scholarly journals A Development of Ethanol/Percarbonate Membraneless Fuel Cell

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Priya ◽  
A. Arun ◽  
M. Elumalai ◽  
S. Kiruthika ◽  
B. Muthukumaran

The electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol on membraneless sodium percarbonate fuel cell using platinum electrodes in alkaline-acidic media is investigated. In this cell, ethanol is used as the fuel and sodium percarbonate is used as an oxidant for the first time in an alkaline-acidic media. Sodium percarbonate generates hydrogen peroxide in aqueous medium. At room temperature, the laminar-flow-based microfluidic membraneless fuel cell can reach a maximum power density of 18.96 mW cm−2 with a fuel mixture flow rate of 0.3 mL min−2. The developed fuel cell features no proton exchange membrane. The simple planar structured membraneless ethanol fuel cell presents with high design flexibility and enables easy integration of the microscale fuel cell into actual microfluidic systems and portable power applications.

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Gowdhamamoorthi ◽  
A. Arun ◽  
S. Kiruthika ◽  
B. Muthukumaran

This paper presents the continuous flow operation of membraneless sodium percarbonate fuel cell (MLSPCFC) using acid/alkaline bipolar electrolyte. In the acid/alkaline bipolar electrolyte, percarbonate works both as an oxidant as well as reductant. Sodium percarbonate affords hydrogen peroxide in aqueous medium. The cell converts the energy released by H2O2 decomposition with H+ and OH− ions into electricity and produces water and oxygen. At room temperature, the laminar flow based microfluidic membraneless fuel cell can reach a maximum power density of 28 mW/cm2 with the molar ratio of [Percarbonate]/[NaOH] = 1 as fuel and [Percarbonate]/[H2SO4] = 2 as oxidant. The paper reports for the first time the use of sodium percarbonate as the oxidant and reductant. The developed fuel cell emits no CO2 and features no proton exchange membrane, inexpensive catalysts, and simple planar structure, which enables high design flexibility and easy integration of the microscale fuel cell into actual microfluidic systems and portable power applications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 2497-2502
Author(s):  
M. Elumalai ◽  
M. Raja ◽  
A. Rajasekaran ◽  
B. Chinnaraja

A microfluidic fuel cell has been fabricated using formic acid in an alkaline media as the fuel and sodium percarbonate in acidic media as the oxidant. Various operating conditions and different cell dimensions were applied to evaluate the fuel cell performance. The laminar flow-based membraneless fuel cell was found to reach a maximum power density of 23.60 mW cm-2 using 1.50 M HCOOH in 3 M NaOH solution as the fuel and 0.15 M percarbonate in 1.50 M H2SO4 solution as the oxidant at room temperature. The fuel cell system has no proton exchange membrane. This simple membraneless fuel cell with a planar structure has a high design flexibility, which enables its easy integration into actual microfluidic systems and miniature power applications.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Guccini ◽  
Annika Carlson ◽  
Shun Yu ◽  
Göran Lindbergh ◽  
Rakel Wreland Lindström ◽  
...  

The performance of thin carboxylated cellulose nanofiber-based (CNF) membranes as proton exchange membranes in fuel cells has been measured in-situ as a function of CNF surface charge density (600 and 1550 µmol g<sup>-1</sup>), counterion (H<sup>+</sup>or Na<sup>+</sup>), membrane thickness and fuel cell relative humidity (RH 55 to 95 %). The structural evolution of the membranes as a function of RH as measured by Small Angle X-ray scattering shows that water channels are formed only above 75 % RH. The amount of absorbed water was shown to depend on the membrane surface charge and counter ions (Na<sup>+</sup>or H<sup>+</sup>). The high affinity of CNF for water and the high aspect ratio of the nanofibers, together with a well-defined and homogenous membrane structure, ensures a proton conductivity exceeding 1 mS cm<sup>-1</sup>at 30 °C between 65 and 95 % RH. This is two orders of magnitude larger than previously reported values for cellulose materials and only one order of magnitude lower than Nafion 212. Moreover, the CNF membranes are characterized by a lower hydrogen crossover than Nafion, despite being ≈ 30 % thinner. Thanks to their environmental compatibility and promising fuel cell performance the CNF membranes should be considered for new generation proton exchange membrane fuel cells.<br>


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Jourdani ◽  
Hamid Mounir ◽  
Abdellatif El Marjani

Background: During last few years, the proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) underwent a huge development. Method: The different contributions to the design, the material of all components and the efficiencies are analyzed. Result: Many technical advances are introduced to increase the PEMFC fuel cell efficiency and lifetime for transportation, stationary and portable utilization. Conclusion: By the last years, the total cost of this system is decreasing. However, the remaining challenges that need to be overcome mean that it will be several years before full commercialization can take place.This paper gives an overview of the recent advancements in the development of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel cells and remaining challenges of PEMFC.


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