A split pH direct liquid fuel cell powered by propanol or glycerol

Isabel Chino, Kimberly Hendrix, Abtin Keramati, Omar Muneeb and John L. Haan

Applied Energy, 2019, vol. 251, issue C, -

Abstract: A split pH fuel cell was constructed using an alkaline fuel stream containing NaOH and an alcohol fuel (glycerol, 1-propanol, or 2-propanol) with an acidic oxidant stream containing H2SO4 and 3% H2O2; the electrodes were Pd black anode and Pt black or carbon black cathode separated by a cation exchange membrane with Na+ substituted for H+. The split pH environment improves the thermodynamics of the fuel cell by creating a large potential difference between electrodes, and it provides improved kinetics by lowering the pH of the anode to optimum conditions for alcohol oxidation. When the fuel cell was constructed with a carbon black cathode, significant performance was observed, with maximum power density as high as 115 mW cm−2 for 1-propanol, 105 for glycerol, and 101 for 2-propanol. When the cathode was constructed with Pt black, the power densities increased as high as 275 mW cm−2 for glycerol, 241 for 1-propanol, and 228 for 2-propanol. This performance with Pt is the highest to our knowledge for these fuels in the open literature.

Keywords: Alkaline-acid fuel cell; Alkaline fuel cell; Cation exchange membrane; 1-propanol; 2-propanol (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113323

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