Performance enhancement by optimizing the reformer for an internal reforming methanol fuel cell

Abstract

Abstract Internal reforming methanol fuel cell (IRMFC) has potential applications in portable or stationary power supply system, but currently performance of the IRMFC is limited by the low hydrogen production of its reformer. In order to produce more hydrogen with less volume, in this paper a single channel serpentine packed bed reformer was designed, and its bed size was optimized by experiment and numerical simulation to enhance heat transfer and increase catalyst utilization. It was found that with the bed diameter from 5.8 mm down to 3.8 mm, the reformer temperature distribution was more uniform but the bed pressure drop increased a lot. Considering performance and pressure drop, the reformer of 5 mm was optimal, per milliliters of which could supply 9.8 mL/min hydrogen at 453 K, almost twice as much as that by A. Mendes et al with one‐third of their catalyst loading. The reformer was quite stable, and less than 10% decline in methanol conversion was observed during the 100 hours period at 473 K. When incorporated into an IRMFC single cell, power density of the single cell reached 0.45‐0.55 W/cm 2 at 453‐473 K under CH 3 OH solution and air feed, the highest in existing reports. The main drawback has to do with low stability of the IRMFC single cell at high current density.

Key findings

• ▸A reformer bed diameter of 5 mm was found to be optimal, producing 9.8 mL/min hydrogen per milliliter at 453 K.
• ▸The reformer was stable, with less than 10% decline in methanol conversion over 100 hours at 473 K.
• ▸When incorporated into an IRMFC single cell, power density reached 0.45-0.55 W/cm² at 453-473 K.

Keywords

Identifiers

DOI

10.1002/ese3.461

Journal

Energy Science & Engineering

Year

2019