April 14, 2015

David Park

Fuel Cell

Where did the term come from?

William Grove, a chemist and physicist, is credited for inventing the fuel cell in 1839. He experimented
with what he called a gas voltaic battery. His experiment proved that an electric current could be
produced from an electrochemical reaction.
What does the term mean?
The word fuel is Greek in origin, meaning wood to burn. Cell is Latin in origin, meaning small room.
The term is used in the field for describing a device that converts chemical energy from a fuel into
electricity through a chemical reaction.
What is it not?
The fuel cell is not a device that uses combustion, instead it uses ionized compounds to create
electricity. Ionized compounds are atoms or molecules that acquire a negative or positive charge by
gaining or losing electrons. A fuel cell differs from a battery because a fuel cell needs a continuous
source of fuel and oxygen, while a battery produces current with the compound it contains until it is
depleted.
There are many different types of fuel cells. The
type I have experimented with the most produces
hydrogen and oxygen gases from water. Applying
voltage to the water with an anode and cathode
brakes the bond between the hydrogen and oxygen.
This creates a usable gas with its own oxygen
source for burning.

Another type uses electricity to split the water

compound and the gases are separated through a
filtering membrane to store in separate tanks.
When the gases are released back into the
chamber they pass through the membrane and
induce voltage to be used as a power source.
This device uses water as an electrolyte creating
an ionized compound. It contains two different
atoms. One of which has fewer electrons than

protons, making it positive. The other has more

electrons than protons, making it negative.
When the two are introduced to each other they
combine and share an electron. When an anode
and cathode are attached to the opposing
polarity it creates a circuit for the electrons to
move back and forth on, enabling the use of the
electricity. This is the function of a battery.
Power input and output is everything in these
kinds of systems. Ideally you want to use less
energy to create the amount of energy that you
get out of them. Otherwise the procedure is
futile. This is the job of an electrical engineer.
They focus on designing or improving any
product or structure that requires or produces
electricity.

Fuel cell: A device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical
reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent.
Cathode: An electrode through which electric current leaves a polarized electrical device. The electrons
flow from the outside circuit through the cathode.
Anode: An electrode through which electric current flows into a polarized electrical device. The
electrons flow through the anode to the outside circuit.
Ionized: The process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a negative or positive charge by gaining
or losing electrons to form ions.
Ohms Law: These values describe the movement of electrons. Voltage is the amount of potential
energy between two points. Amperage is the rate at which the charge is flowing. Resistance is the rate
that any given material resists the flow of amperage.

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Ms. D
Technical Writing 2100