Effect of a direct current electric field on CO ₂ bubble evolution in a direct methanol fuel cell

Abstract

In direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) anode microchannels, the retention of CO 2 leads to an anodic polarization reaction. Controlling CO 2 discharge in the anode channel by a direct current (DC) electric field is beneficial for reducing the anodic polarization reaction. In this work, numerical simulation was the main scientific research method, and the leaky dielectric model was used to characterize the effect of the electric field force. An unsteady theoretical model was established by bidirectionally coupling the electric field and multiphase flow field, which, for this research, indicates the formation of CO 2 Taylor bubble flow in a methanol aqueous solution within a DMFC anodic microchannel.