Generation performance of a fuel cell using hydrogen and dimethyl ether (DME) mixed gas

Dimethyl ether (DME), an oxygenated hydrocarbon, can facilitate hydrogen manufacture by steam reforming reaction at low temperature. Methanol and DME steam reforming at 250 to 300°C, reforming DME into hydrogen, can be performed easily with small-scale and simple equipment. Whether the hydrogen output from the reformer for supply to the fuel cell includes DME, and how this affects the generation performance has yet to be confirmed. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the supply of a fuel cell with mixtures of DME and H, in varying proportions and to clarify the effect on generation performance. Conclusions are as follows: (1) For a supply of DME and H2 mixed gas, DME is consumed after the H2 is consumed. By comparing the experimental values with theoretical values of consumption of pure H2, a mixture of DME and H2, and pure DME, it proved to be possible to roughly predict the experimental values by calculation. (2) The voltage value moved to near the DME voltage after the H2 was consumed, and the current density increased after the H2 was consumed. (3) During continuous running the voltage load was observed to fluctuate. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 157(4): 24–29, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20427