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Product engineering for man‐portable power generation based on fuel cells
Author(s) -
Mitsos Alexander,
Hencke Michael M.,
Barton Paul I.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.10456
Subject(s) - process engineering , process (computing) , biochemical engineering , chemical process , process design , variety (cybernetics) , engineering design process , product design , product (mathematics) , scaling , computer science , systems engineering , manufacturing engineering , industrial engineering , process integration , engineering , mechanical engineering , geometry , mathematics , chemical engineering , artificial intelligence , operating system
Microfabricated fuel cell systems are a promising alternative to batteries for man‐portable power generation. These devices are potential consumer products that constitute a more or less complex chemical process, and can therefore be considered chemical products. A great variety of potential devices are being considered in various research institutions and thus there is a need for a systematic product design methodology, including comparison of alternatives and examination of the influence of technological parameters. The design of these product/process hybrids is inherently different from macroscale process design because of the differing design specifications, objectives, and constraints, as well as the relative importance of the underlying physico‐chemical phenomena. Heat losses substantially influence the process performance, so the processes are highly spatially integrated. Consequently, flowsheet design and layout need to be considered simultaneously. In this paper we present our methodology and perform a number of case studies, including studies of scaling of the processes and effects of layout options and relevant technological parameters. © 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2005