In the last few years alternative energy sources have been fast developing. One of these sources is fuel cell. Due to development of the renewable energy sources, the powering of fuel cells with bio-fuels is very important. The one of this fuel is methanol. The use of fuel cells on a large scale is mainly limited by the high cost of catalysts - mainly platinum. Elimination of Pt as catalyst would allow for wider commercial application of fuel cells. The paper presents a study of methanol electrooxidation on electrode with Cu-B alloy catalyst. Researches were done by the method of polarizing curves of electrooxidation of methanol in glass vessel. An aqueous solution of KOH was used as the electrolyte. Conducted measurements show that there is a possibility of electrooxidation of methanol on Cu-B catalyst. In any case, the process of electrooxidation of methanol occurs. A current density of about 10-20 mA/cm2 has been obtained for all concentrations of methanol and B in alloy. So, the work shows possibility to use Cu-B alloys as catalysts for fuel electrode of DMFC. ...
Due to development of the renewable energy sources, the powering of fuel cells (FCs) with bio-fuels is very important. The one of this fuel is methyl alcohol. The use of fuel cells on a large scale is mainly limited by the high cost of catalysts - mainly platinum. Elimination of Pt as catalyst would allow for wider commercial application of FCs. The paper presents a study of methyl alcohol electrooxidation on electrode with Ni-Co alloy catalyst. Researches were done by the method of polarizing curves of electrooxidation of methanol in glass vessel. Conducted measurements show that there is a possibility of electrooxidation of methanol with Ni-Co catalyst.In any case, the process of electrooxidation of methanol occurs. A maximum current density was equal 50 mA/cm2. So, the work shows possibility to use Ni-Co alloys as catalysts for fuel electrode to methyl alcohol electrooxidation. ...
As fuel for fuel cells can be used various substances, but mainly fuel cells are powered by clear hydrogen (or hydrogen obtained from organic substances by reforming process). However, problems with the storage of hydrogen are the reason for the search of new fuels for fuel cells. Due to development of the renewable energy sources, the powering of fuel cells with bio-fuels is very important. Vegetable oil is an alternative fuel for diesel engines and for heating oil burners. Powering high efficiency power sources like fuel cells with renewable fuels (like canola oil) will allow development of renewable energy sources and elimination or reduce of toxic substances emissions. The paper presents the possibility of using canola oil as fuel for direct electricity production. The work shows possible electrooxidation of canola oil emulsion on a smooth platinum electrode in an solution of H2SO4. The resulting current density of canola oil electrooxidation reached the maximum level of 8 mA/cm2. So, the possibility of using canola oil as fuel for direct electricity production has been proved. ...
