An investigation of scale-up on the response of the direct methanol fuel cell under variable load conditions

The electrical response of the direct methanol fuel cell, based on solid po lymer electrolyte, to variable load is reported. The dynamic power response of the direct methanol fuel cell is of importance particularly when the ce ll is used for transportation applications. The study reports the dynamic c haracteristics of a small-scale cell (active area 9 cm(2)), a large-scale c ell (active area 272 cm(2)), and a three-cell stack. The effect of operatin g conditions (i.e., flow rate, cathode pressure and solution concentration) on the voltage response is described and the effect of a change of scale i s discussed.