Performance improvement and CO₂ removal behavior in a direct methanol fuel cell with porous flow filed made of sintered metal powder

Abstract

Previous research show that the performance of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) can be improved by applying porous flow fileds made of sintered metal powder compared to the operation with conventional straight groove flow fields. This research analyzed the relationship between cell performance and CO₂ bubble behavior on anode in a DMFC with observation windows for visualizing the electrode flowfields and outlet passages. The experimental results show that a decrease in anode outlet diameter tends to increase the cell performance due to a smooth removal of CO₂ bubbles from anode. The influence of anode flow rate on cell performance was also analyzed with different anode outlet diameters.