Development of a micro direct methanol fuel cell with heat control

Shuo Fang, Yufeng Zhang, Zezhong Ma, Yuezhang Zou and Xiaowei Liu

Energy, 2016, vol. 116, issue P1, 978-985

Abstract: In this work, an active micro direct methanol fuel cell (μDMFC) system employing the catalytic combustor as the heating device is developed in order to maintain the optimum cell temperature and achieve the best cell performance. A passive feed method, combining both the saturator and the wick, is adopted to supply sufficient methanol into the micro combustor. The feasibility and the superiorities of the active μDMFC system are validated experimentally. The experimental results show that the combustor can start spontaneously and quickly at the ambient temperature of 298 K and the control unit can efficiently keep the cell temperature around the optimum value. The proposed active μDMFC system also performs much better than the conventional one at the ambient temperature of 298 K. Moreover, the performance and stability of the active μDMFC system at 298 K and the conventional one at 338 K are compared and analyzed respectively. The results verify that the active μDMFC system can real-time control the cell temperature and prevent overtemperature. Therefore, the active μDMFC system greatly increases the cell performance and stability. The active μDMFC system presented in this research also has great potential for portable applications.

Keywords: Micro direct methanol fuel cell; Micro catalytic combustor; Operating temperature; Stability analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:116:y:2016:i:p1:p:978-985

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2016.10.034

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