Fuel cells using dimethyl ether

The performance of fuel cells using dimethyl ether (DME) fuel is presented in this study at a relatively low temperature of 80 degrees C. DME is known to be less electrochemically active to Pt catalysts, compared with typical fuels for fuel cells such as hydrogen and methanol, especially at low temperatures. In order to compensate the poor performance of fuel cells using the less active DME fuel, the DME and methanol fuels are mixed and supplied to the fuel cells simultaneously. The methanol fuel is delivered to the fuel cells by the high vapor pressure of DME without a liquid pump. In this study, we investigated the effect of anode catalysts and the effect of mixing fuels of DME, water, and methanol on the performance of the fuel cell. For preparing a fuel mixture with DME, the solubility of DME in water and methanol solution has been also investigated. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.