Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC)

Abstract:
Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) is often considered as a promising
electrochemical generator for various applications, including micro sources. Direct
Methanol Fuel Cell or DMFCs are a subcategory of proton exchange fuel cell in
which methanol is used as a fuel cell. There the main advantages are the ease of
transport of methanol is used as a fuel, an energy density yet reasonable sustainable
liquid at all environmental conditions. Efficiency is quite low for these cells, so
they are targeted to especially to portable applications, where the energy and power
density are more important than efficiency. Unfortunately, serious limitations are
still remain and need to be solved before development of such devices. Challenges
concern the various component of DMFC both anodic and cathodic reaction need
more suitable electrodes, as well as the electrolytic membrane should be
concerned.

Abstract:
Fuel cells are considered as future device for converting the chemical energy into
electrical energy without having any movable parts. Fuel cell can be classified
according to working temperature: high, medium and low (ambient) temperature
system or referring to the pressure of operation: high, medium and low
(atmospheric) pressure system. It works on the principal of oxidation reduction
mechanism using special type of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) which
only allows proton to exchange through it. Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) is
advantageous in terms of operation conditions as well as its reliability over the
other types of fuel cells such as, Alkaline Fuel Cell (AFC), Molten Carbon Fuel
Cell (MCFC), Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), Solid Oxide
Fuel Cell (SOFC), Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC).A Direct Methanol Fuel Cell
(DMFC) works in the same way as a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell
(PEMFC) with a difference that methanol and water are split into protons,
electrons and CO2 at the anode.
The main advantages are the ease of transport of methanol, an energy-dense yet
reasonably stable liquid at all environmental condition, methanol can be produced
from biomass or natural gas and the lack of complex steam reforming (used to
generate hydrogen from fossil fuel) operations. The efficiency is presently quietly
low for these cells so they are targeted especially to portable applications, where
energy and power density are more important than efficiency. Using methanol as
primary fuel has its advantages over pure hydrogen. One of the most significant is
that fact that methanol can be stored as a liquid over a wide temperature range (97 to 64.7) and therefore avoids many of the pitfalls of hydrogen storage.
Liquid methanol on the other hand can be stored in cheap plastic containers and is
an excellent carrier fuel that hydrogen can be extracted from to power fuel cells.
The reasons behind the poor efficiency are firstly, the low reaction kinetics of
methanol oxidation reaction at anode, secondly, the thickness of anode catalyst
layer. A thick catalyst layer increases the ohmic resistances as well as mass transfer
resistances. Now a days, fuel cell technology especially in DMFCs which is being
for long as the most difficult fuel cell technology due to methanol crossover and
catalytic inefficiency, steady progress has been made such as catalysis, electrolysis,
electrode structure, theoretical understanding of gas diffusion and fuel cell
engineering.

Abstract:
Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) is simulated in sequential mode in a zero
dimensional mode to represent the electrochemical reaction on both electrodes. It
is shown that this approach is predicted the harmful methanol flow across the
polymer electrolyte membrane(PEM), the cross over and the resulting loss of
potential on the cathode , caused by the mixed potential that is build between the
parasitic cathodic methanol and the oxygen reduction .

Abstract:
Fuel Cells are electrochemical reactions that realized the direct conversion of
chemical energy of reactants to electrical energy. Among the different fuel cell
types, the DMFC with the polymer electrolytic membrane(PEM) as electrolyte and
liquid water methanol mixture as energy carrier is a promising power source of
vehicular and various portable application, like laptops. Multimedia equipments,
and mobile power supplies, these type of fuel cell has several advantages, such as
low emission, a potentially renewable liquid fuel with a high power dencity,as well
as fast and convenient refueling.

Abstract:
Direct Methanol Fuel Cells(DMFCs)are currently investigated as alternative power
source to batteries for portable applications because they can offer higher energy
densities. However, two factors limit the performance of DMFC systems:
crossover of methanol from anode to cathode and the slow kinetics of the
electrochemical oxidation of methanol at the anode. The crossover of methanol
lowers the system efficiency and decreases cell potential due to corrosion at the
cathode. The kinetics of DMFCs are complicated because the reaction mechanism
involves adsorption of methanol and several reaction steps including the oxidation
of CO, where the electrochemical oxidation of methanol occurs. Catalysis studies
have attempted to analyze possible reaction pathways to find the main pathway of
methanol oxidation. Most studies conclude that the reaction can proceed according
to multiple mechanisms. However, it is widely accepted that the most significant
reactions are the adsorption of methanol and the oxidation of CO. the reaction
mechanism that will be used in to model performance of DMFCs.

Abstract:
One of the most promising applications of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells
(DMFCs) presently concerned with the field of portable power sources . In this
regard, increasing interest is devoted towards the miniaturization of these fuel
cell devices in order to replace the current Li-ion batteries. Theoretically,
methanol has a superior specific energy density (6000 Wh/kg) in comparison
with the best rechargeable battery, lithium polymer and lithium ion polymer
(600 Wh/kg) systems. This means longer conversation times using mobile
phones, longer times for use of laptop computers and more power available
on these devices to support consumer demand. Another significant advantage
of the DMFC over the rechargeable battery is its potential for instantaneous
refuelling. These significant advantages make DMFCs an exciting
development in the portable electronic devices market .Unfortunately, DMFC
operation at low temperatures requires a high noble metal loading to
enhance the kinetics of the methanol electro-oxidation reaction and counteract
the poisoning effects at the cathode due to the methanol cross-over .
In order to reduce ohmic drop, mass transport and manufacturing problems
deriving by the use of thick electrodes, the present DMFC catalysts for low
temperature applications are usually unsupported Pt and Pt-Ru alloys [10-12].
Yet, the presence of catalyst agglomeration effects in unsupported catalysts
significantly limits their utilization in polymer electrolyte fuel cell systems. In this
work, an 85% Pt-Ru (1:1 a/o) alloy supported on Vulcan XC-72 and a 60%
Pt/Vulcan XC-72 were in-house prepared and utilized in DMFCs as anode
and cathode catalysts, respectively. These carbon supported catalysts associate
high metal surface area to a suitable concentration of the active phase that allows
to maintain a low electrode thickness. The influence of noble metal loading
on the performance of a DMFC operating at low temperatures (30-60C) has
been investigated. This effect has been correlated to catalyst utilization and
electro-catalytic activity at the different temperatures.

Abstract:

Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is a device that converts chemical energy
in Methanol to useful electrical energy. The DMFC cells are fabricated by
synthesizing Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). Methanol is oxidized to
carbon dioxide at the anode. Protons pass through the membrane and electrons
through the external electrical circuit. They combine with oxygen at the
cathode to form water. The actual cell voltage of direct methanol fuel cell is
less than theoretical voltage due to losses involved in the fuel cell operation.
Major losses are due to methanol cross over and slow reaction kinetics
(activation losses). For example, during the reaction process, some quantity
of methanol permeates through the membrane from the anode side to the
cathode. This process known as methanol crossover (MC), reduces the
efficiency of the DMFC as the carbon atoms in methanol poisons the
cathodes catalyst. Moreover, the methanol which has crossed over becomes
wasted and cannot be reused as a fuel in the anode side.

Abstract:

The polyvinylidene fluoride-sulfonated polystyrene composite membrane with

proton exchange performance, denoted as PVDF-SPS, was prepared using a
thermally induced polymerization technique. The thermal stability of the PVDFSPS composite membrane was investigated using thermo gravimetric (TG)
analysis. The complex formation of the composite membrane was ascertained by
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The surface compositions of the
PVDF-SPS membrane were analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
(XPS). The morphology of the composite membrane was characterized by
environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). The proton conductivity of
the PVDF-SPS membrane was measured using impedance spectroscopy in the
hydrated condition. The PVDF-SPS membrane has a stronger hydrophilic
character than the pristine PVDF membrane and the polyvinylidene fluoridepolystyrene composite membrane (PVDF-PS), which is caused by the
incorporation of sulfonic acid groups. The proton conductivity and the methanol
permeability of the PVDF-SPS membrane measured at 298 K . Although PVDFSPS composite membrane possesses the lower oxidative stability than Nafion-117
membrane, the composite membrane displays lower methanol permeability than
the Nafion-117 membrane, and the selectivity (the ratio of proton conductivity and
methanol permeability) of the composite membrane is almost 20 times than that of
Nafion-117.