Publication: A genetically optimized kinetic model for ethanol electro-oxidation on Pt-based binary catalysts used in direct ethanol fuel cells
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2017-09-30
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Elsevier
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Abstract
A one-dimensional model is proposed for the anode of a liquid-feed direct ethanol fuel cell. The complex
kinetics of the ethanol electro-oxidation reaction is described using a multi-step reaction mechanism
that considers free and adsorbed intermediate species on Pt-based binary catalysts. The adsorbed species
are modeled using coverage factors to account for the blockage of the active reaction sites on the catalyst
surface. The reaction rates are described by Butler-Volmer equations that are coupled to a onedimensional mass transport model, which incorporates the effect of ethanol and acetaldehyde crossover. The proposed kinetic model circumvents the acetaldehyde bottleneck effect observed in previous
studies by incorporating CH3CHOHads among the adsorbed intermediates. A multi-objetive genetic algorithm is used to determine the reaction constants using anode polarization and product selectivity
data obtained from the literature. By adjusting the reaction constants using the methodology developed
here, different catalyst layers could be modeled and their selectivities could be successfully reproduced.
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Keywords
DEFC modeling, Ethanol electro-oxidation, Reaction mechanism, Coverage factors, Product selectivity, Genetic optimization
Bibliographic citation
Sánchez-Monreal, J., García-Salaberri, P. A. & Vera, M. (2017). A genetically optimized kinetic model for ethanol electro-oxidation on Pt-based binary catalysts used in direct ethanol fuel cells. Journal of Power Sources, 363, 341–355.