The performance of three alkaline direct ethanol fuel cells (ADEFCs) is investigated. All three use identical anode and cathode electrodes, but one uses an anion exchange membrane (AEM) and the other two use non-permselective porous separators. Ethanol was chosen as the fuel because of its low toxicity, low carbon footage and market readiness. A direct comparison between ADEFCs with and without AEM is reported. The performance of each cell is studied under different operation conditions of temperature, reactants flow rate, ethanol and KOH concentrations. The results show that with low cost porous separator, the ADEFC can reach similar power output as those using expensive AEMs. With 1 M ethanol and 1 M KOH aqueous solution, the maximum power densities of 26.04 mW/cm2 and 24.0 mW/cm2 are achieved for the ADEFC employing AEM and non-woven fabric separator, respectively. This proves the feasibility of replacing AEM with non-permselective separators. The results suggest that improving the cathode structure in order to provide a better oxygen supply is a key factor to enhance the performance of an anion exchange membrane free ADEFC.
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ASME 2014 12th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology collocated with the ASME 2014 8th International Conference on Energy Sustainability
June 30–July 2, 2014
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Advanced Energy Systems Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-4588-2
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Comparison of Alkaline Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells With and Without Anion Exchange Membrane
Jing Huang,
Jing Huang
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Search for other works by this author on:
Amir Faghri
Amir Faghri
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Search for other works by this author on:
Jing Huang
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Amir Faghri
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Paper No:
FuelCell2014-6361, V001T06A005; 9 pages
Published Online:
October 28, 2014
Citation
Huang, J, & Faghri, A. "Comparison of Alkaline Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells With and Without Anion Exchange Membrane." Proceedings of the ASME 2014 12th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology collocated with the ASME 2014 8th International Conference on Energy Sustainability. ASME 2014 12th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology. Boston, Massachusetts, USA. June 30–July 2, 2014. V001T06A005. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/FuelCell2014-6361
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