Characterization of electroosmotic pumps using methanol/water mixtures with various compositions

Efficient water recirculation for portable direct methanol fuel cells using electroosmotic pumps

“…In our previous work, we demonstrated that EO pumps can deliver pure methanol and pure water as well as methanol solutions [37]. This suggests a potential application of our EO pumps for water recirculation in DMFCs.…”

“…These values however should be used with caution that the applied voltage can be different from the voltage effective in electroosmosis [29]. The flow rate per voltage Q/V app therefore would be lower than these values especially under the pump voltage of 5 V. We reported the performance of the EO pump for a full range of methanol concentrations in [37].…”

“…The working principle and detailed models are reported elsewhere [29,37]. The flow rate in the absence of back pressure is given as Q z À j 32AV app f =ðsmLÞ, where s, j, A, and L are the tortuosity, porosity, cross-sectional area, and thickness of the porous media, respectively.…”

“…The pumps also include EPDM gaskets for fluid sealing, spiral platinum wires (v 0.3 mm) for electricity application, and methanol-safe PVC liquid reservoirs. The detailed description of EO pumps can be found in our previous paper [37,38]. The working mechanism of fuel management is as follows.…”