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A circular stacking strategy for microfluidic fuel cells with volatile methanol fuel

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  • Wang, Yifei
  • Leung, Dennis Y.C.

Abstract

Microfluidic fuel cell (MFC) stacking is a prerequisite to improve its power output for practical applications. Unlike the stacking of membrane-based fuel cells, MFC stacking generally involves complex fluidic management, such as anolyte and catholyte distribution, and spent electrolyte collection, which greatly increases the system’s complexity. In addition, the operational robustness of MFC stacks is generally sensitive to the electrolyte flow rate, which imposes stringent requirements on the precision of the electrolyte distributor and the stability of the environment where the MFC stack works. To deal with these issues, a circular MFC stacking strategy is proposed in this paper, which is especially suitable for volatile hydrocarbon fuels. In such an MFC stack, anolyte is no longer needed because fuel is stored outside the MFC in neat form, which evaporates into vapor form and diffuses into the MFC anodes, while oxidant is directly obtained from the ambient air. In this manner, only one electrolyte flow is needed for each single cell, which greatly simplifies the fluidic management system. Moreover, the stack performance is also found to be flow rate insensitive, ensuring a much improved operational robustness. Experimental results of a six-cell stack prototype (connected in series) have demonstrated an OCV of 5–5.5V, indicating a very effective electrolyte distribution and, therefore, fuel crossover suppression. A peak power density of 108.7mWcm−2 can be achieved at 60°C with 3M KOH as electrolyte. Moreover, stacking efficiency as high as 98.4% was obtained, which could be attributed to both the effective inhibition of shunt currents and the limited performance difference among the single cells.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Yifei & Leung, Dennis Y.C., 2016. "A circular stacking strategy for microfluidic fuel cells with volatile methanol fuel," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 659-669.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:184:y:2016:i:c:p:659-669
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.11.019
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wang, Huizhi & Leung, Dennis Y.C. & Xuan, Jin, 2013. "Modeling of a microfluidic electrochemical cell for CO2 utilization and fuel production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1057-1062.
    2. Wang, Yifei & Leung, Dennis Y.C. & Xuan, Jin & Wang, Huizhi, 2015. "A vapor feed methanol microfluidic fuel cell with high fuel and energy efficiency," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 456-465.
    3. Xuan, Jin & Leung, Michael K.H. & Leung, Dennis Y.C. & Wang, Huizhi, 2012. "Towards orientation-independent performance of membraneless microfluidic fuel cell: Understanding the gravity effects," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 80-86.
    4. Xuan, Jin & Leung, Michael K.H. & Leung, Dennis Y.C. & Wang, Huizhi, 2012. "Laminar flow-based fuel cell working under critical conditions: The effect of parasitic current," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 87-93.
    5. Xuan, Jin & Leung, D.Y.C. & Wang, Huizhi & Leung, Michael K.H. & Wang, Bin & Ni, Meng, 2013. "Air-breathing membraneless laminar flow-based fuel cells: Do they breathe enough oxygen?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 400-407.
    6. Zhang, Hao & Xuan, Jin & Xu, Hong & Leung, Michael K.H. & Leung, Dennis Y.C. & Zhang, Li & Wang, Huizhi & Wang, Lei, 2013. "Enabling high-concentrated fuel operation of fuel cells with microfluidic principles: A feasibility study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1131-1137.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Ouyang, Tiancheng & Lu, Jie & Xu, Peihang & Hu, Xiaoyi & Chen, Jingxian, 2022. "High-efficiency fuel utilization innovation in microfluidic fuel cells: From liquid-feed to vapor-feed," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    4. Wang, Yifei & Kwok, Holly Y.H. & Pan, Wending & Zhang, Huimin & Lu, Xu & Leung, Dennis Y.C., 2019. "Parametric study and optimization of a low-cost paper-based Al-air battery with corrosion inhibition ability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Fu, Ya-Lu & Zhang, Biao & Zhu, Xun & Ye, Ding-Ding & Sui, Pang-Chieh & Djilali, Ned, 2020. "Pore-scale modeling of oxygen transport in the catalyst layer of air-breathing cathode in membraneless microfluidic fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    6. Wang, Yifei & Luo, Shijing & Kwok, Holly Y.H. & Pan, Wending & Zhang, Yingguang & Zhao, Xiaolong & Leung, Dennis Y.C., 2021. "Microfluidic fuel cells with different types of fuels: A prospective review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    7. Ouyang, Tiancheng & Chen, Jingxian & Liu, Wenjun & Xu, Peihang & Lu, Jie & Zhao, Zhongkai, 2022. "A comprehensive evaluation for microfluidic fuel cells from anti-vibration viewpoint using phase field theory," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 676-693.
    8. Muhammad Tanveer & Kwang-Yong Kim, 2021. "Flow Configurations of Membraneless Microfluidic Fuel Cells: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-33, June.
    9. Lan, Qiao & Ye, Dingding & Zhu, Xun & Chen, Rong & Liao, Qiang, 2022. "Enhanced gas removal and cell performance of a microfluidic fuel cell by a paper separator embedded in the microchannel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).

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