Formaldehyde detection and removal in direct alcohol fuel cell effluent

Jenna Simandl, Civil Engineering, University of AlabamaCuong Diep, Chemical Engineering, University of CincinnatiSidney Stacy, Biomedical Engineering, University of Cincinnati1Formaldehyde Detection and Removal in Direct Alcohol Fuel Cell Effluent

NSF Grant ID No:DUE-0756921Introduction2Formaldehyde and alcohol fuel cellsEffluent and efficiency lossAcetone - surrogate

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0039914013002014

http://www.machine-history.com/Direct%20Methanol%20Fuel%20CellOptical Sensing3Spectroscopy and Perfluorosulfonic acid (PSA) membrane

http://www.chem.agilent.com/en-US/products-services/instruments-systems/molecular-spectroscopy/8453-uv-vis-diode-array-system/Pages/photodiode_array_benefits.aspx

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/polb.21639/fullWater Interference4A membrane additive has been selected to potentially mitigate water interferencehttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/polb.21639/full

Reactions5Acetone Reaction Scheme

Formaldehyde Reaction Scheme

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0039914013002014http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01139044Goals6Determine if the membrane additive mitigates water interference for acetoneDetermine how the membrane additive is functioningApply feasibility testing to the detection of formaldehyde in 100% relative humidityDevelop a calibration of the membrane catalyst to formaldehyde concentrationsTest direct alcohol fuel cell effluent for formaldehyde

Methods7

8

Results- 4ppmv Acetone Exposure in 100% Relative Humidity9

How come?With additiveNo additive10Results- 4ppmv Acetone and Cesium Exposure with Additive

5mM Cs10mM Cs50mM Cs5mM Cs, no additive

Results- Initial 500 ppmv Formaldehyde Exposure in 100% Relative Humidity11

With additiveNo additiveResults- Formaldehyde Exposure12Calibration Points100 ppmv50 ppmv0 ppmvResults- Calibration Curve13Results- Shifted Sensitivity14Conclusions And Future Work15The membrane additive is successful at mitigating water interferenceWe are able to detect acetone and formaldehyde in the presence of waterThe detection method is very sensitive within a small dynamic range, that can be tailored by varying the resorcinol concentrationApply similar approach to water abundant environment of an alcohol fuel cell effluent to determine formaldehyde concentrationsQuestions?16