Methanol fuel properties

Ren, X. Springer, T. E. and Gottesfeld, S. (1998). Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Transport Properties of the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane and Cell Performance. Vol. 98-27. Proc. 2nd International Symposium on Proton Conducting Membrane Euel Cells. Pennington, NJ Electrochemical Society. 

Methanol, the second major product from synthesis gas, is a unique compound of high chemical reactivity as well as good fuel properties. It... 

Elabd, Y. A., Walker, C. W. and Beyer, F. L. 2004. Triblock copolymer ionomer membranes. Part 11. Structure characterization and its effects on transport properties and direct methanol fuel cell performance. Journal of Membrane Science 231 181-188. 

Fuel property Gasoline Diesel No. 2 Isooctane Methanol Ethanol... 

Michael Hickner received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Tech in 1999 and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 2003 under the direction of James McGrath. Michael s research in Dr. McGrath s lab focused on the transport properties of proton exchange membranes and their structure-property relationships. He has spent time at Los Alamos National Laboratory studying novel membranes in direct methanol fuel cells and is currently a postdoc at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. 

Fuel specifications represent an attempt to mold and limit fuel properties to facilitate use in vehicles and limit the hazards presented in storing and handling fuels. Petroleum fuels have an advantage here in that producers have some latitude to vary the properties of the final product. There is no such option for some fuels such as natural gas which is predominately methane, and ideally would be 100% methane. Methanol and ethanol are also single-constituent fuels, but it is possible to vary their properties advantageously through the addition of gasoline or other additives. 

Reddington et al. (66) reported the synthesis and screening of a 645-member discrete materials library L9 as a source of catalysts for the anode catalysis of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), with the relevant goal of improving their properties as fuel cells for vehicles and other applications. The anode oxidation in DMFCs is reported in equation 1 (Fig. 11.12). At the time of the publication, state-of-the-art anode catalysts were either binary Pt-Ru alloys (67) or ternary Pt-Ru-Os alloys (68). A systematic exploration of ternary or higher order alloys as anode catalysts for DMFCs was not available, and predictive models to orient the efforts were also lacking. 

A. S. Arico, V. Baglio, V. Di Blasio, A. Di Blasi, E. Modica, P.L. Antonucci and V. Antonucci. Surface properties of inorganic fillers for application in composite membranes-direct methanol fuel cells. Journal of Power Sources 128, 113-118 2004. 

P. Dimitrova, K.A. Eriedrich, B. Vogt, and U. Stimming. Transport properties of ionomer composite membranes for direct methanol fuel cells. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry 532, 75-83 2002. 

The material of PtRu alloy exhibits good properties for CO tolerance in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) [68] and has been studied extensively in recent years [69]. Particular interest has been focused on the application of the PtRu alloy materials as anodes in methanol fuel cells (MFC) for electric vehicles [70]. The most convenient way to alter the surface composition of a PtRu alloy is to employ the electrochemical co-deposition method in the preparation of the alloy. Richcharz and co-workers have studied the surface composition of a series of PtRu alloys using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and low-energy ion spectroscopy (LFIS)... 

With areal power outputs only 20-30% that of a PEFC and an energy-conversion efficiency of 30% near peak power versus 50% in the case of the PEFC, the DMFC remains of great interest because of the attractive properties of methanol fuel, a liquid of high energy density under ambient conditions, and because the DMFC enables direct conversion of this liquid carbonaceous fuel to electric power. Particularly in portable applications, these features help minimize the overall dimensions of the power system (fuel + fuel cell + auxiliaries) and achieve high system energy density. 

Zhong and co-workers [530] described recent results of an investigation of the electrocatal3dic oxidation of methanol using carbon-supported An and Au-Pt nanoparticle catalysts. The exploration of the bimetallic composition on carbon black support was aimed at modifying the catalytic properties for the methanol oxidation reaction at the anode in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). An and Au-Pt nanoparticles of 2-3 nm sizes encapsulated in an organic monolayer were prepared, assembled on carbon black materials and treated thermally. The results have revealed that these Au-Pt nanoparticles catalysts are potentially viable candidates for use in fuel cells under a number of conditions [530],... 

Hickner, M., Wang, F., Kim, Y. et al. (2001) Chemistry-morphology-property relationships of novel proton exchange membranes for direct methanol fuel cells, ACS Fuel (Part 1), Vol. 222, August 26—30, Chicago, p. 51. 

DMFC research at LANE in FY 2002 has focused primarily on fundamental issues relevant to potential portable and transportation applications of direct methanol fuel cells, such as cathode and anode electrocatalysis, electrode composition and structure, membrane properties and MEA design. Substantial progress has been achieved in cathode research. 

---