Performance Modeling of a DMFC Fueled With Methanol and Ethanol

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujith Mohan ◽  
S. O. Bade Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Performance Modeling ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Power Source ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Portable Devices ◽  
Transport Losses ◽  
Direct Methanol ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Experimental Values

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) are becoming a choice of a power source in the field of power electronics, and portable devices because of their high energy density. The benefits of using a fuel cell towards the environment will be enhanced if the fuel used for its application comes from renewable sources such as ethanol. A method of modeling of the performance of DMFC was developed and validated with the experimental data obtained from a passive DMFC operated under varying methanol and ethanol concentrations. Impedance spectroscopy was employed to measure ohmic, activation and mass transport losses for all concentrations. Improved performance of the cell was observed when the concentrations of the solutions were closer to stoichiometric values. The model predicted results were compared to the corresponding experimental values and found satisfactory.

Performance Modeling of a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Fueled With Methanol and Ethanol

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. O. Bade Shrestha ◽  
Sujith Mohan
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽  
High Energy ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Portable Devices ◽  
Transport Losses ◽  
Direct Methanol ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Experimental Values ◽  
Methanol Fuel Cell

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are becoming a choice of a power source in the field of power electronics, and portable devices because of their high energy density. The benefits of using a fuel cell toward the environment will be enhanced if the fuel used for its application comes from renewable sources such as ethanol. A method of modeling of the performance of DMFC was developed and validated with the experimental data obtained from a passive DMFC operated under varying methanol and ethanol concentrations. Impedance spectroscopy was employed to measure ohmic, activation and mass transport losses for all concentrations. Improved performance of the cell was observed when the concentrations of the solutions were closer to stoichiometric values. The model predicted results were compared to the corresponding experimental values and found satisfactory.

Evaluation of the Performance Characteristics of a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell With Multifuels

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujith Mohan ◽  
S. O. Bade Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cell ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽  
Operating Temperature ◽  
High Energy ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Power Sources ◽  
Transport Losses ◽  
Direct Methanol ◽  
Methanol Fuel Cell

Direct methanol fuel cells are one of the alternate power sources for the field of power electronics because of their high energy density. The benefits of a fuel cell toward the environment can be greatly improved if the fuel used for its application comes from renewable sources. In this study, the performance of a direct methanol fuel cell was investigated under five different methanol concentrations. The effect of methanol concentration on the cell operating temperature is studied. Impedance spectroscopy was conducted to measure the ohmic, activation, and mass transport losses for all concentrations. The cell performance was evaluated using methane and ethanol fuels and this was compared with methanol operation.

Evaluation of the Performance Characteristics of a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell With Multi Fuels

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujith Mohan ◽  
S. O. Bade Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cell ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽  
Operating Temperature ◽  
High Energy ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Power Sources ◽  
Transport Losses ◽  
Direct Methanol ◽  
Methanol Fuel Cell

Direct methanol fuel cells are one of the alternate power sources for the field of power electronics because of their high energy density. The benefits of a fuel cell towards the environment can be greatly improved if the fuel used for its application comes from renewable sources. In this study, the performance of a direct methanol fuel cell was investigated under five different methanol concentrations. The effect of methanol concentration on the cell operating temperature is studied. Impedance spectroscopy was conducted to measure the ohmic, activation and mass transport losses for all concentrations. The cell performance was evaluated using methane and ethanol fuels and this was compared with methanol operation.

Anodic engineering towards high-performance direct methanol fuel cells with non-precious-metal cathode catalysts

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1113-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhangxun Xia ◽  
Xinlong Xu ◽  
Xiaoming Zhang ◽  
Huanqiao Li ◽  
Suli Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽  
High Energy ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Environmental Friendliness ◽  
Cathode Catalysts ◽  
The Past ◽  
Direct Methanol ◽  
Methanol Fuel Cells

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have drawn extensive interest for the past two decades both in scientific research and industrial engineering circles for their advantages of high energy density, environmental friendliness, and easy fuel handling.

Investigation of a Passive DMFC Mini-Stack at Room Temperature

2010 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 271-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonino Salvatore Arico’ ◽  
Vincenzo Baglio ◽  
Alessandro Stassi ◽  
Vincenzo Antonucci
Keyword(s):  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽  
Operation Mode ◽  
High Energy ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Catalyst Loading ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Electrode Thickness ◽  
Power Sources ◽  
Catalytic Sites ◽  
Direct Methanol

Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFCs) are promising candidates for portable electric power sources because of their high energy density, lightweight, compactness, simplicity as well as easy and fast recharging. Recently, the attention has been focused on portable applications with passive-feed DMFCs. Under this configuration, DMFCs operate without any external device for feeding methanol and blowing air into the cells. An investigation of properties and operating parameters of a passive DMFC monopolar mini-stack, such as catalyst loading and methanol concentration, was carried out. From this analysis, it was derived that a proper Pt loading is necessary to achieve the best compromise between electrode thickness and number of catalytic sites for the anode and cathode reactions to occurs at suitable rates. Methanol concentrations ranging from 1 M up to 10 M (40 vol%) and an air-breathing operation mode were investigated. A maximum power of 225 mW was obtained at ambient conditions for a three-cell stack, with an active single cell area of 4 cm2 corresponding to a power density of about 20 mW cm-2.

The Role of Fuel Cells for Consumer Electronic Products and Toys

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Banazwski ◽  
R. K. Shah
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Consumer Electronics ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Direct Methanol

Batteries have not kept pace with the advancing technology that they power, but they are used in everything from cell phones, laptop computers, and toys to consumer electronics. Compared to the devices that they power, batteries are relatively heavy, expensive per unit power they produce, last a relatively short time and recharging them takes hours. The solution to this less than desired means of a power source is fuel cells. Three fuel cells, also referred to as air breathers, considered are proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC), and direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFC). We will discuss these fuel cells for micro and portable applications within the power range of 0.5 to 20 W for potential replacement of batteries. The reason for developing such fuel cells is to harness the power stored in the high energy density fuels, which provides more power and longer run times for the same packaging volume as batteries. The advantages of each type of fuel cell over batteries, their unique characteristics, technical drawbacks, current and future consumer products, and commercial issues will be outlined in this paper. A growing mobile society and consumer demands will drive the development of fuel cell technology forward as batteries reach their limit.

scholarly journals Enhanced Cell Performance and Improved Catalyst Utilization for a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell with an In-Plane Gradient Loading Catalyst Electrode

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1787
Author(s):  
Zhixin Chang ◽  
Jiajia Zhang ◽  
Weiqi Zhang ◽  
Huaneng Su ◽  
Lei Xing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Service Life ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Power Supplies ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Commercial Application ◽  
Direct Methanol ◽  
Catalyst Utilization ◽  
Catalyst Electrode

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) offer high energy density, simple liquid fuel storage, and the ability to operate at ambient temperature. They may be used in a variety of portable mobile power supplies, small civilian power supplies, and automotive power supplies. However, in the process of electrochemical reaction inside a DMFC, because the reactants and products are distributed unevenly, the in-plane concentration of reactants and reaction rate are different; thus, the current density generated in the active area shows a high degree of non-uniformity. The high local current density can easily lead to the acceleration of DMFC aging. As a result, the operating cost of the DMFC is increased and the service life is shortened, which limits the commercial application of DMFCs. In this work, we develop an in-plane gradient loading catalyst. The loading on both the anode and cathode catalysts was lower near the inlet and higher close to the outlet. The experimental results of the single-cell test show that the performance of the gradient loading catalyst electrode was enhanced by up to 19.8% compared with the uniform loading catalyst at 60 °C for the same catalyst loading, especially under high current densities. In addition, the catalyst utilization was improved for the gradient loading catalyst electrode. Hence, the proposed approach shows potential for reducing the cost and increasing the service life of DMFCs.

Conceptual Design of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Powered by a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell to Enlarge Endurance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Villalba-Herreros ◽  
Teresa J. Leo ◽  
Ricardo Abad
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cell ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles ◽  
High Energy ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Direct Methanol ◽  
Offshore Industry ◽  
Methanol Fuel Cell

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are versatile machines capable of more and more complex missions including the offshore industry. The ability to carry out some missions relies on the endurance the vehicle is provided with. In this sense, fuel cells are found to be very adequate devices to enlarge AUVs endurance because of the high energy density and specific energy they can achieve, but the application of fuel cell technology to AUVs faces specific challenges that need to be overcome. The present work describes the conceptual design process of a typical AUV powered by a direct methanol fuel cell. Methanol is a high available fuel and its handling system is simple. The obtained results indicate that the manufacturing of such a vehicle is possible within several constrains, being the carbon dioxide treatment system the most critical component of the energy plant. The projected vehicle is compared to current vehicles on the market showing the improved endurance.

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