• Advances in Energy Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.35-52
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• 2013

A model for DMFC anode performance is developed. The model takes into account potential--independent methanol adsorption on the catalyst surface, finite rate of proton transport through the anode catalyst layer (ACL), and a potential loss due to methanol transport in the anode backing layer. An approximate analytical half--cell polarization curve is derived and equations for the anode limiting current density are obtained. The polarization curve is fitted to the curves measured by Nordlund and Lindbergh and parameters resulted from the fitting are discussed.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.474-476
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• 2006

본 연구에서는 다양한 두께, loading 및 기공 구조를 갖는 MPL을 형성하여 DMFC용 확산층을 제조하였다. 본 실험에서 제조한 확산층의 경우, 두께가 증가하면서 기공이 micro-pore에서 meso-pore 영역으로 옮겨감을 확인할 수 있었으며, 또한 기공구조에 따라 공기 투과도 특성이 변화하는 것을 확인할 수 있었다 각각의 확산층은 서로 다른 운전 조건에서 우수한 성능(흑은 안정적인 성능)을 갖는 것으로 확인되었으며, 이는 용도에 따른 확산층의 적합한 구조 설계가 요구됨을 의미한다.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.03b
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• pp.248-251
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• 2008

The objective of this study is to select fuel/air feeders for reliable operation of BOP(Balance of Plant) system for a DMFC (direct methanol fuel cell). A 42-cell 50W DMFC stack is considered for performance comparison of selected fuel pumps and air blowers. The present stack has two serpentine anode channels with depth of 1.2 mm and rib of 1 mm and one serpentine cathode channel with depth of 1.5 mm and rib of 1 mm. The pressure drop through the stack is estimated in advance by utilizing the pre-existing loss coefficients data for various flow configurations. Then the operating points of feeders are determined at the balance point of the flow impedance curves for the channels in the DMFC stack and the selected pump and blower performance curves. After estimating the operating flow rates in the anode and cathode channels, the flow measurement with the selected feeders is performed for the comparison with the estimated flow rates. The measured results show that the discrepancy between the estimation and the measurement for the cathode is about 26%, about 3% for the anode

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.27-30
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• 2007

This study considers the feasibility of the concentration control of the methanol solution by oscillating flow in the anode channel of passive type Direct Methanol Fuel Cells(DMFC). DMFC stack performance is largely influenced by the fuel concentration. If the fuel concentration is either lower than 0.5M or more than 2M, its performance deteriorates seriously because of the fuel starvation or the fuel crossover. In this respect the optimization of the fuel concentration is crucially important to maximize the DMFC stack performance. In this work, the effects of oscillating actuation in the fuel supply are studied to control the fuel concentration. Two important nondimensional parameters are introduced, each of which represents either the oscillating frequency or the oscillating amplitude. It is shown how these factors affect the stack performance and the efficiency of the DMFC stack.

• 한국전기화학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.12-12
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• 2003

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.495-509
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• 2013

In this study, we develop a one-dimensional (1-D), two-phase, transient-thermal DMFC model to investigate the effect of methanol concentration fluctuation that usually occurs in active-type direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) systems. 1-D transient simulations are conducted and time-dependent behaviors of DMFCs are analyzed under various DMFC operating conditions such as anode/cathode stoichiometry, cell temperature, and cathode inlet humidification. The simulation results indicate that the effect of methanol concentration fluctuation on DMFC performance can be mitigated by proper control of anode/cathode stoichiometry, providing a guideline to optimize operating conditions of active DMFC systems.

• 한국전기화학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.07a
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• pp.183-188
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• 2002

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.45-48
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• 2008

This paper presents a passive air-breathing direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) which has been designed and tested. The single cell is fuelled by methanol vapor that is supplied through flow channel from a methanol reservoir at the anode, and the oxygen is supplied via natural air-breathing at the cathode. The methods for supplying the methanol vapor to the single cell were parallel channel and chamber. This research investigates various methods to identify the effects of using flow channels for providing the methanol vapor at the anode, and the opening ratio between the inlet and outlet ports for the methanol flow at the anode. The best flow channel condition for passive DMFC was a chamber, and the opening ratio was 0.8. Under these conditions, the peak power was 10.2mW/$cm^2$ at room temperature and ambient pressure. The key issues for the Passive DMFCs for using methanol vapor are that sufficient methanol needs to be supplied using a large as possible opening ratio. However, it is shown that the performance of the passive DMFC, which has a channel at the anode,is low due to the low differential pressure and insufficient methanol supply rate.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.18-22
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• 2003

Single cell performance has been investigated and characterized with variables in the fabrication of DMFC anode. The performance was checked as a function of ionomer content which affects ion conductivity in the catalyst layer, and catalyst slurry solvent which determines structure of agglomerates consisting of an ionomer and a catalyst. Anode with total ionomer to catalyst ratio of 0.6 showed the best performance and the lowest polarization resistance. Also, electrochemically effective surface area increased with ionomer content. As solubility of the ionomer decreases with decreasing solvent polarity, the size of agglomerates consisting of a catalyst and an ionomer became larger in the less polar solvent. The anode using DPK $(\varepsilon=12.60)$ as a solvent, which is less polar than generally-used water or alcohol species, showed the maximum performance and the lowest polarization resistance.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.413-416
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• 2006

PtRu catalyst is most widely used as anode catalyst for a direct methanol fuel cell(DMFC). To promote the efficiency of the catalysts, it Is important to increase the triple phase boundary. In this study, we have tried to increase the triple phase boundaries in preparing electrocatalysts of the fuel cells, based on the process of grafting a proton-conducting agent onto the catalyst This grafted proton-conducting agent can act as an ionomer like Nafion, currently widely used ionomer. First, we have prepared the 80wt% PtRu/Ketjen Black electrocatalyst by an improved colloidal method. And, we have grafted methylsulfonate groups $(-CH_2SO_3H)$ into the catalyst as proton-conducting agents. As results of cyclic voltammety and single cell test of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), we can conclude that the activity of the grafted electrocatalysts is superior to that of conventional ones, in performance of DMFCs. For our further study, we will investigate the optimum ratio of catalyst/grafted proton conduct Ing agent with maximum performance of a DMFC.