Green bio glycol Al2O3-SiO2 hybrid nanofluids for PEMFC: The thermal-electrical-hydraulic perspectives

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is seen as an emerging sustainable technology which has a promising future due to its excellence in energy conversion efficiency with almost zero emission pollution. In this study, the new revolutionized, Al2O3-SiO2 hybrid nanofluids in green Bio Glycol were investigated as an alternative cooling liquid to PEMFC. This Bio Glycol was explored due to the advantage of its non-toxicity characteristic as opposed to conventional ethylene glycol. There were four hybrid ratios studied which were 10:90, 30:70, 50:50 and 70:30 (Al2O3-SiO2) in a Water: Bio Glycol (W:BG) mixture. The green Bio Glycol hybrid Al2O3-SiO2 nanofluids outperformed both single nanofluids and the base fluid significantly especially in terms of thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity properties. Thermal conductivity was increased by up to 21.2% as compared to the base fluid. The electrical conductivity showed a reduction as compared to base fluid which was very attractive for an electrically active heat transfer application of PEMFC. Viscosity increased as expected in these hybrid nanofluids. The thermal-electrical-hydraulic properties of the hybrid Al2O3-SiO2 nanofluid in green Bio was established and the 30:70 Al2O3-SiO2 Bio Glycol hybrid ratio was favoured as the most feasible ratio for PEMFC adoption.

Automated summary

The study found that using Al2O3-SiO2 hybrid nanofluids as a cooling liquid for PEMFC instead of conventional ethylene glycol can significantly improve thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity, thereby enhancing energy conversion efficiency.