JP4339748B2 - Fuel cell power generator and device using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell power generation apparatus comprising an anode, an electrolyte membrane, a cathode, and a diffusion layer, in which fuel is oxidized at the anode and oxygen is reduced at the cathode, and in particular, a liquid fuel such as methanol is used as the fuel. The present invention relates to a small portable power supply and a portable electronic device using the same.

  With recent advances in electronic technology, telephones, book-type personal computers, audio-visual devices, mobile information terminal devices, and the like have been miniaturized and are rapidly spreading as portable electronic devices.

  Conventionally, such portable electronic devices are systems driven by secondary batteries. The emergence of new secondary batteries from sealed lead batteries to Ni / Cd batteries, Ni / hydrogen batteries, and even Li-ion batteries, miniaturization and weight reduction, and high It has been developed by energy density. In any secondary battery, development of a battery active material for increasing the energy density and development of a high-capacity battery structure have been carried out, and efforts have been made to realize a power source with a longer usage time in one charge.

  However, secondary batteries need to be charged after using a certain amount of power, and charging facilities and a relatively long charging time are required. Therefore, many problems remain in long-term continuous driving of portable electronic devices. Has been. In the future, portable electronic devices are moving toward a direction that requires a higher power density and higher energy density power source, that is, a power source with a longer continuous use time, in response to the increasing amount of information and its speed. There is a growing need for small generators (micro-generators) that do not require power.

  A fuel cell power supply can be considered as a response to such a demand. A fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy of fuel directly into electrical energy, and does not require a power unit like a generator using an internal combustion engine such as a normal engine generator. The feasibility as is high. Further, since the fuel cell continues power generation as long as fuel is replenished, it is not necessary to stop the operation of the temporary device for charging as in the case of a normal secondary battery.

  Under such demands, a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) that generates electricity by oxidizing hydrogen gas at the anode and reducing oxygen at the cathode using an electrolyte membrane of perfluorocarbon sulfonic acid resin (PEFC). Is known as a battery with high power density.

  In order to further reduce the size of this fuel cell, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-223507, an assembly of cylindrical cells in which an anode and a cathode electrode are attached to the inner surface and outer surface of a hollow fiber electrolyte is used. A small PEFC power generator that supplies hydrogen gas and air to the inside and outside of the cylinder has been proposed. However, when applied to a power source of a portable electronic device, since the fuel is hydrogen gas, the volume energy density of the fuel is low and the volume of the fuel tank needs to be increased.

  In addition, this system requires auxiliary equipment such as a device that feeds fuel gas and oxidant gas (such as air) to the power generation device, and a device that humidifies the electrolyte membrane to maintain battery performance. Therefore, it cannot be said that it is sufficient for downsizing.

  In order to increase the volumetric energy density of the fuel, it is effective to use a liquid fuel, and to eliminate the auxiliary device that supplies the fuel, oxidant, and the like to the battery and to have a simple configuration. As such a device, direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) using methanol and water as fuels are proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2000-268835 and 2000-268836.

  In this power generation device, an anode is disposed on the outer wall side of the liquid fuel container so as to be in contact with the material for supplying liquid fuel by capillary force, and a solid polymer electrolyte membrane and a cathode are sequentially joined together. Composed.

  Since oxygen is supplied by diffusion to the outer surface of the cathode in contact with the outside air, this type of power generator has a simple configuration that does not require an auxiliary device that supplies fuel and oxidant gas, and a plurality of batteries are connected in series. When combined, it is characterized in that it only requires electrical connection and does not require a unit cell connecting part called a separator.

  However, since DMFC has an output voltage of 0.3 to 0.4 V per unit cell, multiple fuel tanks with fuel cells are used to meet the voltage required by portable electronic devices. Thus, it is necessary to connect the batteries in series. Further, in order to reduce the size of the power generation device, the number of batteries in series increases, and it is necessary to reduce the capacity of the fuel container per unit battery, and the number of fuel containers is dispersed according to the number of series. Is left.

  Further, along with the operation of this acidic electrolyte fuel cell, continuous use becomes difficult unless a mechanism for discharging the gas generated by the oxidation reaction of the anode is realized in the liquid fuel tank.

  An object of the present invention is a fuel cell power generator that can easily continue power generation by replenishing fuel without recharging whenever a certain amount of power is consumed as in the case of a secondary battery. An object of the present invention is to provide a system using a fuel having a high volumetric energy density.

  In addition, in order to obtain a predetermined voltage, a unit cell composed of an anode, an electrolyte membrane, and a cathode is stacked via a separator having a conductive fluid passage structure to constitute a fuel cell power generator, and a fuel, an oxidant Instead of a conventional fuel cell with a fluid supply mechanism that forcibly circulates gas, it is a small fuel cell that does not require a separator. Even if it is, it is possible to supply liquid fuel to each unit cell, and it is ideal for portable use with the function of discharging the gas oxidized by the anode from the fuel container, and a compact power supply, and portable electronic using the same To provide equipment.

The gist of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows. In a fuel cell power generation apparatus in which an anode that oxidizes fuel and a cathode that reduces oxygen are formed through an electrolyte membrane and uses liquid as fuel,
One or more ventilation holes are provided on the wall surface of the fuel container, and a plurality of unit cells having an electrolyte membrane, an anode and a cathode are mounted on the wall surface of the fuel container, and each unit cell is electrically connected. To do.

  A container for storing liquid fuel is used as a platform, and a plurality of single cells including an anode, an electrolyte membrane, and a cathode are provided on an outer wall surface of the container.

  In particular, when the required current is relatively small and a high voltage is required, a plurality of single cells composed of an anode, an electrolyte membrane, and a cathode are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of a container for storing liquid fuel. Can be connected in series or in a combination of series and parallel with a conductive interconnector.

  The fuel is supplied without providing an auxiliary device for forcibly supplying each unit cell by connecting the fuel container as a platform. At this time, the fuel supply is further stabilized by holding the liquid fuel in the liquid fuel container and filling the material sucked up by the capillary force.

  On the other hand, each cell having a power generation unit on the outer wall surface of the liquid fuel container is supplied with an oxidant by diffusion of oxygen in the air. By using a methanol aqueous solution or the like having a high volumetric energy density as the liquid fuel, it is possible to continue power generation for a longer time than when hydrogen gas is used as the fuel in the same volume storage container.

  The power source comprising the fuel cell according to the present invention is used as a battery charger attached to charge a mobile phone equipped with a secondary battery, a portable personal computer, a portable audio device, a visual device, and other portable information terminals during a pause. Alternatively, by directly using a built-in power supply without mounting a secondary battery, these electronic devices can be used for a long time and can be used continuously by refueling.

  According to the present invention, a container for storing liquid fuel is used as a platform, a fuel cell is mounted on a wall surface thereof, and the cells are electrically connected in series or in a combination of series and parallel. By mounting the fuel cell using the fuel container as a platform and providing the liquid fuel holding material in the container, the liquid fuel is sucked up by the capillary force and supplied to each fuel cell.

  Each fuel cell having a power generation unit on the outer peripheral surface is supplied with oxygen (oxidant) in the air through a diffusion hole. As a result, a simple fuel cell system that does not require auxiliary equipment for supplying fuel and oxidant can be realized.

  In addition, by using a methanol aqueous solution with a high volumetric energy density for liquid fuel, power generation can be continued for a long time per liter compared to when hydrogen gas is used as the fuel, and conventional secondary batteries can be replenished by sequential fuel supply. Thus, a continuous power generator that does not require charging can be obtained.

  Furthermore, by mounting fuel cells on multiple wall surfaces of the fuel container and providing multiple air holes with gas-liquid separation functions on these wall surfaces, a power generator that can continue stable power generation in any orientation is realized. it can.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a cross-sectional structure of a liquid fuel container according to the present invention.

  A plurality of fuel cell mounting portions 2 having an insulating surface are provided on the outer wall surface of the fuel container 1, and the container wall of the cell mounting portion 2 has a network structure, a porous layer, sufficient to allow liquid fuel to permeate in advance. Alternatively, the diffusion hole 3 on the slit is formed.

  The anode side interconnector 4 is formed on the surface of the fuel cell mounting portion 2 by applying and baking a material having corrosion resistance and conductivity for electrical connection with an adjacent fuel cell. The interconnector 4 has a network structure sufficient for permeation of liquid fuel, a porous layer or a diffusion hole structure on the slit.

  An electrochemically inert liquid fuel wicking material 5 is mounted on the inner wall surface of the fuel container 1. The fuel cells mounted on the wall surface of the fuel container are electrically connected in series or a combination of series and parallel, and anode and cathode fuel cell terminals 6 are provided to be taken out of the power generation apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an anode layer 22 and a cathode layer 23 are integrally bonded to both sides of a solid electrolyte membrane 21 in advance to form an electrolyte membrane / electrode assembly (MEA; MEMBRANE ELECTRODE ASSEMBLY). The fuel cell fixing plate 8 for fixing the fuel cell to the fuel container uses an electrically insulating plate as shown in FIG. 3, and the portion in contact with the fuel cell is supplied with air diffused to the fuel cell. In order to connect to the anode side interconnector 4 of the adjacent fuel cell, the surface having a mesh structure, a porous layer or a slit-like diffusion hole 3 is sufficient to contact the fuel cell of the diffusion hole portion. The cathode current collector plate 7 is provided.

  A portion of the cathode current collector plate 7 that is in contact with the fuel cell has a diffusion hole 3 sufficient to supply air. During power generation, fuel is oxidized in the fuel container 1 to generate carbon dioxide gas. This carbon dioxide gas has a liquid-impermeable gas-liquid separation function having a cross-sectional structure as shown in FIG. It is discharged to the outside of the fuel container through the vent hole 15.

  The vent hole 15 includes a vent pipe 51 and a screw-tight vent lid 52, and has a structure in which a water-repellent and porous gas-liquid separation membrane 50 is fixed by the vent lid. The air holes 15 are arranged on a plurality of surfaces of the fuel container 1 so that one or more air holes are in a vented state regardless of the posture of the fuel cell power generator, as in the cross-sectional structure shown in FIG. Is done.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the fuel cell power generator is assembled with a gasket 10, MEA 9, gasket 10 on the fuel cell mounting portion of the fuel container, and a polytetrafluorocarbon fiber cloth to facilitate diffusion of air and generated water. The porous diffusion layer 11 in which fluoroethylene is finely dispersed is laminated in this order, and the fuel cell fixing plate 8 having the vent hole mounting holes 19 is fixed to the fuel container 1 by a method such as adhesion or screwing. In this fixing process, the cathode current collector plate contacts and is electrically connected to the anode interconnector of the adjacent fuel cell, and the start point and the end point are taken out as the output terminal 16.

  In the operation of the fuel cell power generator, the cover of the vent hole 15 which also serves as the fuel supply hole shown in FIG. 4B is removed, and liquid fuel, for example, aqueous methanol solution is filled from here. The unit cell mounted on the lower surface of the container permeates the methanol aqueous solution filled and stably supplied to the anode, and the unit cell mounted on the upper surface is sucked up from the suction material and stably supplied to the anode. It will be.

  The cathode of each unit cell is in mesh form, porous or through-holes on the slit, cathode current collector plate and cathode diffusion layer, so that it is in contact with the outside air. Is eliminated by diffusion.

  The external appearance of the fuel cell power generator of this example is shown in FIG. The fuel container 1 having the vent hole 15 functions as a structure of the power generation apparatus, and a plurality of single cells 13 are fixed to the wall surface by the fuel cell fixing plate 8 and both ends electrically connected in series are used as output terminals 16. It is structured to be taken out to the outside.

  During power generation, the fuel is oxidized on the anode side, that is, in the fuel container, and carbon dioxide gas is generated. This carbon dioxide gas is discharged to the outside of the fuel container through a vent hole having a liquid-impermeable gas-liquid separation function. Discharged. A plurality of the vent holes are provided on the fuel container wall surface, and the vent holes are arranged at positions where one or more vent holes are not shielded by the fuel liquid regardless of the posture of the fuel container during power generation. As a result, stable power generation operation is guaranteed.

  The fuel power generation device according to the present invention does not require facilities for forcibly supplying fuel, oxidant gas, etc., and only a single cell is mounted on the wall of the container, and a plurality of cells are stacked via separators. There is no need to provide a forced cooling mechanism because it does not have a structure and heat radiation is sufficient. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a structure with a small number of parts that does not have auxiliary power loss and does not require a conductive separator for stacking.

  In a fuel cell using a methanol aqueous solution as a fuel, electric power is generated in such a manner that chemical energy possessed by methanol is directly converted into electric energy by the following electrochemical reaction.

On the anode electrode side, the supplied aqueous methanol solution reacts according to the equation (1) and dissociates into carbon dioxide, hydrogen ions, and electrons.
[Chemical formula 1]
CH ₃ OH + H ₂ O → CO ₂ + 6H ⁺ + 6e ⁻ (1)
The generated hydrogen ions move from the anode to the cathode in the electrolyte membrane, and oxygen gas diffused from the air on the cathode electrode reacts with the electrons on the electrode according to the equation (2) to generate water. .
[Chemical formula 2]
6H ⁺ + 3 / 2O ₂ + 6e ⁻ → 3H ₂ O (2)
Therefore, as shown in the equation (3), the total chemical reaction accompanying power generation is that methanol is oxidized by oxygen to generate carbon dioxide gas and water, and the chemical reaction equation is formally the same as that of methanol flame combustion.
[Chemical formula 3]
CH ₃ OH + 3 / 2O ₂ → CO ₂ + 3H ₂ O (3)
The open circuit voltage of the unit cell is approximately 1.2 V in the vicinity of room temperature, but is substantially 0.85 to 1.0 V due to the influence of the fuel permeating the electrolyte membrane, and is not particularly limited. The load current density is selected so that the voltage under a practical load operation is in the range of about 0.3 to 0.6V. Therefore, when actually used as a power source, a plurality of unit batteries are connected in series so that a predetermined voltage can be obtained according to the demand of the load device. The output current density of the unit cell varies depending on the influence of the electrode catalyst, the electrode structure, and other factors, but it is designed so that a predetermined current can be obtained by effectively selecting the power generation area of the unit cell.

  The support constituting the fuel cell power generation device according to the present invention is characterized by a fuel container for containing liquid fuel, and a single cell is required in a compact shape even if the cross-sectional shape is square, circular or other shapes. There is no particular limitation as long as it is a shape that can be mounted as many as possible. However, in order to load a single cell in a specified volume in a compact manner, a cylindrical shape or a square shape has good mounting efficiency, and can be said to be a preferable shape in terms of workability for mounting a fuel cell power generation unit.

  The material of the support is not particularly limited as long as it is electrochemically inert and is a thin material having sufficient durability and corrosion resistance in a use environment and having sufficient strength. For example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, vinyl chloride, polyacrylic resin, other engineering resins, electrically insulating materials reinforced with various fillers, etc., or carbon materials with excellent corrosion resistance in battery operating atmosphere , Stainless steel, or ordinary iron, nickel, copper, aluminum, or a material obtained by subjecting the surface of these alloys to corrosion resistance and electrical insulation. In any case, the material is not particularly limited as long as it is an electrochemically inert material that supports the shape, corrosion resistance, and the like.

  The inside of the fuel cell support is used as a fuel storage and transport space, but the wicking material that is filled inside the cylindrical support and stabilizes the fuel supply has a small contact angle with the aqueous methanol solution and is electrochemically Any material that is inert and corrosion resistant may be used, and powder or fibrous materials may be used. For example, fibers such as glass, alumina, silica-alumina, silica, non-graphite carbon, and cellulose, and water-absorbing polymer fibers are materials having a low packing density and excellent methanol aqueous solution retention.

  As the anode catalyst constituting the power generation section, a carbon-based powder carrier in which platinum and ruthenium or platinum / ruthenium alloy fine particles are dispersed and supported, and as a cathode catalyst, a carbon-based carrier in which platinum fine particles are dispersed and supported is easy. It is a material that can be manufactured. However, the anode and cathode catalysts of the fuel cell of the present invention are not particularly limited as long as they are used in ordinary direct methanol fuel cells, and are intended to stabilize the electrode catalyst and extend its life. In addition, it is preferable to use a catalyst obtained by adding a third component selected from iron, tin, rare earth elements and the like to the noble metal component.

  Although not limited to the electrolyte membrane, a membrane showing hydrogen ion conductivity is used. Typical materials include fluorinated polymers such as perfluorocarbon-based sulfonic acid resins and polyperfluorostyrene-based sulfonic acid resins, fluorinated polymers and alkylene sulfonated polymers, polystyrenes, polysulfones, polyether sulfones, and polyethers. Materials obtained by sulfonating ether sulfones, polyether ether ketones, and other hydrocarbon polymers can be used.

  In these electrolyte membranes, a material with low methanol permeability can be used with a high fuel utilization rate, and there is no decrease in battery voltage due to fuel crossover. Can be operated at temperature. In addition, hydrogen ion conductive inorganic substances such as tungsten oxide hydrate, zirconium oxide hydrate, tin oxide hydrate, silicotungstic acid, silicomolybdic acid, tungstophosphoric acid, molybdophosphoric acid are used as heat-resistant resin. By using a micro-dispersed composite electrolyte membrane or the like, a fuel cell that can be operated to a higher temperature range can be obtained.

  In any case, when an electrolyte membrane having high hydrogen ion conductivity and low methanol permeability is used, the fuel utilization rate is increased, so that compactness and long-time power generation, which are the effects of the present invention, are achieved at a higher level. be able to.

  In general, the hydrated acidic electrolyte membrane may be deformed due to swelling when it is dried and wet, or the mechanical strength of a membrane having sufficiently high ionic conductivity may be insufficient. In such a case, it is possible to use fibers having excellent mechanical strength, durability, and heat resistance as a core material in a nonwoven fabric or woven fabric, or to add and reinforce these fibers as fillers during the manufacture of an electrolyte membrane. This is an effective method for improving the reliability of performance. In order to reduce the fuel permeability of the electrolyte membrane, a membrane obtained by doping polybenzimidazoles with sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfonic acids, or phosphonic acids can also be used.

  The power generation unit constituting the unit cell can be manufactured by, for example, the following method as another example instead of the above. That is, (1) a step of applying a conductive interconnector to the electrically insulating outer peripheral surface of the liquid fuel container and making the wall surface of the anode joint portion porous by a through-hole, and (2) volatilizing the anode catalyst and the electrolyte resin beforehand. A step of forming an electrode by adding a solution dissolved in an organic solvent as a binder, dispersing and pasting a paste into a porous portion of a cut of a liquid fuel storage container to a constant thickness of 10 to 50 μm, (3) A process of masking the anode coating portion and applying a sealing gasket to the cut portion and joining it to the fuel container. (4) Thereafter, the electrolyte solution previously dissolved in the volatile organic solvent is brought into contact with the anode electrode and the cut portion. (5) Next, a solution in which the cathode catalyst and the electrolyte membrane are dissolved in a volatile organic solvent in advance is kneaded as a binder. (6) Furthermore, carbon-based powder and a predetermined amount of water-repellent dispersion material, for example, A unit cell is formed through a process of forming an aqueous dispersion of polytetrafluoroethylene fine particles in a paste form and applying it to the cut portion so as to be bonded to the surface of the cathode electrode, and forming a diffusion layer. At this time, in the step (4), it is important that the electrolyte membrane portion is larger than the cathode area, and the gasket and the electrolyte membrane are brought into close contact with each other or are adhered by using an adhesive.

  A conductive porous material or net is attached to the cathode side diffusion layer portion of the obtained unit cell to form a cathode current collector, which is electrically connected to the interconnector from the adjacent unit cell, and both ends connected in series. Take out the terminal from. Providing a diffusion layer on the cathode side is an effective method for preventing flooding of water generated during fuel cell operation.

  Further, in the production of the diffusion layer, when the water-repellent aqueous dispersion material contains a surfactant which becomes a catalyst poison component of a platinum catalyst or a platinum / ruthenium alloy catalyst, for example, carbon fiber is used. Apply a paste of carbon-based powder and a predetermined amount of water-repellent dispersion material, for example, an aqueous dispersion of polytetrafluoroethylene fine particles, on one side of the conductive woven fabric surface, and the temperature at which the surfactant decomposes in advance. It is effective to use a carbon fiber woven cloth as a cathode current collector by firing the material and attaching the coated surface so as to be in contact with the cathode.

  In any case, if the cell is a method in which the anode, the electrolyte membrane, the cathode, and the diffusion layer are stacked in this order on the support surface to form a sufficient reaction interface between the anode / electrolyte membrane and the cathode / electrolyte membrane, the production method thereof There are no special restrictions. Further, when forming the cathode, a predetermined amount of a water-repellent dispersion material, for example, polytetrafluoroethylene fine particles is added to a solution obtained by dissolving the cathode catalyst, the electrolyte membrane and the electrolyte in a volatile organic solvent in advance to form a paste. By applying, a battery that does not require a diffusion layer can be formed.

  A liquid fuel container, which is the gist of the present invention, is used as a platform to produce a plurality of unit cells composed of an anode, an electrolyte membrane, and a cathode on the outer peripheral surface, and each unit cell is connected in series with a conductive interconnector. Can increase the voltage. In addition, it can be operated without using an auxiliary device for forcibly cooling the fuel cell without using an auxiliary device that forcibly supplies fuel and oxidant, and a methanol aqueous solution with a high volumetric energy density is used as the liquid fuel. Thus, a small power source capable of continuing power generation for a long time can be realized.

  This small power source can be built in and driven as a power source for a mobile phone, a book type personal computer, a portable video camera, etc., and can be used continuously for a long time by replenishing fuel prepared in advance. It becomes possible.

  In addition, for the purpose of significantly reducing the frequency of refueling than in the above case, this small power source is combined with, for example, a mobile phone equipped with a secondary battery, a book type personal computer or a charger for a portable video camera, It is effective to use it as a battery charger by attaching it to a part of those storage cases. In this case, when the portable electronic device is used, it is taken out from the storage case and driven by the secondary battery, and when not used, it is stored in the case so that the small fuel cell power generator built in the case is connected via the charger. Charge the next battery. By doing so, the volume of the fuel tank can be increased, and the frequency of refueling can be greatly reduced.

Next, this invention is demonstrated based on an Example.
[Comparative Example 1]
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a separator structure based on a conventional structure. One in-plane structure and longitudinal section are shown in FIG. 7 (a), the other in-plane structure and cross section are shown in FIG. 7 (b), the battery stacking configuration is shown in FIG. 8, the cell holder configuration is shown in FIG. FIG. 10 (a) shows a power supply system structure in which two sets of 18 single cells are stacked in series and a fuel container is attached, and a cross-sectional structure showing the connection between the fuel cell and the fuel container at the stacking end. As shown in FIG.

  As the separator 81, a graphitized carbon plate of 16 mm width × 33 mm length × thickness 2.5 mm was used. An internal manifold 82 having a width of 10 mm × 4 mm is provided at the bottom of the separator 81, and 1 mm width × 0.8 mm depth × 23 mm length as indicated by reference numeral 84 in the separator cross-sectional view of FIG. The ribs 54 are formed at intervals of 1 mm, and a fuel supply groove that connects the manifold 82 and the upper surface of the separator 81 is provided.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B and the separator longitudinal cross-sectional view 83, grooves of 1 mm width × 1.4 mm depth × 16 mm length are formed at intervals of 1 mm on the other surface of the separator in the direction orthogonal thereto. An oxidant supply groove that connects the side surfaces of the separator 81 by forming the rib portion 54 is provided.

  The anode layer comprises a catalyst powder in which 50 wt% of platinum / ruthenium alloy fine particles having a platinum / ruthenium atomic ratio of 1/1 are supported on a carbon support, and 30 wt% perfluorocarbon sulfonic acid (trade name: Nafion 117, manufactured by DuPont). A slurry of a water / alcohol mixed solvent (water: isopropanol: normal propanol 20:40:40 (weight ratio)) was prepared using the electrolyte as a binder, and a thickness of about 20 μm was formed on the polyimide film by screen printing. A porous film was formed.

  The cathode layer is a porous catalyst having a thickness of about 25 μm on a polyimide film prepared by screen printing and preparing a slurry of a water / alcohol mixed solvent using a catalyst powder supporting 30 wt% platinum fine particles on a carbon support and an electrolyte as a binder. Formed into a film. The anode porous membrane and the cathode porous membrane thus prepared were cut into a width of 10 mm and a length of 20 mm, respectively, to obtain an anode layer and a cathode layer.

  Next, a manifold opening 86 was provided in Nafion 117 having a width of 16 mm × length of 33 mm × thickness of 50 μm as an electrolyte membrane.

  After impregnating about 0.5 ml of 5% by weight Nafion 117 aqueous alcohol solution (mixed solvent of water: isopropanol: normal propanol 20:40:40 (weight ratio): Fluka Chemika) on the surface of the anode layer, It is joined to the power generation part of the electrolyte membrane, applied with a load of about 1 kg, and dried at 80 ° C. for 3 hours. Next, about 0.5 ml of 5% by weight of the Nafion 117 alcohol aqueous solution was infiltrated into the surface of the cathode layer, and then joined to the electrolyte membrane so as to overlap with the anode layer previously joined. MEA9 was prepared by drying at 0C for 3 hours.

  Subsequently, a polyethylene terephthalate liner 92 having a thickness of 250 μm and a gasket 10 made of neoprene having a thickness of 400 μm having the same size as the separator 81 and provided with a manifold opening portion 86 and a power generation portion opening portion 85 were produced.

  Next, an aqueous dispersion of water repellent polytetrafluoroethylene fine particles (Teflon Dispersion D-1: manufactured by Daikin Industries) is added to the carbon powder so that the weight after firing is 40 wt%, and kneaded to form a paste. The coated product is applied to one side of a carbon fiber woven fabric having a thickness of about 350 μm and a porosity of 87% so that the thickness is about 20 μm, dried at room temperature, and then fired at 270 ° C. for 3 hours to obtain a carbon sheet. Formed. The obtained sheet was cut into the same shape as the electrode size of the MEA to prepare the diffusion layer 11.

  Next, the fuel uptake material 5 made of pulp paper composed of the fuel electrode side groove embedded portion 88 of the separator 81 and the manifold embedded portion 87 was produced.

As shown in FIG. 8, 14 parts are stacked in the order of the separator 81, the liquid fuel absorbent material 5, the liner 92, the gasket 10, the MEA 9, the diffusion layer 11, the liner 92, and the separator 81 as shown in FIG. The laminated battery 94 was formed by press-pressing at cm ² . The laminated battery 94 is made of fluorine-based rubber (Viton; manufactured by DuPont) through a SUS316 holder 105 in which the surface of the structure shown in FIG. 9 is insulated with an epoxy resin (Flep; manufactured by Toray Thiocol). The fastening band 17 was fastened and fixed as shown in FIG. A fuel container 1 having a laminated battery mounting portion 103 and made of polypropylene having a size of 33 mm height × 85 mm length × 65 mm width and a side wall thickness of 2 mm was produced.

  As shown in FIG. 10 (b), a gas selective permeation is installed in which a porous polytetrafluoroethylene membrane similar to the structure shown in FIG. A vent pipe 51 with a screw lid 52 having a function is provided as a vent hole 15, and a methanol aqueous solution 12 is filled as a fuel inside the fuel container. The two produced laminated batteries have a structure as shown in FIG. 10B and are combined with the fuel cell mounting portion 103 to produce a power source having a structure as shown in FIG.

The power source is approximately 33 mm high × 120 mm long × 65 mm wide, and includes a fuel container having a power generation area of about 2 cm ² and a capacity of about 150 ml. When the operating temperature is 50 ° C and the load current is 0.2A, it shows a voltage of 5.7V, and the voltage when power is generated while blowing with a fan over the entire opening of the side wall of the power source constituted by the air electrode side groove of the separator is 11.8V. This is presumably because the supply of oxygen due to sufficient air diffusion is insufficient in the air electrode side groove structure of the separator when the power source is loaded. The volume output density of this power source was about 4.4 W / l when no ventilation fan was used, and about 9.2 W / l when the ventilation fan was used.

  When 150ml of 10wt% methanol aqueous solution was filled in the fuel container, and the fan was used and operated at an operating temperature of 50 ° C and a load current of 0.2A, the output voltage was 11.8V and continued for about 4.5 hours. It declined rapidly. Therefore, the volumetric energy density when filled with a 10 wt% aqueous methanol fuel was 41 Wh / l when the ventilation fan was used.

This fuel cell power generator employs a structure in which liquid fuel is sucked from a manifold at the lower part of the stacked battery, and carbon dioxide gas generated by oxidation of the fuel is discharged from the upper part of the stacked battery. For this reason, there is a problem that power generation does not continue if it is upside down or overturned during operation.
[Example 1]
FIG. 11 shows the structure of the MEA according to this example. The MEA is formed by joining an electrolyte resin as a binder so that the anode layer 22 and the cathode layer 23 overlap both surfaces of the electrolyte membrane 21.

  The anode layer has a catalyst powder in which 50 wt% of platinum / ruthenium alloy fine particles having a platinum / ruthenium ratio of 1/1 (atomic ratio) are supported on a carbon support and a 30 wt% perfluorocarbon sulfonic acid (Nafion 117) electrolyte as a binder. A slurry of a water / alcohol mixed solvent (a mixed solvent of water: isopropanol: normal propanol at a weight ratio of 20:40:40) was prepared and formed into a porous film having a thickness of about 20 μm by a screen printing method.

  As the cathode layer, a slurry of a water / alcohol mixed solvent was formed by a screen printing method into a porous film having a thickness of about 25 μm using a catalyst powder supporting 30 wt% platinum fine particles on a carbon support and an electrolyte as a binder.

  The anode porous membrane and the cathode porous membrane were cut into a width of 10 mm and a length of 20 mm, respectively, to obtain an anode layer 22 and a cathode layer 23. A 50 μm thick Nafion 117 electrolyte membrane 20 mm wide × 30 mm long was cut out, and 5% by weight of Nafion 117 alcohol aqueous solution (water: isopropanol: normal propanol 20:40:40 mixed solvent: Fluka in a weight ratio) was formed on the anode layer surface. After infiltrating about 0.5 ml of Chemika), it is bonded to the center of the electrolyte membrane, applied with a load of about 1 kg, and dried at 80 ° C. for 3 hours.

  Next, about 0.5 ml of 5% by weight Nafion 117 alcohol aqueous solution (manufactured by Fluka Chemika) was infiltrated into the cathode layer surface, and then joined so as to overlap the anode layer 22 previously joined to the center of the electrolyte membrane, An MEA was prepared by applying a load of about 1 kg and drying at 80 ° C. for 3 hours.

Next, a paste in which an aqueous dispersion of water repellent polytetrafluoroethylene fine particles (Teflon dispersion D-1: manufactured by Daikin Industries) is added and kneaded to the carbon powder so that the weight after firing is 40 wt%, The carbon sheet was applied to one side of a carbon fiber woven fabric having a thickness of about 350 μm and a porosity of 87% so as to have a thickness of about 20 μm, dried at room temperature, and then fired at 270 ° C. for 3 hours to form a carbon sheet. The obtained sheet was cut into the same shape as the above-mentioned MEA electrode size to prepare a diffusion layer. (Note) Teflon; registered trademark Next, a method for mounting a fuel cell made of MEA on the outer peripheral surface of the fuel container will be described with reference to FIG. 13 showing a cross-sectional structure of the fuel cell power generator.

  A glass fiber mat having a thickness of 5 mm and a porosity of 85% was mounted as a fuel absorbent material 5 on the inner wall surface of the rigid vinyl chloride fuel container 1 having an outer dimension of 65 mm width × 135 mm length × 25 mm height and a wall thickness of 2 mm. .

  On the outer wall surface of the fuel container 1, eighteen upper and lower fuel cell mounting portions 2 each having a width of 21 mm × length of 31 mm × depth of 0.5 mm were provided. The anode contact portion of each fuel cell mounting portion 2 was provided with slits having a width of 1 mm × 10 mm at intervals of 1 mm to form diffusion holes 3. The slit was filled with a glass fiber mat having a porosity of 85% so as to come into contact with the fuel wicking material 5 mounted on the inner wall surface of the fuel container.

  On the outer surface of the slit, a nickel electroless plating layer having a thickness of about 50 μm was provided for the interconnector 4 for electrical connection with the cathode current collector plate 7 of the adjacent fuel cell. At the upper and lower corners of the obtained fuel container, vent holes 15 having a gas-liquid separation function having the same structure as that shown in FIG.

  Next, the fuel cell fixing plate 8 is a plate made of hard vinyl chloride having a thickness of 2.0 mm, which is the same as the fuel container 1, and a slit provided in the mounting portion 2 of the fuel container on the surface in contact with the cathode of each fuel cell. A slit having a width of 1.0 mm and a length of 20 mm was provided as the diffusion hole 3 in a direction orthogonal to the diffusing hole 3. The fuel cell fixing plate 8 was fixed with a cathode current collector plate 7 made of nickel with a slit and shaped so as to be connected to the interconnector 4 of the adjacent fuel cell in the same shape as the slit portion.

  In mounting the MEA 9 on the fuel container, a fuel cell mounting plate 2 having a sealing gasket 10 disposed on both sides of the MEA 9 is disposed in the fuel cell mounting portion 2, and a diffusion layer 11 is disposed on the cathode side thereof. In step 8, each battery was fixed to the fuel container. At this time, the cathode current collecting plate 7 arranged in advance on the cathode side surface of the fuel cell fixing plate 8 electrically connects the cathode and the interconnector 4 from the anode of the adjacent fuel cell. Are connected in series. The terminal portion to which each fuel cell is connected is taken out as a battery terminal 16 from the interface between the fuel cell fixing plate 8 and the fuel container to the outside of the container. The external appearance of the fuel cell power generator according to this example is shown in FIG.

The fuel container 1 having the vent hole 15 is provided with 36 unit cells 13 having upper and lower surfaces by the fuel cell fixing plate 8 and provided with an output terminal 16. Thus, a 10 wt% aqueous methanol solution 12 is injected into the container as fuel from one of the vent holes 15 of the fuel container in which the fuel cell is mounted. This fuel cell was approximately 65 mm wide × 135 mm long × 29 mm high, and the fuel storage volume was about 150 ml. In addition, the power generation device is configured with a power generation area of 2 cm ² and 36 series.

  When this fuel cell power generator was operated at a temperature of 50 ° C. and a load current of 200 mA, the output voltage was 12.2V. When it is filled with 10 wt% methanol aqueous solution and operated at a load current of 200 mA, power generation can be continued for about 4.5 hours. The output density of this fuel cell power generation device is about 9.6 W / l, and the volume per fuel liter. The energy density was about 50 Wh / l. In addition, even when the power generator was operated in the upside down or rollover posture during this operation, no change in the output voltage was observed, and no increase in pressure in the fuel container was observed.

  Thus, by mounting a plurality of fuel cells on the outer wall surface of the liquid fuel container and connecting them in series with an interconnector, a 12V class high voltage type small fuel cell can be realized without stacking via a separator. At this time, the anode side is brought into contact with the inside of the storage container with the liquid fuel suction material, and the cathode is exposed to the outside air through the diffusion layer, so that auxiliary equipment such as a fuel feed pump and a cathode gas fan can be used. An unnecessary power supply has become possible.

In particular, the installation of air vents with gas-liquid separation functions arranged on multiple surfaces of the fuel container enables normal power generation regardless of the attitude of the fuel cell, achieving essential characteristics as a portable power generator. It was.
[Comparative Example 2]
A low-voltage small fuel cell power generator using a separator will be described with reference to FIG. The battery components, separator, wicking material, liner, gasket, MEA, and diffusion layer are the same material and the same size as in Comparative Example 1, and the laminated battery 23 so that the unit cell becomes 4 cells in the same procedure. Was made. This laminated battery was inserted into the cell holder 105 in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1, and fixed with a fastening band 17 made of fluorine-based rubber.

  The fuel container 1 has a polypropylene outer shape of 33 mm height × 16 mm length × 65 mm width and a side wall thickness of 2 mm. As shown in FIG. 14, a vent 15 fitted with a porous polytetrafluoroethylene membrane is provided at the center of the upper surface of the fuel container 1 in the same manner as the structure shown in FIG.

The manufactured laminated battery 23 was combined with the fuel container 1 with the same configuration as that of Comparative Example 1 to constitute a power source. The obtained power source is provided with a fuel container 1 having a height of approximately 33 mm, a length of 82 mm, a width of 16 mm, a power generation area of about 2 cm ² and a capacity of about 20 ml.

  When the operating temperature is 50 ° C and the load current is 0.2A, it shows a voltage of 0.58V. The voltage when power is generated while blowing with a fan over the entire opening of the side wall of the power source constituted by the air electrode side groove of the separator is It was 1.26V. This is presumably because the supply of oxygen due to air diffusion is insufficient in the air electrode side groove structure of the separator when the power source is loaded. The volume output density of this power source was about 2.7 W / l without the use of the ventilation fan, and about 5.8 W / l when the ventilation fan was used.

  When 20ml of 10wt% methanol aqueous solution is filled, and a fan is used and the operation temperature is 50 ° C and the load current is 0.2A, the output voltage is about 1.26V and after about 5 hours, the voltage drops rapidly. did. Therefore, the volume energy density per 10 wt% methanol aqueous solution fuel liter was 29 Wh / l when the ventilation fan was used.

This fuel cell power generator has a structure in which liquid fuel is sucked from a manifold at the lower part of the stacked battery, and carbon dioxide gas generated by oxidation of the fuel is discharged from the upper part of the stacked battery. For this reason, there is a problem that power generation does not continue if the vehicle is upside down or overturned during operation.
[Example 2]
FIG. 15 shows a cross-sectional structure of a prismatic and low-voltage power generator using methanol as fuel according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 16 shows an outline of a fuel cell mounting method. The MEA was prepared in substantially the same manner as in Example 1. A catalyst powder in which 50 wt% of platinum / ruthenium alloy fine particles of platinum / ruthenium 1/1 (atomic ratio) are supported on a carbon support on a polyimide film having a width of 30 mm × 50 mm, and 30 wt% perfluorocarbon sulfonic acid ( Nafion 117) A porous film having a thickness of about 20 μm by screen printing using a slurry made of a water / alcohol mixed solvent (water: isopropanol: normal propanol in a weight ratio of 20:40:40) using an electrolyte as a binder. And dried at 90 ° C. for 3 hours to form an anode porous layer.

  For the cathode porous layer, a catalyst powder having 30 wt% platinum fine particles supported on a carbon support and a slurry of a water / alcohol mixed solvent using an electrolyte as a binder are prepared, and a polyimide of 30 mm width × 50 mm length is prepared by screen printing. The film was formed to a thickness of about 25 μm on the film and then dried at 90 ° C. for 3 hours.

  The anode porous membrane and the cathode porous membrane were cut into a size of 10 × 10 mm, respectively, to obtain an anode layer and a cathode layer. As the electrolyte, a sulfonated polyether ether sulfone film of 790 g / eq and 28 mm wide × 56 mm long × 50 μm thick was used.

  First, about 0.5 ml of 5 wt% Nafion 117 alcohol aqueous solution (manufactured by Fluka Chemika) was infiltrated into each surface of the eight anode layers, and this was evenly arranged on one surface of the electrolyte membrane, and each electrode was Apply a load of about 1 kg and dry at 80 ° C. for 3 hours.

  Next, about 0.5 ml of 5% by weight Nafion 117 alcohol aqueous solution was infiltrated into the cathode layer surface, and then placed on the opposite surface of the electrolyte membrane to which the anode was joined so as to overlap the anode layer. A MEA was prepared by applying a load of about 1 kg and drying at 80 ° C. for 3 hours.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the fuel container 1 is made of hard vinyl chloride having an outer shape of 22 mm width × 79 mm length × 23 mm height and 2 mm wall thickness. As for the cross-sectional structure, as shown in FIG. 15, four fuel cell mounting portions 2 each having 16 mm width × 16 mm length × 0.5 mm depth are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the fuel container 1. A slit that penetrates the inside of the fuel container 1 having a length of 1 mm width × 10 mm was provided as a diffusion hole 3 in a 10 mm width × 10 mm length portion of the central portion of the fuel cell mounting portion 2.

  A nickel layer having a thickness of 0.1 mm was formed on the outer surface of the mounting portion 2 as an anode-side interconnector 4 by an electroless plating method so as to be electrically connected to an adjacent fuel cell. A glass fiber mat having a thickness of 1 mm and a porosity of about 70% is attached to the inner wall of the fuel container 1 to form a fuel wicking material 5, and the inside is filled with glass fibers so that the porosity is about 85%. A holding layer 18 for holding a low density fuel was provided. Eight vent holes 15 having an inner diameter of 2 mm having the structure shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the fuel cell fixing plate 8 serving as the fuel cell holding plate is made of hard vinyl chloride of 22 mm width × 79 mm length × 1 mm thickness, and the fuel container 1 is placed on the surface in contact with the cathode of each fuel cell. 1 mm wide × 10 mm long slits were provided in the direction perpendicular to the slits of the fuel cell mounting portion 2, and vent hole mounting holes 19 were provided at the four corners.

  A cathode current collector plate 7 having a thickness of 0.2 mm made of nickel and connected to an adjacent interconnector on the anode side of the fuel cell was attached to the fuel cell fixing plate 8.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the fuel cell is laminated in the order of a neoprene rubber anode side gasket 10, MEA 9, cathode side diffusion layer 11, neoprene rubber cathode side gasket 10, and fuel cell fixing plate 8. The outer periphery of the fixing plate was fixed to the fuel container 1 by screwing.

The anode side terminal 6 and the cathode side terminal 6 mounted on the upper and lower sides of the fuel container 1 were respectively connected in parallel to form an output terminal 16. The outer shape of the obtained fuel cell power generator is 22 mm wide × 79 mm long × 27 mm high, and is composed of 4 series × 2 parallel fuel cells with a power generation area of 1 cm ² .

  The volume of the fuel container 1 is approximately 20 ml. When this fuel container is filled with a 10% methanol aqueous solution through the vent hole 15 and operated at an operating temperature of 50 ° C., an output voltage of 1.3 V is obtained at a load current of 200 mA. It was. When a fuel container was filled with 20 ml of 10% methanol aqueous solution and continuously generated with a load current of 200 mA, a stable voltage of about 5 hours was obtained at an output of 1.3 V. The power density of this cell was about 5.5 W / l and the volumetric energy density per fuel liter was about 28 Wh / l. During this operation, no change in output voltage was observed and no increase in pressure in the fuel container was observed even when the power generator was operated in an upside-down or sideways position.

  In this way, a plurality of fuel cells are mounted on one outer wall surface of the liquid fuel container, connected in series with an interconnector, and the series cells mounted on the plurality of surfaces are arranged in parallel to be stacked via a separator. A 1.3V class small fuel cell can be realized without any problems. At this time, the anode side is brought into contact with the inside of the storage container with the liquid fuel suction material, and the cathode is exposed to the outside air through the diffusion layer, so that auxiliary equipment such as a fuel feed pump and a cathode gas fan can be used. An unnecessary power source was obtained.

Furthermore, by filling the fuel container with a low-density fuel suction material, it was possible to alleviate the shaking of the liquid fuel during operation. In particular, the installation of air vents equipped with gas-liquid separation functions arranged on multiple surfaces of the fuel container enables normal power generation regardless of the orientation of the fuel cell, achieving essential characteristics as a portable power generator. We were able to.
Example 3
In this embodiment, a fuel cell using a metal fuel container coated with an epoxy resin as a platform will be described.

  The MEA and cathode side diffusion layer were produced in the same manner as in Example 2. As shown in FIG. 17, a fuel container made of SUS304 having an outer shape of 22 mm wide × 79 mm long × 23 mm high and 0.3 mm thick was prepared. The container is composed of a frame and press-processed upper and lower lids having 16 mm width × 16 mm length × 0.5 mm depth and four fuel cell mounting portions 2.

  In the center of the fuel cell mounting portion 2, a slit of 0.5 mm width × 10 mm length is provided as a diffusion hole 3 by punching at a portion of 10 mm width × 10 mm length. A vent 15 having an inner diameter of 1 mm made of SUS304 and not using a gas-liquid separation membrane was provided at the corners of the upper and lower lids. Using these members, a glass fiber mat having a porosity of about 80% was filled as the fuel absorbent material 5 and then sealed by welding to form the fuel container 1.

  On the outer surface of the fuel container 1, a liquid epoxy resin coating (Flep: manufactured by Toray Thiocor Co.) was applied to a thickness of 0.1 mm and thermally cured to form an insulating layer 20. The surface of the fuel cell mounting part 2 was electrolessly plated with nickel as the anode-side interconnector 4 in the same shape as in Example 2.

  As in the second embodiment, 22 mm wide × 79 mm long × 1 mm thick hard vinyl chloride is used for the fuel cell fixing plate, and the surface in contact with the cathode of each fuel cell is orthogonal to the slit of the fuel cell mounting portion 2. A slit of 1 mm width × 10 mm length was provided in the direction to be formed, and vent holes 15 were provided at the four corners. Using this slit, a nickel cathode current collector plate 7 with a slit having a thickness of 0.2 mm to be connected to the interconnector 4 on the adjacent fuel cell anode side was attached.

  As in Example 2, this fuel cell was formed by laminating a fluorine rubber anode side gasket, MEA, a fluorine rubber cathode side gasket, a cathode diffusion layer, and a fuel cell fixing plate in this order. The heat-shrinkable resin tube with a slit having a thickness of 100 μm was fixed to the tightening fuel container. An anode side terminal and a cathode side terminal mounted on the upper and lower sides of the fuel container were respectively connected in series to form an output terminal.

The outer shape of the obtained fuel cell power generator is composed of 8 series fuel cells having a width of about 22 mm × 79 mm length × 27 mm height and a power generation area of 1 cm ² . The volume of the fuel container was approximately 38 ml. A 10% methanol aqueous solution was filled with a syringe as a fuel through the vent of the fuel container and operated at an operating temperature of 50 ° C., and an output voltage of 2.6 V was obtained at a load current of 100 mA.

  When a fuel container was filled with about 37 ml of 10% methanol aqueous solution and power was continuously generated at a load current of 100 mA, a stable voltage was obtained at an output of 2.6 V for about 4 hours. At this time, the output density of the fuel cell power generator was about 5.5 W / l, and the volumetric energy density per fuel liter was about 22 Wh / l. Even when the fuel cell was operated in an upside-down or sideways position, no change in output voltage was observed, no liquid fuel leaked, and no pressure increase in the fuel container was observed.

  In this way, a plurality of fuel cells are mounted on one outer wall surface of the liquid fuel container, connected in series with an interconnector, and the series cells mounted on the plurality of surfaces are arranged in parallel to be stacked via a separator. Thus, a 2.6V class small fuel cell can be realized. At this time, the anode side is contacted with the anode by the liquid fuel suction material, and the cathode is exposed to the outside air through the diffusion layer, so auxiliary equipment such as a fuel feed pump and a cathode gas fan is required. The power supply that does not.

The present embodiment has a feature that the volume can be increased because the fuel container is made of a metal material and the surface thereof is insulated. Also, by filling the fuel container with a relatively high-density fuel suction material, it is possible to prevent leakage of liquid fuel simply by providing a small open hole that does not have a gas-liquid separation function. Very stable power generation was possible. Further, in the production of the power generation device, each fuel cell can be easily fixed using a heat-shrinkable resin tube.
Example 4
A rectangular tube type methanol fuel cell power generation apparatus using a metal fuel container coated with an epoxy resin as a platform will be described.

  The MEA was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 2 so that the outer shape of the electrode was 20 mm wide × 25 mm long and the outer shape was 24 mm wide × 29 mm long. The cathode diffusion layer was produced in the same manner as in Example 2 with a shape of 20 mm width × 25 mm length.

  The outer shape of the fuel container is a hexagonal cylinder with a uniform 28mm, height of 190mm, and wall thickness of 0.3mm, and each surface is pressed with a fuel cell mounting part 24mm wide x 29mm long x 0.5mm deep Processed and composed of hexagonal upper and lower lids.

  A slit of 0.5 mm width × 25 mm length was punched at 0.5 mm intervals in a 20 mm width × 25 mm length portion at the center of the fuel cell mounting portion. The upper and lower lids were each provided with six vent holes with an inner diameter of 2 mm provided with six gas-liquid separation functions similar to those shown in FIG. (6) A glass fiber mat having a thickness of 5 mm and a porosity of about 85% was attached to the inner wall of each cylinder, and the upper and lower lids were sealed by welding. The outer surface of the fuel container is coated with a liquid epoxy resin paint (Flep: Toray Thiocor Co., Ltd.) with a thickness of 0.1 mm, then thermally cured, and nickel is used as an anode-side interconnector in the same shape as in Example 2. Electroless plating.

  The fuel cell fixing plate 8 serving as the fuel cell holding plate is made of hard vinyl chloride of 28 mm width × 190 mm length × 1 mm thickness as in the second embodiment, and the fuel container is cut into the surface in contact with the cathode of each fuel cell. Slits of 0.5 mm width × 20 mm length were provided at intervals of 0.5 mm in a direction perpendicular to the slits of the part. In order to connect the adjacent fuel cell anode-side interconnector using this slit, a 0.2 mm thick nickel cathode current collector plate with a slit was attached.

  In the same manner as in Example 2, the fuel cell was laminated in the order of a fluorine rubber anode gasket, MEA, a fluorine rubber cathode gasket, a cathode diffusion layer, and a fuel cell fixing plate in order. The outer peripheral part was fastened with a heat-shrinkable resin tube with a slit having a thickness of 100 μm and fixed to the fuel container. The obtained fuel cell power generator is shown in FIG.

36 unit cells 13 were mounted on the outer wall of the hexagonal cylinder fuel container 1 having six vent holes 15 at the top and bottom, respectively connected in series, and the output terminal 16 was taken out of the fuel container 1. The outer shape of the obtained fuel cell power generator is a 36 series DC power generator having a hexagonal column of about 28 mm, a height of about 190 mm, and a power generation area of 5 cm ² . The internal volume of the fuel container was approximately 300 ml.

  When a fuel container was filled with about 300 ml of 10% methanol aqueous solution and continuously generated with a load current of 500 mA, a stable voltage was obtained at an output of 12.1 V for about 4 hours. The power density at this time was about 15 W / l, and the volumetric energy density per fuel liter was 60 Wh / l. Even when the fuel cell was operated in the upside down or sideways position, no change in output voltage was observed, no liquid fuel leaked, and no pressure increase in the fuel container was observed.

  In this way, a plurality of fuel cells are mounted on one outer wall surface of the liquid fuel container and connected in series with an interconnector, and the series cells mounted on the plurality of surfaces are arranged in parallel without stacking via separators. A 12V class small fuel cell can be realized. At this time, the anode side is contacted with the anode by the liquid fuel suction material, and the cathode is exposed to the outside air through the diffusion layer, so auxiliary equipment such as a fuel feed pump and a cathode gas fan is required. The power supply that does not.

This embodiment is characterized in that the power generation area is relatively large and the output is increased, and stable power generation is possible regardless of the posture during operation. Further, in the production of power generation devices, it has become possible to easily fix each fuel cell using a heat-shrinkable resin tube.
Example 5
A power generation apparatus using a square and high-power methanol aqueous solution as a fuel will be described. The anode layer is composed of a catalyst powder in which 50 wt% of platinum / ruthenium alloy fine particles having a platinum / ruthenium ratio of 1/1 (atomic ratio) are supported on a carbon support, and a 30 wt% perfluorocarbon sulfonic acid (Nafion 117) electrolyte as a binder. / A slurry composed of a mixed solvent of alcohol (a mixed solvent of water: isopropanol: normal propanol at a weight ratio of 20:40:40) was formed into a porous film having a thickness of about 20 μm by a screen printing method.

  The cathode layer is formed by rolling a slurry using a catalyst powder supporting 50 wt% platinum fine particles on a carbon support and a polytetrafluoroethylene aqueous dispersion as a binder so that the weight when dried is 25 wt%. The porous film was formed. This cathode layer was baked in air at 290 ° C. for 1 hour to decompose the surfactant in the aqueous dispersion. The anode porous membrane and the cathode porous membrane were cut into a size of 16 mm width × 56 mm length, respectively, and used as an anode and a cathode.

  Next, a Nafion 117 electrolyte membrane having a thickness of 50 μm was cut out to 120 mm width × 180 mm length, and about 0.5 ml of 5 wt% Nafion 117 alcohol aqueous solution (manufactured by Fluka Chemika) was infiltrated into the anode layer surface. Then, apply a load of about 1 kg and dry at 80 ° C. for 3 hours. Next, a 10% by weight Nafion 117 alcohol aqueous solution (manufactured by Fluka Chemika Co., Ltd.) was infiltrated into the cathode layer surface so as to be 25 wt% in terms of the weight of the cathode when dried, and then joined to the center of the electrolyte membrane first. It joined so that it might overlap with an anode layer, MEA was produced by applying about 1 kg load and drying at 80 degreeC for 3 hours.

  The fuel container is a container made of hard vinyl chloride having an outer shape of 28 mm wide × 128 mm long × 24 mm high and having a wall thickness of 2 mm bonded with an adhesive. In the outer wall of this hexahedron container, 18 incisions for mounting a fuel cell having a width of 16 mm × a length of 56 mm × a depth of 0.1 mm were provided in the same manner as in Example 2.

  Slits of 0.5 mm width × 16 mm length were provided at intervals of 0.5 mm at the center 16 mm width × 56 mm length portion of the fuel cell mounting portion. Eight vent holes with an inner diameter of 2 mm having the same gas-liquid separation function as those in FIG. 4A were provided at the four corners of the two surfaces having the largest area of the fuel container.

  A metalizing layer having a thickness of 50 μm of an electroless plating film of nickel is used as an anode-side interconnector for electrically connecting in series with an adjacent fuel cell in the same manner as in the second embodiment. Formed. The fuel cell fixing plate is also sized to match each outer wall surface of the fuel container in the same manner as in Example 2, and a 0.5 mm width × 56 mm length slit perpendicular to the slit provided in the fuel container is formed in the portion in contact with the cathode. They were provided at intervals of 0.5 mm.

  Further, a cathode current collector plate with a slit was attached to the fuel cell fixing plate. Eighteen fuel cells mounted on the outer wall of the fuel container took out output terminals connected in series by the cathode current collector plate adjacent to the anode-side interconnector.

Each member thus obtained was laminated in the order of the anode side gasket and the MEA, and the fuel cell outer peripheral portion of the fuel cell fixing plate and the fuel container outer peripheral portion were joined with an adhesive. As shown in FIG. 19, the obtained fuel cell power generator is approximately 28 mm wide × 128 mm long × 28 mm high, and 18 series cells 13 having a power generation area of approximately 9 cm ² are mounted on the wall surface of the fuel container 1. The DC power generator has the output terminal 16 and the vent hole 5 having eight gas-liquid separation functions on the upper and lower surfaces.

  The internal volume of the fuel container was approximately 59 ml. When a fuel container was filled with about 55 ml of a 10% methanol aqueous solution and continuously generated with a load current of 1 A, a stable voltage was obtained at an output of 6.1 V for about 45 minutes. Even when the fuel cell was operated in an upside down or sideways position, no change in output voltage was observed, no liquid fuel leaked, and no pressure increase in the fuel container was observed.

  In this way, a plurality of fuel cells are mounted on one outer wall surface of the liquid fuel container, connected in series with an interconnector, and stacked in series via a separator by paralleling a group of series cells mounted on a plurality of surfaces. A 6V class small fuel cell can be realized without doing so. At this time, the anode side is contacted with the anode by the liquid fuel suction material, and the cathode is exposed to the outside air through the diffusion layer, so auxiliary equipment such as a fuel feed pump and a cathode gas fan is required. The power supply that does not.

  In this embodiment, polytetrafluoroethylene is dispersed in the cathode catalyst layer to have water repellency and facilitate the diffusion of the generated water. A structure with a reduced number of points can be obtained.

1 is a cross-sectional structural view of a fuel container according to the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the electrode / electrolyte membrane assembly of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the fuel cell fixing plate of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the vent hole cross-section of this invention, and a storage container attachment cross-section. 1 is a configuration diagram of a mounting part of a fuel cell of Example 1. FIG. 1 is an external view of a fuel cell power generator of Example 1. FIG. It is a block diagram of the appearance and cross section of the separator of Comparative Example 1. It is a block diagram which shows the laminated structure of the battery of a comparative example. The present invention is also a configuration diagram of the outer plate of the high-voltage rectangular tube unit battery. It is a figure which shows the coupling | bonding of the power supply external appearance structure of Comparative Example 1, and a power supply / fuel tank. 1 is a configuration diagram of an electrode / electrolyte membrane assembly of Example 1. FIG. 1 is an external view of a fuel cell power generator of Example 1. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a fuel cell power generator of Example 1. FIG. 6 is an external view of a fuel cell power generator of Comparative Example 2. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a fuel storage container of Example 2. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a mounting part of a fuel cell of Example 2. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a fuel container according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 6 is an external view of a fuel cell power generator of Example 4. FIG. 7 is an external view of a fuel cell power generator of Example 5. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fuel container, 2 ... Fuel cell mounting part, 3 ... Diffusion hole, 4 ... Interconnector, 5 ... Liquid fuel suction material, 6 ... Fuel cell terminal, 7 ... Cathode collector plate, 8 ... Fuel cell fixing plate, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... MEA (electrolyte membrane / electrode assembly), 10 ... Gasket, 11 ... Diffusion layer, 12 ... Methanol aqueous solution, 13 ... Single cell, 15 ... Vent, 16 ... Output terminal, 17 ... Fastening band, 18 ... Fuel holding Layer, 19 ... vent hole mounting hole, 20 ... insulating layer, 21 ... electrolyte membrane, 22 ... anode layer, 23 ... cathode layer, 50 ... gas-liquid separation membrane, 51 ... vent tube, 52 ... vent lid, 54 ... rib part , 81 ... Separator, 82 ... Manifold, 83 ... Separator longitudinal sectional view, 84 ... Separator cross-sectional view, 85 ... Power generation opening part, 86 ... Manifold opening part, 87 ... Manifold embedding part, 88 ... Groove embedding part, 89 ... Rib part, 92 Liner, 93 ... wicking material, 94 ... laminated cell, 102 ... fuel tank, 103 ... fuel cell mounting part, 105 ... cell holder.

Claims (6)

An electrolyte membrane / electrode assembly having an anode that oxidizes liquid fuel, a cathode that reduces oxygen, and an electrolyte membrane is formed on a plurality of wall surfaces of a fuel container having diffusion holes formed on the wall surfaces via diffusion holes and interconnectors. A fuel cell power generator,
The fuel container accommodates the liquid fuel, and a liquid fuel holding material for supplying the fuel to the electrolyte membrane / electrode assembly is provided therein, and a plurality of wall surfaces have vent holes for exhausting carbon dioxide gas. Formed and made of a material having electrical insulation, or the wall surface is electrically insulated,
The interconnector has a network structure, a porous layer or a slit-like diffusion hole structure,
A plurality of the electrolyte membrane / electrode assemblies are mounted on one wall surface,
The fuel cell power generator according to claim 1, wherein the cathode is disposed exposed to the outside air, and the anode is disposed on the interconnector side . The fuel cell power generator according to claim 1, wherein a gas-liquid separation membrane is formed in the vent hole. 2. The fuel cell power generator according to claim 1, wherein the vent hole functions as a fuel supply hole. 3. The fuel cell power generator according to claim 2, wherein the gas-liquid separation membrane is a water-repellent porous membrane. The fuel cell power generator according to claim 1, wherein a diffusion layer is disposed in contact with the anode and / or the cathode. 2. The fuel cell power generator according to claim 1, wherein the liquid fuel is an aqueous methanol solution.

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