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The Effect of a Reduction in the Catalyst Loading on a Mini Passive Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

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  • C. S. Moreira

    (CEFT—Transport Phenomena Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
    ALiCE—Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

  • A. M. F. R. Pinto

    (CEFT—Transport Phenomena Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
    ALiCE—Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

  • V. B. Oliveira

    (CEFT—Transport Phenomena Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
    ALiCE—Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

Abstract

Mini passive direct methanol fuel cells (mpDMFCs) appear to be a promising alternative for powering portable devices, since they use a liquid fuel, have a fast refuelling time, have a high efficiency and have a low environmental impact. However, some issues need to be solved before their commercialization, such as methanol crossover, short lifetime and high costs. The present work studies the effect of reducing the anode and cathode catalyst loading on the performance of a mpDMFC towards a reduction in the system costs and the characterization of the system losses. The undesirable losses that affect the fuel cell performance were identified and quantified using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique. Accordingly, a novel equivalent electric circuit (EEC) was proposed, accurately reproducing the mini pDMFC. In this work, a maximum power density of 7.07 mW cm −2 was obtained, with a methanol concentration of 5 M, using 2 mg cm −2 Pt-RuB and 4 mg cm −2 PtB. The mpDMFC allowed the cell to work with high methanol concentrations and reduced anode catalyst loadings.

Suggested Citation

  • C. S. Moreira & A. M. F. R. Pinto & V. B. Oliveira, 2024. "The Effect of a Reduction in the Catalyst Loading on a Mini Passive Direct Methanol Fuel Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:20:p:5174-:d:1500882
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali & Sayed, Enas Taha & Nakagawa, Nobuyoshi, 2020. "Significance of diffusion layers on the performance of liquid and vapor feed passive direct methanol fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    2. Braz, B.A. & Oliveira, V.B. & Pinto, A.M.F.R., 2020. "Optimization of a passive direct methanol fuel cell with different current collector materials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
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