Performance and mass and heat transport analysis of a direct methanol fuel cell at low temperature

The effects of operation parameters including methanol concentration, the flow rate of methanol solution and oxygen on the performance of a home-made direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) with an active area of 4.41 cm2 at 5 ℃ were analyzed. The results show that the cell performance deteriorated with the decrease of operating temperatures. In addition, it is found that the effects of operating parameters on the cell performance at low temperature are different from that at a temperature higher than room temperature. At the operating temperature of 5 ℃, a higher power density can be obtained with a higher methanol concentration and a lower flow rate of methanol solution. The optimum cell performance is achieved at the oxygen flow rate of 100 mL/min in this study.