Performance of a miniaturized silicon reformer-PrOx-fuel cell system

A fuel cell made with silicon is operated with hydrogen supplied by a reformer and a preferential oxidation (PrOx) reactor those are also made with silicon. The performance and durability of the fuel cell is analyzed and tested, then compared with the results obtained with pure hydrogen. Three components of the system are made using silicon technologies and micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technology. The commercial Cu-ZnO-Al₂O₃ catalyst for the reformer and the Pt-Al₂O₃ catalyst for the PrOx reactor are coated by means of a fill-and-dry method. A conventional membrane electrode assembly composed of a 0.375 mg cm⁻² PtRu/C catalyst for the anode, a 0.4 mg cm⁻² Pt/C catalyst for the cathode, and a Nafion™ 112 membrane is introduced to the fuel cell. The reformer gives a 27 cm³ min⁻¹ gas production rate with 3177 ppm CO concentration at a 1 cm³ h⁻¹ methanol feed rate and the PrOx reactor shows almost 100% CO conversion under the experimental conditions. Fuel cells operated with this fuel-processing system produce 230 mW cm⁻² at 0.6 V, which is similar to that obtained with pure hydrogen.