Advances in mixed-reactant fuel cells

Abstract

The mixed-reactant fuel cell(MRFC) is a new concept, in which a mixture of aqueous fuel and gaseous oxygen(or air) flows directly through a porous anode-electrolyte-cathode structure or through a strip-cell with an anode-electrolyte-cathode configuration. These structures can be single cells or parallel stacks of cells and may be in a planar, tubular or any other geometry. Selectivity in the electrocatalysts for MRFCs is mandatory to minimize mixed-potential at the electrodes, which otherwise would reduce the available cell voltage and compromise the fuel efficiency. MRFC offers a cost effective solution in fuel cell design, since there is no need for gas-tight structure within the stack and, as a consequence, considerable reduction in sealing, manifolding and reactants delivery structure is possible. In recent years, significant advances have been made in MRFCs, using methanol as a fuel. This paper reviews the status of mixed reactant fuel cells and reports some recent experimental data for methanol fuel cell systems.