Engineering of nickel based catalyst for direct urea fuel cell-energy from municipal liquid waste (Mlw)

Abstract

Alternatives to conventional fuels are required to meet the global energy demand, urea is a relatively non-toxic crystalline substance that is perhaps best known for its presence in municipal liquid waste (MLW) and human/animal urine. Urea has a high energy density compare to compressed/liquid hydrogen, hence is useful as an alternative energy vector for direct urea fuel cell. Luckily, urea-based fuel cells are operated in alkaline medium which offers good chance for the non-precious transition metals to be invoked as anode material due to the good chemical stability. Moreover, compared to noble metals, nickel catalysts showed higher current densities and lower oxidation potentials for the electrooxidation of urea. Consequently, this chapter details the study of physicochemical and electrochemical properties of two novel nickel based nanomaterials for direct urea fuel cells, together with their brief synthesis procedures. - 2019 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.