(286a) Filtration of Sea Salt Particles (SSP) Using Composite Media At Different Relative Humidities (RH)

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are being widely used in recent times as a source of power on ships due to their high efficiency and lower waste emission. However, the exposure of several air contaminants like gaseous impurities and particulates is significantly detrimental to the performance of these fuel cells. In the marine environment, sea salt particles are the most common particulates and their removal from air stream fed into cathode side of fuel cell system is highly essential. To remove sea salt particles in a more efficient manner, our focus is on the design and optimization of a new composite filtration media known as Microfibrous Materials (MFM) and manufactured by the Center for Microfibrous Materials Manufacturing (CM3) at Auburn University. These composites consist of a three dimensional network of sinter-locked micron size fibers with high surface area. The diameter of the fibers is in the range of 3 to 15 microns and the fiber materials can be polymer, metal, activated carbon or their combination. The effects of important media parameters like fiber diameter, solid volume fraction (SVF) of certain fiber material, total voidage and media thickness on filtration performance characteristics, including filtration efficiency, pressure drop and quality factor were studied in this work. In addition, under the typical environmental conditions at sea, relative humidity (RH) is a variable factor that influences air quality. Therefore, the effect of different RHs (30%, 50% and 80%) on sea salt particles filtration performance was experimentally investigated using fiber material with different hydrophilicities and the results will be presented. SEM images and pore size distribution further help us to develop a better understanding of the structure of these materials. The summary of the work will include a discussion on the optimization of media filtration performance with highest efficiency and lowest pressure drop.