In this paper a computer model of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) was presented. Chemical reactions of methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction were modeled with HYSYS software. Obtained results were used to evaluate the maximum cell voltage and limiting current density for the investigated fuel cell. An equivalent electric circuit was used for computing cell voltage after accounting for ohmic losses and methanol crossover losses. A simulation of a polarization curve for a cell supplied with 0.5 mole/dm3 methanol and pure oxygen operating at 70°C was performed and validated with experimental data. The effects of cathode gas humidification and methanol concentration change in therange of 0.5 mole/dm3-3 mole/dm3 on cell performance were investigated. Difficulties with evaluating methanol oxidation rate and methanol crossover loss numerical values were encountered. Experimental data were used to find these values. This procedure greatly reduced the range of model's applicability. Proposed metho methanol fuel cells had intrinsic challenges. The ways to tackle them were described.
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