Hydrogen: Car Power of the Future
Abstract
Recent years have shown an increasingly large need for a practical renewable energy source for such reasons as diminishing fossil fuels and increases in greenhouse gasses. Hydrogen appears to be a way out of this gasoline-dug hole, or at least, a way out in the future. Hydrogen fuel cell cars are being engineered as we speak as the technologies to refuel them cleanly are being proposed. Unfortunately, most of the technologies associated with hydrogen are still in the prototype/pre-production stages and require better enhancements before becoming mainstream. This paper assesses the practicality of hydrogen power in cars both now and in the future while explicating the actual process of how a hydrogen fuel cell works.
Introduction
In an age where our dependence on fossil fuels and other expendable resources is dramatically increasing as our supply is decreasing, it is imperative that new forms of energy arise. Although it is still in very early stages, it is fundamentally plausible that hydrogen could become a major fuel source in cars. For example, Honda has already released five hydrogen fuel cell cars.
You may ask yourself, “Self, why would they choose hydrogen in particular to power cars?” Well, hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, consisting over 75% of all matter, and even though it is the lightest element, it has a strikingly large amount of potential energy for its mass because it is willing to bond with almost anything. For example, when hydrogen bonds with oxygen, it creates water (H2O) and a lot of heat energy. And because of this willingness to bond with oxygen, fuel cells can operate the way they do. This forms the next question:
How does a hydrogen ...
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...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: Car Power 9
References
Honda Worldwide | Fuel Cell. (2006). Retrieved July 26, 2006, from http://world.honda.com/FuelCell/FCX/
US DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. (2006, July 26). Retrieved July 26, 2006, from http://www.eere.energy.gov/
DOE Hydrogen Production. N.D. Retrieved July 26, 2006, from http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/
Hydrogen lies in one of the copious replacements for gasoline. It is not an energy source such as oil, but an energy carrier that is produced instead of digging and finding it underground. Though replacing fossil fuels by hydrogen fuel cell is very hard and costs a great deal, for the most part, hydrogen fuel cell is a zero carbon emission fuel which highly reduces the carbon emissions that causes pandemic global warming. Hydrogen is very helpful for nature by cause of replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen fuel cells might end global warming once and for all.
The U.S. Department of Energy projects that if a mere 10% of automobiles nationwide were powered by fuel cells, regulated air pllutants would be cut by one million tons a year and 60 million tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide would be eliminated. DOE projects that the same number of fuel cell cars would cut oil imports by 800,000 barrels a day which is about 13 percent of total imports.
With a gasoline-fueled vehicle, buying gas to operate your car is a never-ending process. With the high price change of gasoline and oil, operating a gasoline-fueled vehicle tends to be very costly. While there are some types of small gasoline vehicles that get much better gas mileage than larger vehicles, even the most powerful gasoline cars will normally desire a contribution every month. According to some experts the only way a mainstream market for green vehicles wills materlize is with a pronounced and prolonged rise in fuel prices. (Buss, 4)
Palmieri, Nancy. “Off the Grid or on, Solar and Wind Power Gain.” USA Today 12 April 2006. Print.
Based on Laurel Nesbit, a program assistant in the Office of Sustainability here at UF, our campus manages to utilize 470,000 Megawatts of energy annually. This figure is generated from all the energy-consuming gadgets that operate on our campus on a daily bases. These gadgets include computers that are left turned on over the night even they are not in use, copiers, and the fume hoods in our laboratories. Admittedly, the success and the health of wellbeing of the students is contingent upon some of these equipment. For instance, the laboratories need the fume hoods in order to keep the experimenters safe. Instead of casting these necessities away, we can develop alternatives which will be capable of generating energy in order to compensate for the electricity that we endlessly
In addition to the fact that solar, wind, and hydro power are local resources, they are also emission free resources. Emissions and pollution are a key concern with traditional power sources. The coal-fired plants that dominate U.S. energy production also produce more emissions than any other energy source. “Em...
...ent as well. Hybrid vehicles emit significantly less pollutants than do standard cars and trucks and their fuel efficiency is also a positive aspect that can attract consumers who are interested in saving money. As technology advances and hybrid technologies becomes more efficient it seems that the HEV ?could be- - and in fact should be - - the car of the near future?(1).
Bushby, Lisa. "Hydrogen Fuel Cells." : Energy of the Future (EnvironmentalChemistry.com). N.p., 22 Aug. 2006. Web. 04 Sept. 2013.
Hart, David. " Hydrogen: A Truly Sustainable Transport Fuel?" Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 1.3 (2003): 138-45. Web. Kühne, Reinhart. "
The 'Standard'. Alternative Energy. Chicago. The. HillCrest Publishers Ltd. Demirbas, A. a.
In chapter thirteen of our book, Environment by Raven and Berg, it shows us just how important renewable energy sources are. Currently the United States of America thrives on the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power. The main problems with these types of fuel are that they are both limited and can be extremely harmful to our environment. They cause global warming, air pollution, acid rain, and oil spills (Environment), and not only that, but in the grand scheme of things, these sources really aren’t even that cheap of a fuel source. There are many alternatives to these all but outdated fuel sources.
Hydrogen would be one of the easiest sources of renewable energy to incorporate into our current energy infrastructure. Since hydrogen is a gas of normal temperature, it is possible to have it be used as a fuel in vehicles similar to current ones. For example, Hydrogen could be introduced into the vehicle as a gas, stored...
"Jobs in Renewable Energy Expanding." Worldwatch Institute. Worldwatch Institute, 8 July 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Using fossil fuels such as coal and oil is inefficient, dangerous, and otherwise a process that is known to eventually fail as a long lasting energy source. Yet, there is hope for the future of energy, this new hope has many shapes and forms, but requires a chance to be fully implemented in our everyday life. Such energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and hydro power are the key to our future. These energy sources are proven to be long lasting, safe, more reliable, and the next innovation. In short, all Americans should switch to renewable energy, resulting in a safer and more efficient world.
Web. 07 Dec. 2011. . Alternative Energy - ProCon.org. Web.