System Issues for Nafion-based Portable Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

摘要

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are currently being investigated for a number of different portable power applications, and to date Nafion has been the primary membrane used in such devices. The operating conditions for such devices (low flow rates, ambient air pressure and humidification, and room temperature operation) have not been extensively studied. Therefore, in an effort to better understand the behavior of Nafion-based DMFCs as portable power devices, fuel cell experiments have been run under conditions associated with passive devices in conventional single cell hardware. Factors such as device size and fuel efficiency will be discussed, along with water management issues for such a cell.