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Oorja Protonics Launches Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Technology; Targeting Material Handling Market
17 March 2008
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| Schematic of working principle of a direct methanol fuel cell. Click to enlarge. Source: LTNT |
Oorja Protonics has publicly launched its patented direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology. Funded by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and DAG Ventures, and led by fuel cell pioneer Sanjiv Malhotra, Oorja has been operating in stealth mode since 2005 and has been engaged in commercial testing and deployments of its technology through pilot programs with leading Fortune 50 customers.
A type of proton exchange membrane fuel cell, the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) uses liquid methanol rather than hydrogen (either stored on-board or reformed on-board from a different fuel) as the feed. Methanol (CH3OH) is mixed with water and fed directly to the fuel cell anode, where it is oxidized on a catalyst layer to form carbon dioxide, hydrogen ions (H+) and the electrons that travel through the external circuit as the electric output of the fuel cell.
Positive ions (H+) are transported across the proton exchange membrane to the cathode where they react with oxygen to produce water, which is then recylcled for input with the methanol.
Anode Reaction: CH3OH + H2O → CO2 + 6H+ + 6e-
Cathode Reaction: 3/2 O2 + 6 H+ + 6e- → 3 H2O
Overall Cell Reaction: CH3OH + 3/2 O2 => CO2 + 2 H2O
The low-temperature (around 50ºC-120ºC) oxidation of methanol to hydrogen ions and CO2 requires a more active catalyst.
Originally developed in the early 1990s, DMFCs were limited by their low efficiency and power density. Improvements in catalysts and membrane technology (methanol crossover, or the permeation of methanol through the membrane, limits efficiency) have led to ongoing increases in both efficiency and power density, and a number of manufacturers are exploring the use of DMFCs to power portable consumer electronics.
Oorja says that it has been able to produce a reliable, affordable, and compact fuel cell that is ten to one hundred times more powerful than existing methanol fuel cells. Oorja is currently on its fifth generation of fuel cell technology and has been in development and in field evaluation since early 2005. Fueled by liquid methanol, the OorjaPacs serve as self-contained retrofits for material handling vehicles like pallet loaders, tuggers, and automated guided vehicles.
Oorja’s fuel cells serve as an on-board battery charger that continuously charges the batteries of these vehicles while they operate. The Stand Alone OorjaPac unit can work with all batteries that operate on 12, 24, 36 and 48 Volts. The Hybrid OorjaPac unit currently replaces only the 24 Volt batteries.
A five gallon methanol fuel tank is sufficient to power two eight hour shifts.
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Comments
What MPG on road vehicles?
More questions than answers.
Posted by: Lucas | Mar 17, 2008 2:43:36 PM
It's great they react the methanol with water (and not with O2) to free the hydrogen. That way, you have much more H2 molecules per methanol molecule which increases the efficiency enormously.
This would be a very attractive range extender for PHEV.
Moreover, a pure CO2 stream is created, which could relatively easy be kept under pressure for recycling at home to new methanol. (though at the moment I guess this is not their priority)
If the catalysts don't use too expensive materials, this could be huge...
Posted by: Alain | Mar 17, 2008 4:15:36 PM
@ Lucas -
even with the improvements Oorja claims to have made, DMFCs are probably still both less efficient and more expensive than their close cousins, PEMFCs. The huge upside is that unlike hydrogen, methanol is a liquid at normal pressure and temperature.
However, it is also highly corrosive, very toxic and burns with a nearly invisible flame. It therefore requires special handling plus stainless steel tanks, pumps and lines. The auto industry has long preferred ethanol, but that was partly because it's more compatible with ICE technology. Affordable, compact DMFCs could persuade them to take a second look, if only because of the ZEV mandate.
Note that there are bacteria that can convert methane into methanol at room temperature.
http://www.snugroups.org/applications/making_methanol.html
Methane can be produced sustainably by anaerobic digestion of wet, non-woody cellulosic wastes incl. manure. It can also be produced from dry forestry waste by roasting it at intermediate temperatures and converting the syngas fraction with a methanation catalyst. Either way, the gas needs to be cleaned of co-produced impurities, chiefly H2S, H2O and CO2.
Posted by: Rafael Seidl | Mar 17, 2008 4:34:15 PM
Rafael, you do realize that:
“highly corrosive, very toxic and burns with a nearly invisible flame… requires special handling plus stainless steel tanks, pumps and lines”
methanol constitute up to 30% of windshield washer fluid, and in measurable quantities is contained in whiskey and brandy?
BTW, diluted by 40% of water it is non-flammable. Can you think about any other useful inflammable fuel?
Posted by: Andrey Levin | Mar 17, 2008 7:32:21 PM
Correction!
http://www.horsham.gov.uk/your_area/News/news_1721.asp
...
Methanol should not be present in the whisky at the levels it has been found and could cause serious harm. The effects of methanol poisoning include severe abdominal pain, drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision leading to blindness and the risk of coma with breathing difficulties.
Posted by: | Mar 17, 2008 10:37:27 PM
I believe methanol can be of value in the transportation industry - trucking and buses, if not the cars we drive - for two reasons. One, it could be used in fuel cells and two, it could be used as a source of synthesis gas for operation of exhaust gas cleanup systems for Diesel engines.
Methanol is of course a deadly poison but then, if we want to preserve our way of life, perhaps we should learn to live with this instead of demanding that everything be dumbed down to the lowest common denominator of stupidity.
Posted by: Alex Kovnat | Mar 18, 2008 4:50:02 AM
@Andrey Levin -
(a) precisely because methanol fumes are dangerous, modern windshield wiper fluids are generally a mix consisting mainly of water, ethanol or isopropanol and, ethylene glycol.
(b) anything that contains 40% water is a lousy fuel.
Posted by: Rafael Seidl | Mar 18, 2008 4:58:08 AM
Toyota seems to be able to get hydrogen for a fuel cell out of a 50/50 ethanol/water mix, not bad for a lousy fuel.
DMFCs have been done at small power levels. One of the ideas was to use them in laptops. Run out of power? Just plug in a methanol cartridge.
Large DMFCs have been a problem. These folks have made some progress, but there is a lot of progress left to go before they are ready to replace ICEs.
Posted by: sjc | Mar 18, 2008 11:13:36 AM
those guys tried the laptop way, but were more succesful with intermediate product (for camping car on board power)
http://www.efoy.de
they should be soon close to the 10.000 pieces sold?
Posted by: european lurker | Mar 18, 2008 2:29:17 PM
Rafael:
Methanol has same chemical toxicity as ethanol, only 5-10 times higher. Lethal ingestion dose for methanol is about 1/10 liter, for ethanol it is about ½ liter. Both are decomposed in human body by alcohol dehydrogenase, and are not bio-accumulative. Simply put, inhalation of methanol fumes while refueling methanol vehicle would be comparable with eating couple of table spoons of yogurt (it contains ethanol alcohol), or zilch. Gasoline, both ingested and in fumes is much more toxic then methanol.
Bad reputation of methanol is due to drunks who mistook methanol for ethanol, and drank it as such, which was (and is) quite widespread tragic occurrence in former USSR.
Methanol is still widely used in windshield washer fluids. It is easily biodegradable and will not contaminate groundwater if spilled, unlike gasoline or diesel fuel. It is routinely used to jump-start damaged microorganisms in sewage treatment plants and alike.
Proper additives could suppress methanol volatility (PAV), corrosion to aluminum parts, make methanol flame visible, and make methanol indigestible (bittering and vomit-inducing additives).
In small quantities methanol could be found in any alcoholic beverage aged in oak barrels. Regular alcohol in such beverages is powerful competitive antidote for methanol poisoning, and proper (not counterfeit) alcohol beverages are safe to drink (from methanol toxicity point of view).
From any point of view, methanol will pose order of magnitude less health and environmental problems than gasoline or diesel oil, and less safety consern then recharging of electric car, for example.
Posted by: Andrey Levin | Mar 18, 2008 10:55:42 PM
Methanol is so easy and cheap to make, it is a good fuel to use for ICEs and FCs. The problem is not ingestion, inhalation, aluminum, stainless or no flame color. The problem is most of it is made now reforming the methane in natural gas. We need to synthesize it using biomass gasification. Making methanol from biomass is so easy and proven that the $1 per gallon cost will be easy to achieve.
Imagine using a $2 per gallon retail fuel in an FC and getting 80 mpg. Now THAT is cost effective transportation. Delivering methanol by tanker truck is not as convenient has delivering SNG by pipeline, but that is another story.
Posted by: sjc | Mar 19, 2008 10:31:23 AM
