Flow simulation in direct ethanol fuel cells using multifunctional anode catalysts

Abstract

Fuel cells have been seen as a viable alternative to fossil fuel engines, mainly driven by environmental restrictions. In this work, a direct ethanol fuel cell is modeled using a dynamic model, which considers fuel and air flow, anode and cathode losses, membrane, multifunctional catalysts (Pt/C, Pt−Ru/C and Pt−Sn/C), temperature, and the variation of species concentration in relation to the current density, since the cell operation is influenced by them. The equations are discretized using the finite difference method and the integration is performed using the Rosenbrock method. The results obtained for the flow using the dynamic model developed reasonably agree with data found in the literature. The molar fractions of the species shown contribute to the understanding of the behavior of the reactive flow that occurs inside an ethanol fuel cell.