Mathematical modeling of polymer electrolyte fuel cells

Most fuel cells use hydrogen as a fuel. Besides safety concerns, there are problems associated with production, storage and distribution of this fuel. Methanol, as a liquid fuel, can be the solution to these problems and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are attractive for several applications. Mass transport is a factor that may limit the performance of the cell. Adsorption steps may be coupled to Tafel kinetics to describe methanol oxidation and methanol crossover must also be taken into account. Extending the two-phase approach to the DMFC modeling is a recent, important point.