Ethanol is receiving great interest as an alternative fuel. Methanol is another alcohol fuel that could serve as a replacement for gasoline. Although it is currently receiving much less attention, it has the potential to play an important role. Like ethanol, methanol also has the advantage of being a liquid fuel and it can be produced from gasification of a variety of feedstocks using well esta...

Fuel cells have the potential to become an important energy conversion technology. Research efforts directed toward the widespread commercialization of fuel cells have accelerated in light of ongoing efforts to develop a hydrogen-based energy economy to reduce dependence on foreign oil and decrease pollution. Proton exchange membrane (also termed “polymer electrolyte membrane”) (PEM) fuel cells...

Due to several apparent advantages over methanol, dimethyl ether (DME) has been viewed as a promising alternative fuel for direct fuel cell technology. Similar to methanol, DME oxidation requires a surface oxidant, such as OH, for the removal of adsorbed CO. Consequently, the reaction occurs at much faster rates on binary PtRu catalysts than Pt alone. In this work, PtRu catalysts with a wide va...

Ethanol is receiving great interest as an alternative fuel. Methanol is another alcohol fuel that could serve as a replacement for gasoline. Although it is currently receiving much less attention, it has the potential to play an important role. Like ethanol, methanol also has the advantage of being a liquid fuel and it can be produced from gasification of a variety of feedstocks using well esta...

Direct fuel oxidization yields major fuel cell power system simplifications and potential performance advantages, particularly for an automotive power plant application. The system simplification is particularly striking when a direct fuel system is compared to an “indirect” fuel cell system in a vehicle (where the fuel on board must be “reformed” and “cleaned” to provide a hydrogen-rich gas “r...

Sulfonic acid-functionalized polymer electrolyte membranes alternative to Nafion(®) were developed. These were hydrocarbon systems, such as blend sulfonated polyetheretherketone (s-PEEK), new generation perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) systems, and composite zirconium phosphate-PFSA polymers. The membranes varied in terms of composition, equivalent weight, thickness, and filler and were investigat...

Mastery over the structure of nanomaterials enables control of their properties to enhance their performance for a given application. Herein we demonstrate the design and fabrication of Pt-based nanomaterials with enhanced catalytic activity and superior selectivity toward the reactions in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) upon the deep understanding of the mechanisms of these electrochemical ...

This paper addresses the impacts of environmental legislation and vehicle emissions on the future of alternative fuels sucl~ as methanol, compressed natural gas, propane, electricity, hydrogen, and reformulated gasoline in the transportation industry, and it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each type of fuel in terms of fuel efficiency, fuel cost, environmental impacts, and vehicle...

INTRODUCTION In an effort to improve air quality and decrease dependence on petroleum, the federal government, industry, and other groups have encouraged development of alternative fuels such as methanol to substitute for gasoline or diesel fuel. Methanol is also a candidate to provide the hydrogen for fuel cells, which are being developed for a variety of power sources (including motor vehicle...