FUEL CELLS

WHAT IS FUEL CELL?

a device that generates
electricity by a chemical
reaction

Every fuel cell has two electrodes

The reactions that produce electricity take place at the electrodes

Fuel for fuel cells

Fuel cells can use a variety of fuels including
hydrogen, ethanol, methanol, and various
acids and alkalines (bases).

HYDROGEN

IS THE BASIC FUEL ,

but fuel cells also require oxygen,

THEY GENERATE ELECTRICITY

WITH VERY LITTLE POLLUTION
much of the hydrogen and oxygen used in generating
electricity ultimately combine to form a harmless by
product, namely

water.

Fuel cells run best on hydrogen but hydrogen is not something

you can dig out of the ground. You can dig out a fossil fuel and
convert it into hydrogen rich stream. But to do that for a fuel cell,
you need to reform the fuel cell and clean up the gases quite a
bit before you can form it into a fuel cell.

HOW DO FUEL CELLS

WORK?

TYPES OF FUEL CELLS

Alkali
Molten Carbonate
Phosphoric Acid
Proton Exchange Membrane
Solid Oxide

ALKALI
operate on compressed
hydrogen and oxygen
use a solution of potassium
hydroxide (KOH) in water as
their electrolyte.
Efficiency is about 70 percent,
and operating temperature is
150 to 200 degrees C,
Cell output ranges from 300
watts (W) to 5 kilowatts (kW).
they can leak

Alkali cells were used in Apollo spacecraft to

provide both electricity and drinking water.

MOLTEN CARBONATE
use high-temperature
compounds of salt (like
sodium or magnesium)
carbonates (chemically, CO3)
as the electrolyte
Efficiency ranges from 60 to
80 percent, and operating
temperature is about 650
degrees C
output up to 2 megawatts
(MW) have been constructed,
and designs exist for units up
to 100 MW
waste heat can be recycled to
make additional electricity.

PHOSPHORIC ACID
use phosphoric acid as the
electrolyte
Efficiency ranges from 40
to 80 percent, and
operating temperature is
between 150 to 200
degrees C
outputs up to 200 kW, and
11 MW units have been
tested
If gasoline is used, the
sulfur must be removed

PROTON EXCHANGE
MEMBRANE

work with a polymer

electrolyte in the form of a
thin, permeable sheet
Efficiency is about 40 to 50
percent, and operating
temperature is about 80
degrees C
Cell outputs generally range
from 50 to 250 Kw
lexible electrolyte will not leak
or crack
But their fuels must be
purified

SOLID OXIDE
use a hard, ceramic
compound of metal (like
calcium or zirconium) oxides
(chemically, O2) as electrolyte
Efficiency is about 60
percent, and operating
temperatures are about
1,000 degrees C
Cells output is up to 100 Kw
not required to extract
hydrogen from the fuel, and
waste heat can be recycled to
make additional electricity
cannot leak, they can crack

A single cell which

means it contains one
fuel cell which
generates 0.8 volts
and which means if
you want large
voltages you have to
put them in series.
Fuel cells can power
anything from tiny
microchips to
buildings, to buses.

FUEL CELLS CAN POWER ANYTHING

FROM TINY MICROCHIPS TO
BUILDINGS, TO BUSES.

HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS

AS ALTERNATIVE
ENERGY SOURCE

Hydrogen is one of two

natural elements that
combine to make water.
Hydrogen is not an energy
source, but an energy
carrier because it takes a
great deal of energy to
extract it from water. It is
useful as a compact energy
source in fuel cells and
batteries. Many companies
are working hard to develop
technologies that can
efficiently exploit the
potential of hydrogen
energy. This page lists
articles about hydrogen fuel
as an alternative energy
source.

A fuel cell is an electrochemical devise that converts a fuel

source into electricity. Fuel cells require a fuel source, but will
perform for infinite periods of time if inflows are maintained.
Because of this they are different from batteries, which are
closed energy storage systems.

It is two to three
times more
efficient than an
internal
combustion
engine in
converting fuel to

Water is the only emission when hydrogen is the fuel.

A FUEL CELL PRODUCES

ELECTRICITY, WATER, AND HEAT USING
FUEL AND OXYGEN IN THE AIR.

Hydrogen is also found in many organic

compounds, notably thehydrocarbonsthat
make up many of our fuels, such as gasoline,
natural gas, methanol, and propane. Hydrogen
can be separated from hydrocarbons through
the application of heat - a process known
asreforming. Currently, most hydrogen is
made this way from natural gas.

An electrical current can also be used to

separate water into its components of
oxygen and hydrogen. This process is
known aselectrolysis. Some algae and
bacteria, using sunlight as their energy
source, even give off hydrogen under
certain conditions.

Hydrogen is high in energy, yet an engine

that burns pure hydrogen produces
almost no pollution. NASA has used
liquid hydrogen since the 1970s to propel
the space shuttle and other rockets into
orbit. Hydrogen fuel cells power the
shuttle's electrical systems, producing a
clean byproduct - pure water, which the
crew drinks.

A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen

to produce electricity, heat, and water.
Fuel cells are often compared to batteries.
Both convert the energy produced by a
chemical reaction into usable electric
power. However, the fuel cell will
produce electricity as long as fuel
(hydrogen) is supplied, never losing its
charge.

Fuel cells are being

designed for use in
stationary electric power
plants to provide reliable,
clean, high quality
electricity for distributed
power generation..
These small systems can provide
primary or backup power to
commercial and industrial
customers such as hotels,
hospitals, manufacturing facilities,
and retail shopping centers.
Eventually, smaller fuel cells will
be sold for use in homes, most of
which will connect to natural gas
supplies

Fuel cells are a promising technology for

use as a source of heat and electricity for
buildings, and as an electrical power
source for electric motors propelling
vehicles. Fuel cells operate best on pure
hydrogen.

In the future, hydrogen could also join electricity

as an important energy carrier. An energy carrier
moves and delivers energy in a usable form to
consumers. Renewable energy sources, like the
sun and wind, can't produce energy all the time.
But they could, for example, produce electric
energy and hydrogen, which can be stored until
it's needed. Hydrogen can also be transported
(like electricity) to locations where it is needed.

For industries that require high quality

uninterruptable power, such as the
computer technology industry, fuels cells
can provide power without disruptions
or voltage distortions.

PROBLEMS WITH FUEL

CELLS
The problem with fuel cells is that
they are expensive technology
compared to what is alreadyin
terms of energy storage such as
deep cycle batteriesand they
also take up a lot of space.

FUEL CELL EFFICIENCY

Fuel cells are theoretically much more
efficient than conventional power
generation.
Example of energy conversions for a coal fired
power station:
- Chemical energy in coal in converted to
heat
- Heat (in the form of steam driving a turbine)
is converted into mechanical energy
- The mechanical energy is converted to
electrical energy

CARNOT CYCLE
CELLS

VS.

FUEL

The theoretical thermodynamic derivation

of Carnot Cycle shows that even under
ideal conditions, a heat engine cannot
convert all the heat energy supplied to it
into mechanical energy; some of the heat
energy is rejected.

In an internal combustion engine,

the engine accepts heat from a
source at a high temperature (T1),
converts part of the energy into
mechanical work and rejects the
remainder to a heat sink at a low
temperature (T2).

The greater the temperature

difference between source and sink,
the greater the efficiency,
Maximum Efficiency = (T1 T2) /
T1

Because fuel cells convert chemical

energy directly to electrical energy,
this process does not involve
conversion of heat to mechanical
energy.

Therefore, fuel cell efficiencies can

exceed the Carnot limit even when
operating at relatively low
temperatures

Each conversion has its

own inefficiencies, so the
overall process is very
inefficient.

A FUEL CELL CONVERTS CHEMICAL ENERGY

DIRECTLY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY AND IS, IN
THEORY, MUCH MORE EFFICIENT.