Parametric studies of direct methanol fuel cell under different modes of operation
Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) performance tests were carried out in different modes of operation, namely, passive, active (air as oxidant) and active (oxygen as oxidant). Few parameters including methanol concentration (2 M, 4 M, 6 M, and 8 M) and methanol flow rate (1-4 mL min-1) were consider...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2020
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14854/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14854/1/19.pdf |
| Summary: | Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) performance tests were carried out in different modes of operation, namely, passive,
active (air as oxidant) and active (oxygen as oxidant). Few parameters including methanol concentration (2 M, 4 M, 6
M, and 8 M) and methanol flow rate (1-4 mL min-1) were considered to investigate their effects on the DMFC performance.
Fuel consumption was indicated by refractive index tests. Results showed that the performance of DMFC increased with the
increase of methanol concentration and flow rate, until they reach certain values, i.e., 4-6 M and 2 mL min-1. Furthermore,
for all parameters, the active mode with oxygen yielded the highest power density, followed by the active mode with
air and passive DMFC system. The active mode with oxygen yielded the power density which peaks at 10.41 mW cm-2
during 6 M of methanol concentration and 2 mL min-1 rate of flowing methanol, followed by active mode with air at the
cathode with 8.39 mW cm-2 and passive mode with 5.39 mW cm-2 respectively. It also records a better fuel consumption
efficiency among all modes. These results indicate that investigating the level of fuel concentration and flow rate can
lead to enhancement of mass transport and diffusion thus generating better performance of DMFC system. |
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