The Fuel For Tomorrow

What is a Fuel Cell?

A device that generates electricity by a chemical reaction

Uses Oxygen or another oxidizing agent

Another fuel, generally Hydrogen.

Electrochemical process Methanol Based Fuel Cell

Mechanism

Requires:

An anode

A Cathode

An Electrolyte

A Catalyst

Fuel

Oxidant

Emphasis from the US Government

The main reasons has everything to do with oil

Political Factors

The Global Warming Scenario

Fuel cell technologies are an attractive alternative to oil dependency

Give off no pollution, and produce pure water as a byproduct

Renewable, environmentally-friendly ways of producing hydrogen in the future

Rely on domestic sources for energy production

Welsh Physicist, William Grove was the pioneer of Fuel Cell Technology.

In 1955, W. Thomas Grubb further modified it.

3 years later, Leonard Niedrach, devised a way of depositing platinum onto the membrane, served as catalyst for the necessary hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions.

Project Gemini , 1965, prelude to the Apollo moon missions.

The first commercial use of fuel

cells was in NASA space programs to generate power.

The Apollo moon missions was powered single handedly by fuel cells.

Fuel cells were a vital component of the power system.

Armstrong describes as “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The International Space Station

Fuel cells provide drinking water to the astronauts on board.

Green Flag for fuel cells, yellow for batteries.

Before launch, electrical power is provided by ground power supplies.

Three fuel cell power plants generate all of the electrical power for the vehicle from launch through landing rollout.

The three fuel cell power plants are individually coupled to the reactant (hydrogen and oxygen) distribution subsystem, the heat rejection subsystem, the potable water storage subsystem, and the electrical power distribution and control subsystem.

The fuel cell power plants generate heat and water as by-products of electrical power generation.

Alkaline Fuel Cells

Operates on compressed hydrogen and oxygen.

Efficiency is about 70 percent, and operating temperature is 50 to 100 degrees C.

Used in Apollo spacecraft to provide both electricity and drinking water.

They require pure hydrogen fuel, however, and have platinum electrode catalysts.

Solid Oxide fuel cells

Uses a hard, ceramic compound of metal oxides as electrolyte

Efficiency is about 60 percent

Operating temperatures are about 1,000 degrees C, so no reformer is required for extracting hydrogen from fuel

Utility applications

Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell

Uses phosphoric acid as the electrolyte

Efficiency ranges from 40 to 80 percent

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Work with a polymer electrolyte in the form of a thin, permeable sheet

Efficiency is about 40 to 50 percent

Suitable for homes and cars

Molten Carbonate fuel cells

Uses high-temperature compounds of salt carbonates as electrolyte

Efficiency ranges from 60 to 80 percent, and operating temperature is about 650 degrees C

Developed for natural gas and coal-based power plants to generate power for industry and military use

In 2003, President Bush announced a program called the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative (HFI).

Aims to develop hydrogen, fuel cell and infrastructure technologies to make fuel-cell vehicles practical and cost-effective by 2020.

The United States has dedicated more than one billion dollars to fuel cell research and development.

Engineers replaced the engine of the GM HydroGen3 with a microwave-oven-sized fuel-cell stack

Pollution reduction is the primary goal.

If the fuel cell is powered with pure hydrogen, it has the potential to be up to 80-percent efficient.

A reasonable number for the efficiency of the motor/inverter is about 80 percent.

That gives an overall efficiency of about 64 percent.

Honda's FCX concept vehicle has 60-percent energy efficiency

If electricity for the car was generated at a power plant that used a combustion process then only about 40 percent of the fuel required by the power plant was converted into electricity.

The process of charging the car requires the conversion of alternating current (AC) power to direct current (DC) power. This process has an efficiency of about 90 percent.

That gives an overall efficiency of 26 percent.

Generation by a hydroelectric plant for instance, the efficiency of the electric car is about 65 percent.

GASOLINE POWERED VEHICLE BATTERY POWERED ELECRRIC VEHICLE

Overall efficiency of an automotive gas engine is about 20 percent

Has an overall efficiency of about 72 percent

Boosting fuel cell efficiency is now top priority.

Combining fuel cell and battery-powered vehicles.

Ford Motors and Airstream are developing a concept vehicle powered by a hybrid fuel cell drive train named the HySeries Drive.

The vehicle uses a lithium battery to power the car, while the fuel cell recharges the battery.

Clean Energy Source By-product involves water and heat

High Efficiency Average: 60% Cogeneration: 80% More efficient than combustion engines

Noise Reduction No combustion required- pumps and compressors produce small

vibrations which are relatively silent

Cost Expensive Catalyst cost (usually platinum)

Durability A 100 degrees Celsius temperature target is required in order for a fuel

cell to have a higher tolerance to impurities in fuel

Infrastructure Hydrogen generation and delivery infrastructure

Storage and Other Considerations Safety Hazards associated with Hydrogen

The hydrogen-powered Honda FCX Clarity

Available to the people of Southern California

The DaimlerChrysler NECAR fuel cell vehicle drives along a 17-mile stretch of coastline

Establishment of hydrogen filling stations

An initiative by SHELL

Safety Hazards Hydrogen is highly flammable and combustible Hydrogen leakage may cause explosions Pure hydrogen is poisonous

Efforts are under way to develop fuel-cell batteries that would use hydrogen or other fuels that can be converted to hydrogen.

These mini power plants would produce electricity directly from hydrogen and oxygen, with the only discharge being water vapor

A FUEL CELL THAT RUNS ON WASTE

Developed by environmental engineers at Pennsylvania State University

Runs on wastewater

Uses microbes to break down organic matter

The matter in turn releases hydrogen and electrons

Output is heat and pure water

Hydrogen is a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels

Chemical engineers are heavily involved in the development of a variety of safe and technically feasible systems to produce hydrogen cost efficiently on a small scale

Fuel cells for commercial use

For vehicles such as this hybrid-powered (battery and fuel cell) forklift, that contains its own hydrogen generation system

Nuvera Fuel Cells

Highlights: Low-pressure and low-temperature

fuel processors able to produce hydrogen from hydrocarbon fuels.

Use of coal-derived synthetic gas as a source of hydrogen

Extraction of hydrogen from fossil fuels

An imaginative array of new processes based on:

Water splitting,

Biomass and wastewater reforming, and

Renewable electrolysis

Stationary Supplemental generators Distributed power sources

Transportation Fuel Cell Vehicle Hybrid Vehicles Future: trains, airplanes, boats

Consumer Electronics Laptops, cell phones, video recorders

Made by Debajyoti Bose (CH/10/24)