Methanol Fuel Cells
Originally created on January 02 2008
After grabbing headlines for years as the ultimate solution to world energy problems, the “hydrogen economy” has an emerging but lesser-known competitor called the “methanol economy,” according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News.
In the article, C&EN Associate Editor Jyllian Kemsley describes how methanol, an alcohol like ethanol, shows increasing promise as an alternative energy source with advantages over both ethanol and hydrogen.
A methanol economy – championed in a 2006 book by chemistry Nobel Laureate George Olah – would not be dependent on bumper crops of corn and could provide lower tailpipe emissions and a reduced fire hazard. Besides powering automobile engines, methanol can also be used to power fuel cells and as a fuel for operating gas turbines at electric power plants, the article notes. It also can take the place of petroleum-based feedstocks for making a range of chemicals and materials, including plastics.
In addition to direct use as a fuel in engines, methanol can be used in fuel cells. In one type of methanol-charged fuel cell, the strategy is on-board generation of hydrogen through catalytic reforming. The hydrogen is then fed into a typical proton-exchange membrane fuel cell. In a demonstration project as early as 2002, fuel-cell-powered Daimler Chrysler’s NECAR 5 made a trip from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., the first attempt to drive a fuel-cell-powered car cross-country. The car had to be refueled about every 300 miles.
The direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), developed by researchers at USC-Loker and California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is another promising design. With a platinum-ruthenium catalyst at the anode and platinum at the cathode, the fuel cell overall consumes methanol and oxygen to produce CO2, H2O, and electricity.
DMFCs have been hampered by low efficiency levels relating to methanol’s ability to permeate of the commercial Nafion membrane. However, USC-Loker researchers have improved efficiencies by developing a proprietary membrane made of polystyrene sulfonic acid cross-linked within a poly(vinylidene fluoride) matrix. DMFC technology is still considered too expensive to implement in vehicles but instead is being developed to power portable electronics. In October, Toshiba unveiled a DMFC-powered multimedia player that the company says runs for 10 hours on 10 mL of methanol.
China now blazes the trail toward a methanol economy, putting 1 to 2 billion gallons per year toward fuel, according to the article. Researchers worldwide are now exploring new, more efficient methods for making methanol. One of the downsides of producing methanol, however, is that carbon dioxide, the primary gas behind climate change, is a byproduct. To remove that liability, scientists are also developing processes that can convert the carbon dioxide into more methanol or other usable materials, the article states.
The following methanol fueled products will be presented here
IdaTech
EFOY
The SFC brand name for the fuel cells is EFOY (that’s “energy for you” fuel cells) and comes in four sizes, with output options ranging from 1.6 kWh per day to 0.6 KWh per day. Naturally, these fuel cells can be used in a variety of vehicles, from three-wheeled rickshaw-like bikes to motor homes (where the cells are used as power generators, not to provide forward motion).
VIASPACE
Energy subsidiary Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation produces disposable methanol fuel cartridges for portable electronic devices such as notebook computers and mobile phones that are expected to be powered by fuel cells in the future. Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation has cartridge manufacturing partners in Korea, Japan and the US. Direct methanol fuel cell powered portable electronic devices have been demonstrated by companies such as Toshiba, Hitachi and Samsung
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