Introduction: A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction of positively charged hydrogen ions with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Fuel cells are different from batteries in that they require a continuous source of fuel and oxygen or air to sustain the chemical reaction, whereas in a battery the chemicals present in the battery react with each other to generate an electromotive (emf). Fuel cells can produce electricity continuously for as long as these inputs are supplied. The first fuel cells were invented in 1838. The first commercial use of fuel cells came more than a century later in NASA space programs to generate power for satellites and space capsules. Since then, fuel cells have been used in many other applications. Fuel cells are used for primary and backup power for commercial, industrial and residential buildings and in remote or inaccessible areas. They are also used to power fuel, including forklifts, automobiles, buses, boats, motorcycles and submarines. There are many types of fuel cells, but they all consist of an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte that allows positively charged hydrogen ions (or protons) to move between …show more content…
As the name suggests, PAFCs use phosphoric acid as the electrolyte. Positively charged hydrogen ions migrate through the electrolyte from the anode to the cathode. Electrons generated at the anode travel through an external circuit, providing electric power along the way, and return to the cathode. There the electrons, hydrogen ions and oxygen form water, which is expelled from the cell. A platinum catalyst at the electrodes speeds the reactions. Hydrogen for the fuel cell is extracted from a hydrocarbon fuel in an external reformer. If the hydrocarbon fuel is gasoline, sulfur must be removed or it will damage the electrode
Fuel cells could create new markets for steel, electronics, electrical and control industries and other equipment suppliers. They could provide tens of thousands of high-quality jobs and reduce trade deficits.
B: Economic , Planning & Policy, 2(3), 287-295. Eisenstien, P. (2000). Fuel cells get h2
A Modest Proposal for Methanol and Ethanol Powered Cars "We need more stringent regulations on car emissions. Let's add MTBE to the fuel- that will reduce pollution. If people would just stop driving so much, pollution wouldn't be so bad. " People have long recognized the problems with the gasoline we use now. We have tried everything from putting regulations on emissions, to putting additives in the gasoline (only to discover later that MTBE got into the groundwater), to campaigns to get people off the road.
A battery is a device which converts chemical energy into electrical energy. A battery usually consists of two or more cells connected in series or parallel, you can also have a single cell battery. All cells consist of a positive electrode, and a negative electrode. An electrolyte is a liquid substance capable of conducting electricity. In this substance one of the electrodes will react producing electrons, while the other will except electrons. When the electrodes are connected to a device to be powered, called a load, an electrical current flows.
Fuel Cells” the author states, “ Sir William Grove discovered that it may be possible to generate electricity by reversing the electrolysis of water.” But it wasn’t until 1889 when two researchers looked further into Sir William Grove’s studies. In the article “History of Fuel Cells” the author says, “Charles Langer and Ludwig Mond, coined the term ‘fuel cell’ as they were trying to engineer the first practical fuel cell using air and coal gas.” After Langer and Mond’s discovery Frances Bacon developed what was close to being the first fuel cell in 1959. In the article “History of Fuel Cells” the author declares, “It was not until 1959 that Bacon and company first demonstrated a practical five-kilowatt fuel cell system.” In the late 1950’s NASA began experimenting with fuel cells by using them for compact electricity generators. Fuel cells have now supplied electricity for many space missions. In the article “History of Fuel Cells” the author states, “In more recent decades, a number of manufacturers - including major auto makers - and various federal agencies have supported ongoing research into the development of fuel cell technology for use in fuel cell vehicles (FCV) and other applications. Fuel cell energy is now expected to replace traditional power sources in coming years - from micro fuel cells to be used in cell phones to high-powered fuel cells for stock car racing.”
Fuel is drawn from the tank by an in-tank or chassis-mounted fuel pump. The fuel pump is the device that draws the fuel from the fuel tank through the fuel lines, to the fuel filter and then to the engine’s carburetor or injectors. There are two types of fuel pumps: mechanical and electrical. The mechanical fuel pump is bolted on the side of the engine block or on the side of the cover of the timing gear.
According to Mr. Solar.com, “this type of energy production, known as the Photovoltaic Effect, is achieved by solar panels converting sunlight into energy. Solar panels are made up of several individual solar cells, composed of layers of silicon, phosphorous (which provides the negative charge), and boron (which provides the positive charge). Solar panels absorb the sunlight’s photons and by doing so initiate an electric current, producing electrons. The resulting energy generated from photons striking the surface of the solar panel allows electrons to be knocked out of their atomic orbits and released into an electric field generated by the solar cells, which then pull these free electrons into a DC or directional current.” This electricity then proceeds to a mechanical room beneath our house to a charge controller, which regulates the amount of energy sent to our 24V batteries to be stored.
Chemistry is used in our everyday life in more ways than we may think. One way that we use chemistry is in the batteries in our cell phones. They are solely responsible for the phone actually turing on and being powered to run. Most cell phones are powered with a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery. Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used in digital cameras and even in electric cars. These batteries are made of lithium cobalt cathode and carbon anode.
electricity as the “fuel” instead of gasoline or some other combustible fuel. The electric motor in
The Earth captures around 342 W/m2 of energy from the sun. This energy is in the form of solar radiation, which the atmosphere reflects about 77 W/m2 and will absorb around 68 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. Therefore, the Earth’s surface is receiving, on average, about 197 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. This amount of energy received is roughly more than 10,000 times the amount of all energy humans consume per year. This energy can be used to produce electricity or heat. This energy source is not being used to it’s potential considering how much effort would come into effect to store and transport this energy.
Why do we need to rely on renewable sources? Most of the energy that we use today come from fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, and oil. All of these resources are non-renewable, it can finish one day. In order to have a better world and a healthy environment for the future, people are trying to obtain energy from natural resources instead of non-renewable sources. In the lecture “Renewable energy resources” (2014), Mistry focuses on some advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy. There are different kind of resources that we can use in order to produce renewable energy. Solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power are just some of the kinds of renewable energy that might be the best options to obtain energy because they come from
However, the first workable device for generating a consistent flow of electricity was invented around 1799 by the Italian inventor Alessandro Volta. Volta’s discovery of a means of converting chemical energy into electrical energy formed the basis for nearly all modern batteries.
...rmined to be environmentally friendly and are able to pay for hundreds of dollars of hydrogen fuel, then you should just buy a regular car or a hybrid vehicle that runs on gasoline. Therefore, because of the lack of readily available hydrogen fuel and the inefficient methods of producing hydrogen in a clean way, the use of fuel cell cars is highly improbable for now. However, if we are able to create apt methods of producing hydrogen without the aid of fossil fuels, we could enter an age of hydrogen within decades.
Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements on the earth. It can be found in the oceans as well as the atmosphere. Over the last few years, talk about the future of hydrogen power has grown from a whisper to a roar. The use of hydrogen is not just the burning of the gas, but of its use in a fuel cell. Fuel cells might be the device that causes the extinction of the internal combustion engine. A fuel cell is a device that produces electricity from a fuel and an oxidizer, a substance that combines with the fuel. The fuel and oxidizer react chemically at two separate electrodes to produce the direct electric current; These cells use hydrogen as the fuel and oxygen as the oxidizer. Hydrogen power could be the silver bullet to the current and future energy situation.
Solar cell is a photovoltaic device that converts light energy into electrical energy based on the principles of photovoltic effect.