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.
Issue Section:
Research Papers
1.
Vielstich
, W.
, 1970, Fuel Cells: Modern Processes for Electrochemical Production of Energy
, Wiley
, New York
.2.
Qi
, Z.
, and Kaufman
, A.
, 2002, “Open Circuit Voltage and Methanol Crossover in DMFCs
,” J. Power Sources
0378-7753, 110
, pp. 177
–185
.3.
Liu
, J. G.
, Zhao
, T. S.
, Chen
, R.
, and Wong
, C. W.
, 2005, “The Effect of Methanol Concentration on the Performance of a Passive DMFC
,” Electrochem. Commun.
1388-2481, 7
, pp. 288
–294
.4.
Larminie
, J.
, and Dicks
, A.
, 2003, Fuel Cell Systems Explained
, Wiley
, New York
.5.
Seo
, S. H.
, and Lee
, C. S.
, 2008, “Effect of Operating Parameters on the Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Using Air or Oxygen as an Oxidant Gas
,” Energy Fuels
0887-0624, 22
, pp. 1212
–1219
.6.
O’Hayre
, R.
, Cha
, W. S.
, Colella
, W.
, and Prinz
, F. B.
, 2005, Fuel Cell Fundamentals
, Wiley
, New York
.7.
Rayment
, C.
, and Sherwin
, S.
, 2003, Introduction to Fuel Cell Technology
, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame
, Notre Dame, IN
.8.
Lin
, Y.
, Zhan
, Z.
, Liu
, J.
, and Barnett
, S. A.
, 2005, “Direct Operation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells With Methane Fuel
,” Solid State Ionics
0167-2738, 176
, pp. 1827
–1835
.Copyright © 2010
by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
You do not currently have access to this content.