A novel high-temperature, liquid-vapor fed, passive direct methanol fuel cell

The focus of this study on Direct Methanol Fuel Cells is to develop a high temperature, high insulation, liquid and vapor fed fuel cell. A fuel cell was designed that is simplistic and lightweight while running on a liquid methanol water solution that can be turned into a vapor solution at higher temperatures. This fuel cell device was fabricated and insulated with a high vacuum insulation. The fuel cell device was tested with a standard NafionRTM membrane. It was tested at multiple temperatures with different levels of insulation. Experimental results demonstrated that a direct methanol fuel cell is more efficient while it is run at a constant current density with increasing temperatures, and additionally produces more power.;This study is believed to be the first to investigate the feasibility of utilizing a high temperature liquid and vapor fed Direct Methanol Fuel cell with a simple design that pumps the methanol fuel with an internal heater due to buoyancy. It is found that the prototype design works well at temperatures above the typical operating temperature of methanol fuel cells. With the addition of vacuum insulation, having a high temperature liquid and vapor fed Direct Methanol Fuel Cell is feasible. These findings could be used to create high temperature liquid and vapor fed portable fuel cells for consumer products.