The palm-size device is about one fifth the proportion of a conventional hydrogen reformer, but it produces 200cc of hydrogen per minute when fed 50cc of DME and 200cc of water. That is enough hydrogen to enable a solid polymer fuel cell to generate around 20 watts of electricity and power a notebook computer.

The microreactor is fabricated from a metal substrate etched with a series of several dozen trenches, each 150 microns wide and 4mm deep. The inner walls of the trenches are coated with a platinum catalyst that promotes the generation of hydrogen when DME and water flow through the trenches while the microreactor is heated to 350C.

Because the microreactor is small, the overall fuel cell system can be miniaturized, making it easier to integrate into computers and other electronic products. Toshiba will present its work at a meeting of the Society of Chemical Engineers next week in Tokyo.

(Nikkei)