Solid Electrolyte Membranes for Lowand High-Temperature Fuel Cells
Siti Munira Jamil, Mazlinda Abd Rahman, Hazrul Adzfar Shabri,
and Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman
Abstract
In a fuel cell technology, the membrane will function as
an ion-exchange membrane where it will act as a
semipermeable membrane that enables the passage of
selectively dissolved ions while blocking the others. This
chapter describes the recent progress on the research of
solid electrolyte membranes in fuel cells. It focuses on the
utilization of ceramic and polymeric membranes in solid
oxide fuel cell, proton exchange membrane fuel cell, and
direct methanol fuel cell, respectively. The chapter then
discusses the membrane configurations that have been
widely used in fuel cell as well as their fabrication
technique. Recent performance evaluation was also
discussed for each type of membrane fuel cell. A brief
discussion on the applications, potential, and future
direction of this membrane fuel cell is also included.
Finally, this chapter concludes the challenges of membrane electrolyte utilization in fuel cell.
Keywords
Membranes Á Fuel cell Á Electrolytes Á Ceramic Á
Polymeric
1 Introduction
Membrane is a selective barrier that consists of thin sheets of
layer of the cell, where it allows selective things to pass
through but stop the others. Basically, membrane depends on
its materials sources, either ceramic membrane or polymeric
membrane. Ceramic membrane is an artificial membrane that
made from inorganic materials like alumina, zirconia oxide,
silicon carbide, or some glassy materials. While polymeric
membrane is made of different kinds of polymer that usually
soluble in organic solvents, membrane technology has been
explored widely which covers all engineering approaches for
substance transportation from one fraction to another fraction such as water treatment industry, food technology
industry, and pharmaceutical industry. Fuel cell technology
is also not excluded from using membrane as its main
component’s base.
In a fuel cell technology, the membrane will act as
ion-exchange membrane where it will behave as semipermeable membrane that allows selectively dissolved ions to
pass through, while blocking the others. This ions exchange
membrane will serve as electrolyte that lies between two
electrodes: anode and cathode. There are several main types
of fuel cell ion-exchange membrane consisting of
cation-exchange membrane (CEM), anion-exchange membrane (AEM), and bipolar membrane. CEM, known as
proton-exchange membrane, usually will transport H
+ while
AEM usually used in certain alkaline fuel cells to transport
OH
− anions from one electrode to another electrode,
whereas a bipolar membrane is a combination of anionic and
cationic membrane that laminated together (Tanaka 2007).
Commonly, fuel cell technology uses a membrane that
allows the transportation of ions from one electrode to
another electrode where ions will meet at one point and
generate the electrons through an electrochemical reaction.
Ions exchange membrane is made up from organic or
inorganic materials with charger. For instance, CEM
contains fixed anionic groups with abundantly mobile
S. M. Jamil Á M. A. Rahman Á H. A. Shabri Á
M. H. D. Othman (&)
Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
e-mail: hafiz@petroleum.utm.my
M. A. Rahman Á H. A. Shabri Á M. H. D. Othman
Faculty of Engineering, School of Chemical and Energy
Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM),
81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
S. M. Jamil
School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPACE),
Centre for Degree and Foundation Programmes, Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Z. Zhang et al. (eds.), Membrane Technology Enhancement for Environmental Protection
and Sustainable Industrial Growth, Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41295-1_8
109
Siti Munira Jamil, Mazlinda Abd Rahman, Hazrul Adzfar Shabri,
and Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman
Abstract
In a fuel cell technology, the membrane will function as
an ion-exchange membrane where it will act as a
semipermeable membrane that enables the passage of
selectively dissolved ions while blocking the others. This
chapter describes the recent progress on the research of
solid electrolyte membranes in fuel cells. It focuses on the
utilization of ceramic and polymeric membranes in solid
oxide fuel cell, proton exchange membrane fuel cell, and
direct methanol fuel cell, respectively. The chapter then
discusses the membrane configurations that have been
widely used in fuel cell as well as their fabrication
technique. Recent performance evaluation was also
discussed for each type of membrane fuel cell. A brief
discussion on the applications, potential, and future
direction of this membrane fuel cell is also included.
Finally, this chapter concludes the challenges of membrane electrolyte utilization in fuel cell.
Keywords
Membranes Á Fuel cell Á Electrolytes Á Ceramic Á
Polymeric
1 Introduction
Membrane is a selective barrier that consists of thin sheets of
layer of the cell, where it allows selective things to pass
through but stop the others. Basically, membrane depends on
its materials sources, either ceramic membrane or polymeric
membrane. Ceramic membrane is an artificial membrane that
made from inorganic materials like alumina, zirconia oxide,
silicon carbide, or some glassy materials. While polymeric
membrane is made of different kinds of polymer that usually
soluble in organic solvents, membrane technology has been
explored widely which covers all engineering approaches for
substance transportation from one fraction to another fraction such as water treatment industry, food technology
industry, and pharmaceutical industry. Fuel cell technology
is also not excluded from using membrane as its main
component’s base.
In a fuel cell technology, the membrane will act as
ion-exchange membrane where it will behave as semipermeable membrane that allows selectively dissolved ions to
pass through, while blocking the others. This ions exchange
membrane will serve as electrolyte that lies between two
electrodes: anode and cathode. There are several main types
of fuel cell ion-exchange membrane consisting of
cation-exchange membrane (CEM), anion-exchange membrane (AEM), and bipolar membrane. CEM, known as
proton-exchange membrane, usually will transport H
+ while
AEM usually used in certain alkaline fuel cells to transport
OH
− anions from one electrode to another electrode,
whereas a bipolar membrane is a combination of anionic and
cationic membrane that laminated together (Tanaka 2007).
Commonly, fuel cell technology uses a membrane that
allows the transportation of ions from one electrode to
another electrode where ions will meet at one point and
generate the electrons through an electrochemical reaction.
Ions exchange membrane is made up from organic or
inorganic materials with charger. For instance, CEM
contains fixed anionic groups with abundantly mobile
S. M. Jamil Á M. A. Rahman Á H. A. Shabri Á
M. H. D. Othman (&)
Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
e-mail: hafiz@petroleum.utm.my
M. A. Rahman Á H. A. Shabri Á M. H. D. Othman
Faculty of Engineering, School of Chemical and Energy
Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM),
81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
S. M. Jamil
School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPACE),
Centre for Degree and Foundation Programmes, Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Z. Zhang et al. (eds.), Membrane Technology Enhancement for Environmental Protection
and Sustainable Industrial Growth, Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41295-1_8
109