Power generation in fuel cells using liquid methanol and hydrogen peroxide
AssigneeCalifornia Institute of Technology
InventorsSekharipuram R. Narayanan, Thomas I. Valdez, William Chun
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Abstract
The invention is directed to an encapsulated fuel cell including a methanol source that feeds liquid methanol (CH3OH) to an anode. The anode is electrical communication with a load that provides electrical power. The fuel cell also includes a hydrogen peroxide source that feeds liquid hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to the cathode. The cathode is also in communication with the electrical load. The anode and cathode are in contact with and separated by a proton-conducting polymer electrolyte membrane.
Claims23
A fuel cell comprising:
- an electrical load,
- an anode including a catalyst,
- a cathode including a catalyst,
- a proton conducting membrane,
- a methanol source, and
- a hydrogen peroxide source that feeds a hydrogen peroxide solution to the cathode for reaction.
A fuel cell comprising:
- an electrical load,
- an anode including a catalyst,
- a cathode including a catalyst,
- a proton conducting means,
- a methanol source, and
- a hydrogen peroxide source that feeds a hydrogen peroxide solution to the cathode for reaction.
A method of generating electrical energy in a fuel cell comprising:
- electrochemically reacting methanol in an anode chamber, and
- electrochemically reacting hydrogen peroxide in a cathode chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.