A parametric study of methanol crossover in a flowing electrolyte-direct methanol fuel cell |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University, Umeå SE-90187, Sweden;2. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, Ont., Canada K1S5B6;3. Fuel Cell Division, Energy Visions Inc., 3608 33rd St. NW, Calgary, Alta., Canada T2L2A6;4. Technical University Graz, Institute for Inorganic Technology, Stremayrgasse 16/III, A-8010 Graz, Austria;1. Department of Naval Architecture, Technological Educational Institution of Athens, Ag. Spyridonos Street, Egaleo GR 12210, Greece;2. Department of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering, University of Strathclyde, 100 Montrose Street, Glasgow G4 0LZ, UK;1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-143, Tehran, Iran;2. Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China;3. Ceramic Division, Materials and Energy Research Center, P.O. Box 14155-4777, Alborz, Iran;1. Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China;2. Lab of Sail, Cable and Paints, Navy Equipment Technology Institute, Beijing 102442, China;3. School of Electrical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China;4. Department of Academics, Dalian Naval Academy, Dalian, Liaoning 116018, China |
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| Abstract: | Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have significant potential to become a leading technology for energy conversion in a variety of applications. However, problems, such as methanol crossover reduce the efficiency and open circuit voltage of the cells. The novel design of flowing electrolyte-direct methanol fuel cells (FE-DMFCs) addresses this issue. Methanol molecules are effectively removed from the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) by the flowing electrolyte, and the unused fuel can be utilized externally.In this paper, a general 3D numerical computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is established to simulate methanol crossover by convection–diffusion in the FE-DMFC. Illustrations of methanol concentration distribution and methanol molar flux densities are presented, and the performance is compared to conventional DMFCs. The results indicate that methanol crossover can be reduced significantly. A parameter study is performed where the influences of anode fuel feed concentration, electrolyte channel thickness and electrolyte volumetric flow rate on methanol crossover are evaluated. In addition, effects of various electrolyte channel orientations are determined. According to the simulations, counter flow is the superior choice of channel orientations to minimize crossover. |
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