Performance and modelling of a direct methanol solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell

The performance and modelling of a direct methanol fuel cell based on a solid polymer electrolyte membrane (SPE) is reported. Two sizes of cell are used: a small cell with an area of 9 cm2 and a large single cell with an area of 250 cm2. The fuel cell utilises a vapourised methanol fuel at a porous carbon/Pt-Ru catalyst electrode. The performance of the fuel cell is affected by the cross-over of methanol from the anode to the cathode through the polymer membrane and this behaviour is modelled. To evaluate cell performance, mathematical models are constructed which describe mass transport in the porous electrode structures and the potential and concentration distributions in the electrode regions. These models are used to predict the cell voltage and current density response of the fuel cell.