Development of a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell with Lightweight Disc Type Current Collectors

Yean- Der Kuan, Shin-Min Lee and Ming-Feng Sung
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Yean- Der Kuan: Department of Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning and Energy Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, No. 35, Lane 215, Section 1, Chung-Shan Road, Taiping Dist., Taichung 41111, Taiwan
Shin-Min Lee: Department of Aerospace Engineering, Tamkang University, No. 151, Ying-chuan Road, Tamsui Dist., New Taipei 25137, Taiwan
Ming-Feng Sung: Kenda Tires, Kenda Rubber Ind. Co., Ltd. 146, Sec. 1, Chung Shan Rd., Yuan-Lin 51099, Taiwan

Energies, 2014, vol. 7, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: The direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) adopts methanol solution as a fuel suitable for low power portable applications. A miniature, lightweight, passive air-breathing design is therefore desired. This paper presents a novel planar disc-type DMFC with multiple cells containing a novel developed lightweight current collector at both the anode and cathode sides. The present lightweight current collector adopts FR4 Glass/Epoxy as the substrate with the current collecting areas located at the corresponding membrane electrolyte assembly (MEA) areas. The current collecting areas are fabricated by sequentially coating a corrosion resistant layer and electrical conduction layer via the thermal evaporation technique. The anode current collector has carved flow channels for fuel transport and production. The cathode current collector has drilled holes for passive air breathing. In order to ensure feasibility in the present concept a 3-cell prototype DMFC module with lightweight disc type current collectors is designed and constructed. Experiments were conducted to measure the cell performance. The results show that the highest cell power output is 54.88 mW·cm ?2 and successfully demonstrate the feasibility of this novel design.

Keywords: direct methanol fuel cell; disc-type current collector; microelectromechanical system; thermal evaporation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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