LAPSE:2019.1554
Published Article
LAPSE:2019.1554
Performance of an Active Micro Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Using Reduced Catalyst Loading MEAs
December 10, 2019
The micro direct methanol fuel cell (MicroDMFC) is an emergent technology due to its special interest for portable applications. This work presents the results of a set of experiments conducted at room temperature using an active metallic MicroDMFC with an active area of 2.25 cm². The MicroDMFC uses available commercial materials with low platinum content in order to reduce the overall fuel cell cost. The main goal of this work is to provide useful information to easily design an active MicroDMFC with a good performance recurring to cheaper commercial Membrane Electrode Assemblies MEAs. A performance/cost analysis for each MEA tested is provided. The maximum power output obtained was 18.1 mW/cm² for a hot-pressed MEA with materials purchased from Quintech with very low catalyst loading (3 mg/cm² Pt⁻Ru at anode side and 0.5 mg/cm² PtB at the cathode side) costing around 15 euros. Similar power values are reported in literature for the same type of micro fuel cells working at higher operating temperatures and substantially higher cathode catalyst loadings. Experimental studies using metallic active micro direct methanol fuel cells operating at room temperature are very scarce. The results presented in this work are, therefore, very useful for the scientific community.
Keywords
commercial MEAs, experimental studies, low catalyst loading, MicroDMFC
Subject
Suggested Citation
Falcão D, Silva R, Rangel C, Pinto A. Performance of an Active Micro Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Using Reduced Catalyst Loading MEAs. (2019). LAPSE:2019.1554
Author Affiliations
Falcão D: CEFT, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal [ORCID]
Silva R: LNEG, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, Fuel Cells and Hydrogen, Paço do Lumiar, 22, 1649-038 Lisboa, Portugal
Rangel C: LNEG, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, Fuel Cells and Hydrogen, Paço do Lumiar, 22, 1649-038 Lisboa, Portugal [ORCID]
Pinto A: CEFT, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal [ORCID]
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Journal Name
Energies
Volume
10
Issue
11
Article Number
E1683
Year
2017
Publication Date
2017-10-25
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
Version Comments
Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: en10111683, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2019.1554
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doi:10.3390/en10111683
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Dec 10, 2019
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CC BY 4.0
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Dec 10, 2019
 
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Dec 10, 2019
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https://psecommunity.org/LAPSE:2019.1554
 
Original Submitter
Calvin Tsay
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