MEA and methanol concentration optimization of a passive direct methanol fuel cell

Abstract

Passive direct methanol fuel cells (PDMFC) come to attention of portable electronic devices manufacturer as promising power generators. However, it is necessary to maximize the power density of PDMFC's with optimized system components to be able to compete with batteries. In this study, the Taguchi method and variance analysis were used for this purpose. With optimum structural combinations of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and 3M methanol concentration, the power densities were observed and predicted. Predicted and obtained maximum power densities were very close to each other.