Efficiency of a solid polymer fuel cell operating on ethanol

The efficiency of a solid polymer fuel cell (SPFC) system operating on ethanol fuel has been analyzed as a function of operating parameters focusing on vehicle and stationary applications. Two types of ethanol processors — employing either steam reforming or partial oxidation (POX) steps — have been considered and their performance has been investigated by thermodynamic analysis. SPFC operation has been analyzed by an available parametric model. It has been found that dilute ethanol–water mixtures (not, vert, similar55% v/v EtOH) are the most suitable for stationary applications with a steam reformer (SR)–SPFC system. Regarding vehicle applications, pure ethanol (not, vert, similar95% v/v EtOH) appears to be the best fuel with a POX-SPFC system. Efficiencies in the case of an ideal ethanol processor can be of the order of 60% under low load conditions and 30–35% at peak power, while efficiencies with an actual processor are 80–85% of the above values.