The possible failure mode and effect analysis of membrane electrode assemblies and their potential solutions in direct methanol fuel cell systems for portable applications

One of the major challenges in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) is to design reliable and stable FC systems that satisfy the very high dynamic demand in various environmental conditions for portable devices. This paper provides an overview of several failure modes and effect analyses (FMEAs) which can have significant consequences on the durability and stability of DMFCs, including high and sub-zero temperature storage, dry and high humidification atmospheres, and fuel/oxidation starvation by breakdown of fuel/air supply components. Firstly, some characterization methods are discussed to investigate changes of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) in terms of their physiochemical and electrochemical properties after testing in various simulated failure modes. Secondly, possible mitigating solutions to minimize the hazards associated with them are suggested through a fundamental understanding and scientific approach. The relationship between the causes and symptoms in DMFC systems is determined by examining a variety of failure sources.     

Antioxidant and lipid-reducing effects of Rosa rugosa root extract in 3T3-L1 cell

Food Science and Biotechnology - Rosa rugosa root is traditionally known to be effective in the treatment of diabetes in Korea. R. rugosa root-specific compounds also show antioxidant effects, and...     

Differential effect of chlorine on the oxidative stress generation in dormant and active cells within colony biofilm

In an effort to better control bacterial biofilm, we examined the effects of various oxidative antimicrobial chemicals including silver, paraquat, hydrogen peroxide, and chlorine depending on the physiological status of cells in biofilm. The metabolically heterogeneous cells within colony biofilm were physically fractionated and the oxidative stress generated in each fraction was monitored by soxS and oxyS promoter reporter systems. Chlorine induced soxS to a greater degree in the dormant cells than active cells of biofilm. In addition, chlorine-dependent induction of soxS was more prominent in aerobically grown cells compared with anaerobically grown cells. On the contrary, the soxS induction by other chemicals such as paraquat and silver, and the oxyS induction by hydrogen peroxide were higher in active biofilm cells and aerobically grown cells. Our results suggest that chlorine might generate strong oxidative stress by direct modification of the 2Fe-2S cluster in an O₂-independent manner, which provides the molecular basis of our previous report showing that chlorine has a more efficient killing effect on dormant cells in biofilm and cells grown under unaerobic conditions. This study shows that chlorine may be particularly promising for the control of anaerobic bacteria and biofilm where dormant cells are hard to control.     

Influence and mitigation methods of reaction intermediates on cell performance in direct methanol fuel cell system

In direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), a dilute methanol and water mixture is generally used and recycled as a fuel to improve the performance and operation time with high fuel efficiency through reduced methanol crossover. Such recycling can, however, allow the continuous accumulation of some reaction intermediates in the circulating loop of dilute methanol during DMFC operation. Therefore, this study examines DMFC contamination sources and the electrochemical influence of recycled methanol fuel by physicochemical analysis of the organic and inorganic (metal) intermediates generated from the DMFC system components. Further, a novel method for mitigating the impact of the reaction intermediates on the performance of DMFC system is proposed.     

Cyclic voltammetry for monitoring bacterial attachment and biofilm formation

The early detection of bacterial attachment is very crucial in the prevention of biofilm growth because fully established biofilms are extremely resistant to chemical or physical treatments. The cyclic voltammentry was employed to differentially monitor bacterial attachment and biofilm formation on electrodes in this study. In addition, the mathematical estimation of the surface coverage from the cyclic voltammogram was tried and it was found that the estimation had a linear relationship with the actual coverage of the electrode, validating the potential of cyclic voltammetry for getting the quantitative information about the degree of the bacterial attachment on the surface.     

Influence of attached bacteria and biofilm on double-layer capacitance during biofilm monitoring by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Development of an effective strategy for biofilm control in water-related system has become a matter of significant concern nowadays. Electrochemical monitoring, especially electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), is one of the efficient approaches to dealing with biofilm-related issues. However, currently used EIS methods without a redox probe intend to detect all effects generated from media components, bacteria, and bacterial metabolites, which used to make the signals from the attached bacteria and biofilm weakened. In this study, we tried improved EIS measurement to monitor bacterial adhesion and biofilm maturation using a double-layer capacitance. In this improved method, we minimized background signal by subtracting the interference of electrolyte caused by bacterial metabolism. Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 wild type and wspF mutant that form the biofilm of distinct nature were used for the model strains to test our method. During bacterial adhesion and biofilm maturation, EIS data were collected and equivalent circuit analysis was carried out to obtain constant phase element (CPE) values representing double-layer capacitance. Since the influence by the bacterial growth-related culture media condition was eliminated by adopting fresh electrolyte at the measurement, the contribution of attached bacteria and biofilm was exclusively measured. As a result, the bacterial adhesion at the early stage of biofilm development was specifically monitored from reduction in double-layer capacitance. Particularly, the plateau in double-layer capacitance appeared upon biofilm maturation, indicating that biofilm maturation could be expected beyond this point. In conclusion, this study found that measurement of double-layer capacitance based on EIS could provide a monitoring parameter suggesting bacterial adhesion and the initiation point of biofilm maturation.