Evaluation of the Performance Characteristics of a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell With Multifuels

Abstract

Direct methanol fuel cells are one of the alternate power sources for the field of power electronics because of their high energy density. The benefits of a fuel cell toward the environment can be greatly improved if the fuel used for its application comes from renewable sources. In this study, the performance of a direct methanol fuel cell was investigated under five different methanol concentrations. The effect of methanol concentration on the cell operating temperature is studied. Impedance spectroscopy was conducted to measure the ohmic, activation, and mass transport losses for all concentrations. The cell performance was evaluated using methane and ethanol fuels and this was compared with methanol operation.