| 摘要 |
The invention relates to a fuel cell or a fuel cell stack, wherein a means for reducing the concentration of non-reacted alcohol is disposed on the cathode exhaust gas side. Said means particularly comprises an additional electrochemical cell, to which a voltage is applied, and the at least partially non-reacted alcohol is converted by an electrochemical reaction into CO2 and hydrogen and/or water. Because the concentration of non-reacted alcohol is generally small, the loss of current required for the additional reduction reaction does not result in any notable impairment of the efficiency of the fuel cell stack. The invention is thus not limited to only direct methanol fuel cells; rather, it may be applied in an analog fashion to high-temperature fuel cells, particularly high-temperature PEM fuel cells, in which the additional electrochemical cell disposed on the cathode exhaust gas side is advantageously able to convert the remaining CO. |
