Experimental Investigation of a Passive Direct Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Using L-Ascorbic Acid as a Fuel

Authors

  • Ashish P. Umarkar Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering, Nagpur, 441110, India
  • Rajkumar Chadge Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering, Nagpur, 441110, India
  • Naveen K. Shrivastava Department of Mechanical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Telangana - 500078, India
  • Neeraj Sunheriya Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering, Nagpur, 441110, India
  • Jayant Giri Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering, Nagpur, 441110, India
  • Mohammad Kanan Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Business and Technology, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31181/rme537

Keywords:

Passive Direct Ascorbic Acid, Fuel Cell, AA Concentration, Torque; Orientation, Temperature

Abstract

The present study involves an experimental investigation of the electrochemical performance of a passive direct ascorbic acid fuel cell (DAAFC), evaluating its potential as a sustainable energy source. A single-cell assembly of DAAFC integrated with a Nafion® 117 membrane measuring 5 cm x 5 cm was fabricated and evaluated. The influence of variation in significant parameters, including ascorbic acid feed concentration, cell positioning (horizontal/vertical), bolt clamping torque, and operating temperature, was investigated. The outcome of the experiment highlights the importance of controlling these parameters for enhanced electrochemical performance of the passive DAAFC system.  Different cell AA concentrations were fed to the system from 0.25 M to 1.75 M, at which the maximum power density of 0.633 mW/cm2 was obtained at 1.5 M. Further, this concentration was used for the remainder of the experimentation. For each condition of the cell parameter, a specific experimental procedure is followed to identify the optimum value of the selected parameter. The passive DAAFC shows optimum electrochemical performance when applied with 8 Nm of bolt torque. The horizontal cell orientation and 60°C operating temperature were identified as the optimum parameters among the experimental attributes. The cell produces a maximum power density of 0.838 mW/cm2 at 60°C among all experimental sets. These results demonstrate that careful optimisation of operating conditions significantly enhances the electrochemical performance of DAFC. The results show that each of these parameters significantly affects the electrochemical performance of the passive DAAFC. Moreover, the study confirms the potential of using ascorbic acid as an effective fuel for electricity generation, and the outcome of this study is expected to serve as a useful reference for guiding future research and development efforts in DAAFC systems.

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Published

2026-02-20

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 2 (2025): Reports in Mechanical Engineering

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Articles

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How to Cite

Experimental Investigation of a Passive Direct Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Using L-Ascorbic Acid as a Fuel. (2026). Reports in Mechanical Engineering, 6(2), 129-145. https://doi.org/10.31181/rme537