Aqueous liquid feed organic fuel cell using solid polymer electrolyte membrane
First Claim
1. In a liquid feed direct fuel cell having an anode, a cathode, an electrolyte, means for circulating an organic fuel past the anode and means for flowing oxygen past the cathode, wherein the improvement comprises:
- said electrolyte comprising a solid polymer hydrogen ion conductor membrane;
and wherein said organic fuel is free of an acid electrolyte.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A liquid organic fuel cell is provided which employs a solid electrolyte membrane. An organic fuel, such as a methanol/water mixture, is circulated past an anode of a cell while oxygen or air is circulated past a cathode of the cell. The cell solid electrolyte membrane is preferably fabricated from Nafion™. Additionally, a method for improving the performance of carbon electrode structures for use in organic fuel cells is provided wherein a high surface-area carbon particle/Teflon™-binder structure is immersed within a Nafion™/methanol bath to impregnate the electrode with Nafion™. A method for fabricating an anode for use in a organic fuel cell is described wherein metal alloys are deposited onto the electrode in an electro-deposition solution containing perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. A fuel additive containing perfluorooctanesulfonic acid for use with fuel cells employing a sulfuric acid electrolyte is also disclosed. New organic fuels, namely, trimethoxymethane, dimethoxymethane, and trioxane are also described for use with either conventional or improved fuel cells.
350 Citations
49 Claims
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1. In a liquid feed direct fuel cell having an anode, a cathode, an electrolyte, means for circulating an organic fuel past the anode and means for flowing oxygen past the cathode, wherein the improvement comprises:
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said electrolyte comprising a solid polymer hydrogen ion conductor membrane; and wherein said organic fuel is free of an acid electrolyte. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A liquid feed fuel cell, comprising:
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an anode; a cathode; a solid cation exchange polymer electrolyte membrane disposed between said anode and said cathode; means for circulating a liquid organic fuel and water solution past said anode, a liquid organic and water fuel solution, said solution being free of sulfuric acid; and means for flowing oxygen past said cathode.
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16. A liquid feed fuel cell, comprising:
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an anode coated with an amount of hydrophilic proton conducting water-insoluble additive to provide ionic and electronic conductivity, wetting and gas evolving properties to said anode; a cathode; a cation exchange polymer electrolyte membrane disposed between said anode and said cathode; means for flowing a liquid comprising organic fuel and water solution past said anode; and means for flowing oxygen past said cathode. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A liquid feed fuel cell, comprising:
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a housing having an anode chamber and a cathode chamber; a co-polymer of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluorovinylether sulfonic acid polymer electrolyte membrane mounted within said housing and separating said anode and cathode chambers; a cathode formed on a side surface of the membrane facing the cathode chamber; an anode formed on an opposing side of the membrane facing the anode chamber, said anode being impregnated with co-polymer of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluorovinylether sulfonic acid; means for circulating a liquid organic fuel and water solution past said anode; means for flowing oxygen past said cathode; means for withdrawing carbon dioxide from the anode chamber; means for withdrawing unused fuel and water from the anode compartment; and means for withdrawing unused oxygen and water from the cathode chamber.
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31. An electrode comprising a metal alloy coated with an amount of hydrophilic proton conducting, water insoluble additive to provide ionic and electronic conductivity, wetting and gas evolving properties to the electrode.
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32. A method for processing a carbon structure composed of carbon particles supported by a binder, said method comprising the steps of:
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immersing the carbon structure within a bath containing a liquid perflourinated sulfonic acid polymer; and removing and drying said carbon structure. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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36. An electro-deposition bath for use in fabricating an electrode for use in a liquid feed fuel cell, comprising perfluorooctanesulfonic acid.
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37. A method for fabricating an electrode for use in a fuel cell, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a bath containing a solution of metallic salts dissolved in sulfuric acid; adding perfluorooctanesulfonic acid to said bath; positioning a electrode having a carbon structure within said bath; positioning an anode within said bath; and applying a voltage between said anode and said electrode until a desired amount of metal in a range of 0.5-4.0 mg/cm2 becomes deposited onto said electrode. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A method for fabricating an electrode having metal ions deposited thereon for use in a liquid organic fuel cell, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a bath comprising a solution of hydrogen hexachloroplatinate and potassium pentachloroaquoruthenium dissolved in sulfuric acid, wherein said hydrogen hexachloroplatinate and potassium pentachloroaquoruthenium has a concentration in the range 0.01-0.05M; adding perfluorooctanesulfonic acid to said bath, with a concentration within the range of 0.1-1.0 grams /liter; positioning a carbon electrode structure into said bath, wherein said carbon electrode structure has a mixture of carbon particles with a surface area of about 200 meters/gram a polytetrafluoroethylene binder, with the mixture applied to a fiber-based carbon paper; positioning a platinum anode into said bath; and applying a voltage between said anode and said electrode until a desired amount of platinum and ruthenium in the range of 0.5-4.0 mg/cm2 become deposited onto said electrode. - View Dependent Claims (45)
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46. A liquid feed fuel cell, comprising:
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an anode; a cathode; a liquid organic fuel, water, acid electrolyte and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid additive solution; means for flowing said solution past said anode; and means for flowing oxygen past said cathode.
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47. A liquid feed fuel cell, comprising:
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an anode; a cathode; an electrolyte; a liquid organic fuel selected from a group consisting of trioxane, dimethoxymethane, and trimethoxymethane; means for flowing said liquid organic fuel past said anode; and means for flowing oxygen past said cathode. - View Dependent Claims (48)
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49. A method for generating energy comprising the steps of:
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providing a liquid-feed fuel cell; and operating the liquid-feed fuel cell using an organic fuel selected from a group consisting of trioxane, dimethoxymethane and trimethoxymethane.
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Specification