A small proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system with a multi-layered microreactor for methanol steam-reforming was prototyped as a power source for mobile electric applications. The multi-layered microreactor was designed using a computational simulation. It consists of four units: a methanol reformer with a catalytic combustor, a CO remover, and two vaporizers. The catalytic combustor for supplying reaction heat of reaction to other units was located on the top of microreactor. The microreactor was operated in a vacuum package to improve the system efficiency, and the suitable temperature distribution for the methanol steam-reforming was reached by supplying heat from the catalytic combustor. The small PEMFC has two humidifiers, which were composed of hollow fibers and a water holder. This system generated an output of approximately 2.5 W at 200 mA/cm2.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.