Innovation of vapor-feed microfluidic fuel cell with novel geometric configuration and operation parameters optimization

The harmless reaction process makes the fuel cells possess the environment-friendly characteristic, but the application of fuel cells is limited by their low fuel utilization. To improve this, a model of vapor-feed microfluidic fuel cell with a novel geometric configuration is established in present study, and the effects of various parameters on cell performance are investigated in detail. Simulation results show that structural parameters contribute significantly to the improvement in cell performance. After a series of optimizations, the maximum power density of 47.43 mW/cm(2) is achieved, the fuel utilization and exergy efficiency are increased to 46.03% and 5.24%, respectively. This indicates that the structural optimization measures such as tower-type gas chamber and embedded electrode are significant for improving the performance of the vapor-feed microfluidic fuel cell. (C) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A novel vapor-feed microfluidic fuel cell model was established in this study, and after optimizing structural parameters, the cell performance was significantly improved with a maximum power density of 47.43 mW/cm(2) achieved, and increased fuel utilization and exergy efficiency.