin Þ  Q_ in
m
i¼1
script 0 indicates a standard condition. Exergy is calculated by X
m
the sum of chemical exergy (ech ), thermomechanical exergy ¼ _ out;j  eout;j þ ð1  T0 =Tout Þ  Q_ out þ W
m _ þ _I. (16)
(etc ), kinetic exergy (eki ), and potential exergy (ep ), as shown in j¼1
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Eqs. (17)–(22) represent the exergy balance equation in each Table 1 – Analysis parameters
unit. The left-hand side of each equation expresses the input,
and the right-hand side expresses the output. Reference exergy, kJ/mol Fuel utilization rate (%)
Combustor unit: (25 1C, 101 325 Pa)
CH4 830.6 Anode (H2 ) 50
m _ ga  ega þ m
_ gc  egc þ m _ fe  efe
H2 O(I) 0.0 Cathode (O2 ) 30
¼m _ br  ebr þ ð1  T0 =Tcb Þ  Q_ cb þ _Icb .
_ bv  ebv þ m (17)
H2 O(g) 8.58 Efficiency
Vaporizer unit: O2 3.935 DC–AC converter 0.95
N2 0.6698 Inverter 0.95
m _ rw  erw þ m
_ gv  egv þ m _ ve  eve þ ð1  T0 =Tv Þ  Q_ v þ _Iv .
_ bv  ebv ¼ m CO 275.5 Storage tank 0.9
(18) H2 235.2 Boiler 0.95
CO2 20.13
Reformer unit:

_ br  ebr þ ð1  T0 =Tr Þ  Q_ r ¼ Zr  m
_ ve  eve þ m
m _ rx  erx þ _Ir .
_ re  ere þ m
(19)
4. Analysis result
Shifter unit:
4.1. Energy balance and exergy balance
_ re  ere ¼ m
m _ sx  esx þ ð1  T0 =Ts Þ  Q_ s þ _Is .
_ se  ese þ m (20)

CO oxidation equipment unit: Fig. 4 shows the results of the energy and exergy balances at
reference temperature 298 K and 0.1013 MPa. However, the
m _ ca  eca ¼ m
_ se  ese þ m _ ce  ece þ m
_ cx  ecx
production of electricity of the system (W _ sys ) is 3 kW. More-
þ ð1  T0 =Tc Þ  Q_ c þ _Ic . (21)
over, Fig. 5(a) shows the analysis result of the exergy loss of
Cell stack: each unit when changing the reference temperature. As
shown in Figs. 4(b) and 5(a), exergy loss in the combustor
_ ce  ece þ rfa  m
rce  m _ fa  efa unit is considerable than that in the vaporizer unit and the
_ fe  efe þ ð1  T0 =Tfe Þ  Q_ fe þ Zf  W
¼m _ f þ _If . (22) reformer unit. In order to reduce the exergy loss of the
combustor unit, it is necessary to preheat city-gas and air
The total exergy efficiency of the system is calculated using
using the exhaust heat of the system and to raise the
the following equation:
combustion temperature. For example, in order to reduce
e_ out the exergy loss _Icb in Eq. (17), it is necessary to boost the value
Z_ ex;sys ¼
e_ in of ð1  T0 =Tcb Þ  Q_ cb of the third term of the right-hand side.
W _ sys þ m
_ rx  erx þ m _ cx  ecx þ ð1  T0 =Tfe Þ  Q_ fe
_ sx  esx þ m Therefore, the increase in the combustion temperature Tcb is
¼  100.
_ gc  egc þ m
m _ gv  egv
effective in reducing the exergy loss. Similarly, preheating the
(23) water supplied to the vaporizer also decreases exergy loss.
When the proposed system is introduced into each city as will
be described in the latter section, exhaust heat will often
3.4. Analysis procedure exceed heat demand, meaning preheating of the fluid using
exhaust heat is a sensible move.
Each equation described in Sections 3.1–3.3 is calculated On the other hand, the reason for the considerable exergy
using the newly developed computer program, with the loss of the reformer unit is the need to cool the hot-reformed
analysis procedure described below. The energy balance of gas according to the catalytic reaction (see Fig. 2(a)). Although
each unit is calculated using Eqs. (2)–(7), and the energy the reformed gas temperature of the reformer unit is 1073 K,
balance of the whole system is calculated using Eq. (8). The it is cooled and supplied to the shifter unit at 450 K
relationship between the load factor, efficiency of the (see Fig. 2(a)). From the shifter unit to the CO oxidation
reformer, and fuel cell is determined from the relation of equipment unit, and the CO oxidation unit to the cell
Fig. 3(b). On the other hand, calculation of the exergy balance stack, the temperature change of the reformed gas is
of each unit is calculated using Eqs. (17)–(22). Moreover, the modest, with little exergy loss. In order to decrease the
exergy balance of the system is calculated using Eq. (16), and exergy loss, it is necessary to minimize any drop in
the energy and exergy flowcharts are prepared from these temperature due to the cooling of reformed gas. For example,
results. Next, reference temperature (T0 ) used for the the catalyst material of each unit may be modified and
calculation of energy and exergy is changed, and the relation- improvements to reduce the temperature variation between
ship between the environmental temperature, energy effi- units can be considered.
ciency, and exergy efficiency, of the system is investigated. The total energy efficiency shown in Fig. 4(a) is 72%, and the
These relationships are introduced into the outside-air- total exergy efficiency shown in Fig. 4(b) is 40%. The total
temperature profile of each city, and the energy and exergy exergy efficiency is low because of the small heat output
efficiencies of the system are calculated. However, the efficiency, and the usage of heat from reformed gas in
operation of the system follows power load fluctuations. particular requires modification. As a method for improving
The typical parameters used in the analysis are shown in exergy efficiency, the combined cycle power generation using
Table 1. the heat of reformed gas is effective.
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Commercial power supply

H/S
Catode air -268 Power supply
166 2997
C/T I/T 158
12633
C/E Cell stack 3155
249 3321
12882
289 2486 1953
Shifter 2056
B/L Hot water supply
13171
4466 S/T
Reformer 1442 Exhaust heat
103
1925
12688
229
8228 V/Z Power generation efficiency : 29%
4460 Heat output efficiency : 43%
City gas and air
Total efficiency : 72%
2240 C/R
4145 6558

Commercial power supply

H/S
Catode air 151 166 Power supply
2997
C/T I/T 158
7414
C/E Cell Stack 3155
Δ193 43 Δ30 3321
7650
45 431
Shifter
Δ 248 B/L Hot water supply
7943
1006 S/T
Reformer 487 Exhaust heat
Δ 1707 1391
8746
7766 V/Z Δ 2241 Power generation efficiency : 30%
Heat output efficiency : 10%
City gas and air 3221 Total efficiency : 40%
2362 C/R Δ1533
3783

Fig. 4 – Analysis results of energy flow and exergy flow: in the case of the power generation output of 3 kW and a standard
reference temperature of 298 K (25 1C). (a) Energy flow (W). (b) Exergy flow (W).

4.2. Influence of the environmental temperature
Fig. 5(b) shows the analysis result of the energy and exergy
efficiencies when changing the reference temperature of the
proposed system. The difference in the exergy generation
efficiency of 263 K (10  C) and 313 K (40 1C) is 1.5%, the
difference in the efficiency of a heat output is 42%, and that of
the exergy total efficiency is about 13%. Conversely, the
difference in the energy generation efficiency within the
same temperature range is 1.5%, the difference in the heat
output efficiency of energy is 3%, and that of the energy total
efficiency is about 3%. Although the difference in environ-
mental temperature has a significant influence on exergy
efficiency, its influence on energy efficiency is small. Fig. 5(c)
shows the relationship between the load factor of the system
and the energy and exergy total efficiencies. In the case of a
load factor of 4–100% and an environmental temperature
range of 263 K (10  C) to 313 K (40 1C), the difference in the
energy total efficiency is 6%. On the other hand, the difference
in the exergy total efficiency within the same range is 30%. In
this manner, the exergy total efficiency changes significantly
with the environmental temperature.
4.3. Evaluation of regionality
4.3.1. Analysis system
In this paper, the energy and exergy efficiencies at the time
of introducing the proposed system into individual homes of
each city in Sapporo, Tokyo, and Kagoshima are investigated.
Fig. 5(d) shows the temperature of the representative days for
every month in each city. The temperature of these repre-
sentative days is a value that is averaged based on the outside
air temperature at the same time every month, 12–18, in 2005.
The meteorological data for each city, released by the
Meteorological Agency, were used to obtain these outside air
temperature data [15]. Figs. 6(a) and (b) show the power
demand and heat demand models of an individual house in
each city [16,17], with the load of household appliances,
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load increases compared with Tokyo, the power load in

3.0 Combustor
Shifter summer is considerable in Kagoshima.
Vaporizer
Reformer CO oxidation equipment
Exergy loss [kW]

2.0 4.3.2. Regional system characteristics

Fig. 7 shows the analysis result of the energy and exergy
efficiencies in winter (February), mid-term (May), and sum-
1.0
mer (August) representative days. Figs. 8(a) and (b) show the
difference in the energy and exergy efficiencies in each city in
0 comparison with Tokyo. Except for the generation efficiency
-10 0 10 20 25 30 40 of the summer in Kagoshima, there is no difference in each
Reference temperature [°C] city in terms of considerable energy efficiency. There are
many cooling loads and the load factor increases in summer
80 in Kagoshima, meaning that generation efficiency follows
suit. On the other hand, in the analysis result of the exergy
Total (Energy)
60 efficiency shown in Fig. 7(b), the heat output efficiency differs
Efficiency [%]

Total (Exergy) Heat (Energy) greatly in each city. The difference shown in Fig. 8(c) is
40 between the exhaust heat output of the system and the heat
Power (Exergy)
demand amount. When there is insufficient heat, operation
20 Power (Energy) of the backed boiler is required, and in the case of a heat
Heat (Exergy) surplus, heat release is required. Fig. 9 shows the analysis
0 result of the energy and exergy efficiencies when releasing
-20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 surplus heat. Moreover, Fig. 10 shows the difference in the
Reference temperature [°C] energy and exergy efficiencies in each city in comparison with
Tokyo. The decrease in the energy and exergy efficiencies due
80 to the release of surplus heat is remarkable in the city with a
40°C
70 high outside air temperature. Because the heat release tends
Efficiency [%]

20°C -10°C Energy to increase when the outside air temperature is high and
60
20°C there is little heat demand, the total energy efficiency
50
40°C decrease. However, in the city with a high outside air
40
temperature, both the space cooling load and the generation
30 -10°C Exergy
efficiency increase.
20
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Power output [W]
5. Conclusions
0 20 40 60 80 100
Power load factor [%]
The exergy flow and exergy efficiency of the distributed
energy system using small-scale PEM-FC were investigated.
As a result, when the same energy system was introduced
Outside air temperature [°C]

30
Tokyo
20
10
0
-10
1 3
Fig. 5 – Analysis results. (a) Exergy loss at each unit. (b)
Analysis results of energy and exergy efficiencies. The load
factor is 100%. (c) Temperature characteristic of system total
efficiency. (d) Outside air temperature.
electric lights, and space cooling included in the power load
and that for space heating, hot water supply, and the bath
included in the heat load. Because there is no space cooling in
Sapporo, there is no significant difference in the power load
pattern every month. On the other hand, because the cooling
Kagoshima
into a community where climates differ, the exergy flow was
shown to vary. The exergy efficiency when the proposed
Sapporo system was introduced into individual houses in Sapporo,
Tokyo, and Kagoshima was evaluated. In the case of a load
factor of 4–100% and an environmental temperature of
263–313 K, the difference in the energy total efficiency is 6%.
On the other hand, the difference in the exergy total
5 7 9 11
efficiency within the same range is 30%. The following
Month
methods were suggested for improving exergy efficiency:
(a) Preheat the city-gas and air supplied to the system using
exhaust heat and raise the combustion temperature.
(b) Preheat the water supplied to the system using exhaust
heat.
(c) In order to reduce the cooling of the reformed gas as much
as possible, modify the catalyst material of each unit.
(d) Examine the combined cycle power generation.
When the proposed system is introduced into a community
with a low outside air temperature, exergy efficiency will
increase compared with a community with a high outside air
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
2308 I N T E R N AT I O N A L J O U R N A L O F H Y D R O G E N E N E R G Y 33 (2008) 2300 – 2310

Sapporo

Osaka Tokyo

Kagoshima

January February March April May June

July August September October November December

0.8 16
Power load [kW]

Heat load [kW]

12
0.6
8
0.4
4

0.2 0
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
Time Time
Sapporo Sapporo

0.8 3.0
Power load [kW]

Heat load [kW]

0.6 2.0
0.4
1.0
0.2
0.0
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
Time Time
Tokyo Tokyo
1.8 3.0
Power load [kW]

Heat load [kW]

1.4
2.0
1.0

0.6 1.0

0.2 0.0
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
Time Time
Kagoshima Kagoshima
Fig. 6 – Energy demand. (a) Power demand. (b) Heat demand.

temperature. Moreover, exhaust heat must be released into other hand, because the space cooling load of the system
communities with a high outside air temperature, meaning a introduced into this community increases, the generation
considerable drop in energy and exergy efficiencies. On the efficiency does the same.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
I N T E R N AT I O N A L J O U R N A L O F H Y D R O G E N E N E R G Y 33 (2008) 2300 – 2310 2309

Power Heat Total Power Heat Total

80 40

Efficiency [%]
Efficiency [%] 60 30
40 20
20 10
0 0

Au
Fe
Fe
Au

Au

Fe

Au
Ma

Fe

Au
Fe

Fe
Ma

Ma

Au

Ma
Ma

Ma
bru
bru

bru
bru
bru

gu

bru
gu

gu

gu

gu
y
y

gu

y
y

y
st
ary
ary
st

st

ary

st
ary

st
ary

ary
st
Sapporo Tokyo Kagoshima Sapporo Tokyo Kagoshima

Fig. 7 – Energy and exergy efficiencies of the proposal system. (a) Energy. (b) Exergy.

Power
Difference in comparison

120

Difference in comparison
Heat Total Tokyo 120 Tokyo
99.2% 99.5 105% 103 103 103
99.6 100 100 99.5 98
with Tokyo [%]

98
with Tokyo [%]
100 100

80 80

60 60
Au
Fe

Fe

Au
Au

Fe

Fe
Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Au
bru

bru

bru

bru
gu

gu
gu
y

gu
st

st
st
ary

ary

ary

ary

st
Sapporo Kagoshima Sapporo Kagoshima

40
Heat balance [kW]

0
-40
-80
-120
Au
Au

Fe
Fe

Au

Fe

Ma
Ma
Ma

bru
bru

bru

gu
gu
gu

y
y
y

st
st
st

ary
ary

ary

Sapporo Tokyo Kagoshima

Fig. 8 – Regional difference in the analysis results. (a) Difference with Tokyo of the energy efficiency. (b) Difference with Tokyo
of the exergy efficiency. (c) Supply-and-demand balance of heat in the representative day.

50
80 Power Heat Total
Efficiency [%]

Efficiency [%]

40
60
30
40 20
20 10
0 0
Au
Fe

Fe
Fe

Au

Fe
Au

Fe

Au
Au

Au
Fe

Ma
Ma

Ma

Ma
Ma

Ma
bru

bru
bru
gu

bru

bru
bru
gu

gu

gu
gu
gu

y
y

y
y

y
st
ary

ary
ary

st

a
st

ary

st
st
st

ary
ry

Sapporo Tokyo Kagoshima Sapporo Tokyo Kagoshima

Fig. 9 – System efficiency when taking waste heat into consideration. (a) Energy. (b) Exergy.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
2310 I N T E R N AT I O N A L J O U R N A L O F H Y D R O G E N E N E R G Y 33 (2008) 2300 – 2310

Difference in comparison
Difference in comparison
Power

with Tokyo [%]

with Tokyo [%]
150 Total Tokyo 150
Heat Tokyo
124 118 115 108
101% 106% 102
100 88 89 100 92 95
93

50 50

Fe
Fe

Au
Fe
Au

Fe
Au
Ma

Ma

Ma
Au
Ma
bru
bru

bru

bru

gu
gu

gu
y

gu
y

y
y

st
ary
st

st
ary

ary

ary
st
Sapporo Kagoshima Sapporo Kagoshima

Fig. 10 – Difference with Tokyo of the energy and exergy efficiencies when taking heat release into consideration. (a) Energy.
(b) Exergy.

Acknowledgment
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development of a small PEMFC combined heat and power
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