The effect of water on direct ethanol molten carbonate fuel cell

Abstract

Bio-ethanol can be used directly as a fuel in molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC). Unfortunately, the high water content of bio-ethanol has several negative effects; decrease in performance, electrolyte loss due to evaporation, and corrosion of anode cell frame. This research was conducted to overcome the negative effects without degrading MCFCs performance and stability. A decrease in performance due to low H2 contents was unavoidable. An electrolyte loss was minimized when the recycling method was used. The optimum recycling ratio was achieved when the flow rate ratio of output to recycle was in the range of 0.7–1. A corrosion of the cell frame was successfully blocked by Ni-electroplated cell frame. This system was successfully tested for over 2000 h without any decrease in performance.