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Operating on a methanol-water fuel mixture, IdaTech's reforming technologies provide customers a wide range of solution choices for a wide range of applications. By providing an alternative to directly hydrogen-only fuel cell systems, IdaTech's solutions provide extended run times for critical backup power applications and remove any issues surrounding hydrogen siting or delivery.
Why Methanol?
Methanol is widely used in common products such as automotive windshield washer fluid, and household solvents. But methanol is also an ideal source of hydrogen to power today's fuel cells. As a fuel, methanol (CH3OH) offers significant advantages over other hydrocarbons such as natural gas, propane, gasoline, diesel and ethanol. Among these advantages are its consistent high quality, very low sulfur content, and ease of reforming. Widely distributed and cost-competitive, methanol is clearly an innovative fuel with a bright future.
A High-Quality Fuel
Methanol fuel is already available around the globe. As one of the world's most widely distributed chemical feedstocks, methanol is a consistently high quality product that meets strict fuel cell industry specifications. Compared to competing fuels, it has a very low sulfur content (a maximum of 0.5 ppm) which simplifies the reforming process; reduces the capital, operating and maintenance costs of the fuel cell system; and greatly reduces the risk of fuel cell catalyst contamination.
Efficient and Versatile
With its low energy chemical bonds, methanol can be reformed to hydrogen in a fuel processor at relatively low temperatures – 250ºC to 350ºC. Other hydrocarbon fuels require reforming temperatures of 800ºC to 900ºC. Methanol's lower reforming temperature ensures faster startup, improved system efficiencies, lower fuel processor capital costs, and a longer life for the fuel cell system. These characteristics make methanol highly suitable for a wide variety of stationary applications.
Environmentally Friendly and Widely Distributed
Methanol reforming offers real benefits over other fuels, especially when considering the inherent capital cost and reliability advantages. And methanol offers other significant advantages, as it is:
- Available in many consumer products
- Supplied globally and distributed locally
- Easy to transport and store because it is a liquid
- Environmentally friendly and biodegradable in air, soil and water
- Made from renewable and non-renewable resources.
Methanol Fuel Service Solutions
Our partners are working to find innovative means of bringing methanol to the fuel cell users in line with the industry's Responsible Care commitments. Please contact us if you are interested in discovering the benefits that methanol can bring to your application. We would be pleased to work with our partners to provide you with information about fuel availability and prices in your target market, local distribution logistics and details about complete support and service solutions.
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