Technology background
The cells currently known and used make use of platinum as a catalyst, having the inconvenience that, in addition to the high cost, this metal is quite sensitive to the presence of contaminants, especially carbon monoxide, demanding a high level of fuel purity.
Technology description
The present invention describes a fuel cell for producing electricity from a mixture of alcohols and water., ethanol is preferably used as fuel. The cell described does not require preliminary steps of refining and/or purification and/or reforming the fuel and operates with platinum-free electrocatalysts, providing a low production cost with similar performance to those cells that make use of this material. By dispensing a high degree of fuel purity, the use of these cells for energy conversion makes the whole process cheaper and presents energy conversion efficiency around 2.0 times higher than that obtained by ethanol in internal combustion devices.
Problem Fixed
The use of non-purified fuels, in the current cells, reduces its useful life due to the loss of efficiency of the catalysts. The present invention is able to circumvent this problem through the use of platinum-free electrocatalysts composed of cheaper metal alloys., with similar efficiency.
Applications
– Urban supply of energy;
– Vehicles with electric or hybrid motors;
– Small size electronic equipments.
Advantages
– Exemptions from preliminaries stages of refining / purification/ reform of the fuel;
– Operates with electrocatalysts exempt of platinum (LOW COST);
– Efficiency in the conversion of energy around 2 times superior than that obtained from ethanol and other devices of internal combustion.
Technology Readiness Level (TRL – Technology Readiness Level)
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Status and opportunity
Patente concedida pelo INPI n° do pedido BR 10 2014 002809-9.
The patent can be found in full at Lume bylink.
Inventors
Charles Quevedo Carpes
Alvaro Luiz de Bortoli
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