Editing Direct methanol fuel cell (section)

== Ancillary units ==
A direct methanol fuel cell is usually part of a larger system including all the ancillary units that permit its operation. Compared to most other types of fuel cells, the ancillary system of DMFCs is relatively complex. The main reasons for its complexity are:

* providing water along with methanol would make the fuel supply more cumbersome, so water has to be recycled in a loop;
* CO<sub>2</sub> has to be removed from the solution flow exiting the fuel cell;
* water in the anodic loop is slowly consumed by reaction and drag; it is necessary to recover water from the cathodic side to maintain steady operation.