Evaluation of an Alkaline Fuel Cell for Multifuel System

Abstract

The performance of an alkaline fuel cell (AFC) is investigated using three different fuels, e.g., methanol, ethanol, and sodium borohydride. Pt∕C∕Ni was used as anode, whereas MnO2∕C∕Ni was used as standard (Electro-Chem-Technic, UK) cathode for all the fuels. Fresh mixture of electrolyte, potassium hydroxide (5M), and fuel (2M) was fed to AFC and withdrawn at a rate of 1ml∕min. The anode was prepared by dispersing platinum and activated carbon in Nafion® (DuPont USA) dispersion and placing it onto a carbon paper (Lydall, USA). Finally prepared anode material was pressed onto Ni mesh and sintered to produce the required anode. The maximum power density of 16.5mW∕cm2 is obtained at 28mA∕cm2 of current density for sodium borohydride at 25°C, whereas methanol produces 31.5mW∕cm2 of maximum power density at 44mA∕cm2 of current density at 60°C. The results obtained showed that the AFC could accept multifuels.