The direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is considered a leading contender for next-generation portable and micro power sources, offering a combination of simplicity, robustness and high energy density due to the use of liquid methanol. The basic principles of a DMFC can be found in the literature and thus are not repeated here. In order to compete with lithium-ion batteries, a portable DMFC system must overcome several key technical challenges: (1) low rate of methanol oxidation kinetics, (2) methanol crossover through the polymer membrane, (3) water crossover from the anode to cathode, and (4) thermal management. While new materials are being pursued to solve these problems, innovative designs can also be developed with the materials presently available. As a result, there is an urgent need for understanding, prediction, and optimization of various interactive transport and electrochemical processes that occur in portable DMFCs.
Much DMFC research in the past has focused upon the first two issues, methanol oxidation kinetics and methanol crossover, by studying electrocatalysis and electrolyte membrane materials. The more recent interest in small-scale DMFC systems for application to portable and micro power entails a unique design regime under lower temperatures and ambient pressure as well as a better understanding of methanol, water and heat transport. For this purpose, visualization of two-phase flow in the DMFC anode was carried out by Argyropoulos et al. Lu and Wang.
In tandem with experimental efforts, mathematical modeling of DMFCs has received much attention with the goal of having a design tool to design and optimize cell structures under a myriad of operating conditions and form factors. Focusing on either one or two dimensions, early DMFC modeling works were developed to study the mass transport phenomena, electro-chemical processes, and their interactions. However, the two phase effects, recently found to be of paramount importance to understand DMFC behaviors, were not considered in these earlier models.
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Wang, CY. (2008). Computational Modeling of Two-Phase Transport in Portable and Micro Fuel Cells. In: Kakaç, S., Pramuanjaroenkij, A., Vasiliev, L. (eds) Mini-Micro Fuel Cells. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8295-5_17
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