Direct Methanol Fuel Cell technology-30th May

[brisbanebikie]

New article (posted 30th may 2011) on Methanol Fuel Cell technology - to replace batteries.

"A team of scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., in partnership with the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, developed a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell technology for future Department of Defense and commercial applications....This novel fuel cell technology uses liquid methanol as a fuel to produce electrical energy, and does not require any fuel processing. Pure water and carbon dioxide are the only byproducts of the fuel cell, and no pollutants are emitted."
- http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/2055611/jpldeveloped_clean_energy_technology_moves_forward/

"Methanol is a liquid under normal conditions... it can also be made from chemical recycling of carbon dioxide... even the low concentration of atmospheric CO2 itself could be captured and recycled via methanol,"
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol_economy

 

[TopherTheME]

Contrary to the thesis of the article, this is not a novel nor new technology. DMFC's have been around for a long time both in the lab and in the market place. In some applications you can make a good case to use DMFCs but for most you can't. There is also a rival technology, Direct BoroHydride Fuel Cells (DBFC's) which many think will replace DMFC's in the not to distant future.

DMFC's, by their very nature, have low energy and power density, and poor durability. However, they do scale down a lot better than hydrogen fueled PEMFC's and can be great for military applications. However, when it comes to most consumer products they are just too expensive.

 

[texaspyro]

I seriously doubt that you will ever see a viable commercial fuel cell. Even trivial amounts of contaminates in the fuel tend to permanently poison the cell.

 

[spinningmagnets]

I believe the technical hurdles are possible to conquer, and I believe that methanol is the most viable alternative fuel (after WVO in a diesel, of course). Do not sell short the asian and German chemical engineers...they are very busy right now discovering the best processes to reach their goals so as to acquire the patents before anyone else...

Most methanol comes from a process using methane as the feedstock, and the USA has enormous methane reserves. Methanol is easily adaptable to being pumped in existing gasoline pumps (requires seals changed to a different composition, perhaps viton?).

Ammonia is used for large-scale fertilizer production, and the main feedstock for ammonia is methanol, so there is an existing infrastructure for producing huge quantities of methanol already.

It will be a difficult transition for reformed methanol-fed fuel cells to gain a small foothold of the transportation pie, but I think it will have a place whether anyone likes it or not. Will it be expensive?...yes.

 

[Hillhater]

... Pure water and carbon dioxide are the only byproducts of the fuel cell, and no pollutants are emitted."

Its ironic that much of the world is embroiled in arguments over "climate change" caused by the demon pollutant.." carbon dioxide ".. and considering the taxation of carbon dioxide as a result.
Ideally it would be smart to capture the CO2 emissions from power stations etc , and convert it into Methanol !

 

[oldpiper]

... Pure water and carbon dioxide are the only byproducts of the fuel cell, and no pollutants are emitted."

Its ironic that much of the world is embroiled in arguments over "climate change" caused by the demon pollutant.." carbon dioxide ".. and considering the taxation of carbon dioxide as a result.
Ideally it would be smart to capture the CO2 emissions from power stations etc , and convert it into Methanol !

Except it would require an enormous amount of energy, your powerstation would just trickle out electricity when all is said and done.

Cameron

 

[Holocene]

Hi Brisbanebikie,

Direct Methanol Fuel Cells already exist and are for sale now. One such product is made by Efoy.

http://www.efoy.com/en/

Their fuel cell is configured as a DC Generator rated at 2,000 Watts. It is designed to act like a SLA battery charger in an RV. A dc-dc buck boost converter could step up voltage to 24, 36, or 48V nominal for ebike use. Buffer the power with a smallish Nanotech pack, and there's your power pack 8)

The downside of the Evoy product is that you must buy methanol cartridges from Efoy to preserve their warranty. Seems that any trace contaminants in the methanol damages the proton exchange membrane...

There IS a dealer in Australia. Here's their Contacts:

Webasto Product Australia Pty Ltd
423-427 The Boulevarde
Kirrawee NSW 2232
Tel: +61 (0)2 8536 4800
Fax: +61 (0)2 8536 4899
Email: info@webasto.com.au
Web: http://www.webasto.com.au

I have not tried this product, but am curious [YMMV]. You can read some opinions about the RV product on the Aussie Caravaners forum, here:

http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5614&start=0

There are two dealers within 30 km of my home, so I think I'll have to make an ebike run...