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This paper numerically investigates the performance of air-breathing direct formic acid microfluidic fuel cells using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.1, comparing simulated I-V curves with experimental data.

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What they did

System
MFC

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Abstract

This work numerically investigated the effects of various factors on the performance of air‐breathing direct formic acid microfluidic fuel cells. An MFC with a microchannel width of 1.5 mm, depth of 0.05 mm, and electrode spacing of 0.3 mm was used in the simulation. An MFC which was a 1.5‐mm‐wide, 0.05‐mm‐deep microchannel installed with two 0.3‐mm‐apart electrodes was used in the simulation. The mixture of formic acid at concentrations of 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 M and 0.5‐M sulphuric acid served as fuel, while a 0.5‐M sulphuric acid stream served as the electrolyte introduced at inlet flow rates of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.5 mL/min. First, a three‐dimensional MFC model was built using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.1 to simulate the fuel cell performance. Subsequently, I–V curves obtained from simulations and from published experimental data under similar operating conditions were compared to ensure the validity of the simulation. Transport phenomena were formulated with a continuity equation, momentum equation, species transport equation, and charge equation. Additionally, the flow through porous media in the gas diffusion layer was described using the Brinkman equation, whereas the Butler–Volmer equation was applied to obtain I–V and P–I curves. The current density distribution resulting from internal current loss and reactant concentration on both electrodes was also determined in this work.

Key findings

  • The effects of various factors on MFC performance were investigated, including formic acid concentration, sulphuric acid concentration, and inlet flow rate.
  • A 3D MFC model was built to simulate fuel cell performance, incorporating transport phenomena equations and Brinkman equation for gas diffusion layer flow.
  • Simulated I-V curves were compared with published experimental data, demonstrating the validity of the simulation.

Keywords

MicrofluidicsFormic acidComputational fluid dynamicsFuel cellsNanotechnology

Identifiers

DOI
10.1049/mnl.2017.0322
Journal
Micro & Nano Letters
Year
2017