Comparison of Man-Portable Power Generation Alternatives Based on Fuel- Cell Systems

摘要

Micro-fabricated fuel cell systems are a potential consumer product with the promise to outperform batteries for man-portable power generation in terms of the achievable energy density. There is a plethora of potential civil and military applications and a great variety of potential devices are being considered in various research institutions. The authors have developed a systematic methodology for the comparison of alternatives and examination of the influence of technological parameters and have implemented this in a web- based tool. They consider a variety of fuel/chemical choices, including hydrocarbons, methanol, ammonia, and hydrides; oxygen options considered are atmospheric air, compressed air, compressed oxygen, and oxygen generators; and fuel cell types considered are Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, hydrogen-operated Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells, Direct Methanol Fuel Cells, Proton Ceramic Fuel Cells, and Single Chamber Fuel Cells. In this paper, the authors present and motivate the resulting process alternatives and demonstrate the use of the methodology in case studies, showing the scaling of the process performance and the influence of water management.