Fuel Cell: A Source of Energy

Fuel Cell

What is a fuel cell?

a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent Possible fuels are hydrogen, hydrocarbons, alcohol and natural gas. Possible oxidants are oxygen, chlorine and chlorine dioxide.

Fuel Cell History

In 1838, German physicist Friedrich Schanbein invented the first crude fuel cell. A year later, Welsh physicist Willliam Grove developed his first crude fuel cell. The first commercial use of fuel cells was in NASA space programs to generate power for probes, satellites and space capsules. Since then, fuel cells have been used in many other applications commercial and industrial buildings, automobiles.

Science of Fuel Cells

Three adjacent segments:

Anode Electrolyte Cathode

Two chemical reactions occur at the interfaces of the three different segments.
The net result of the two reactions is that fuel is consumed, water or carbon dioxide is created, and an electric current is created, which can be used to power electrical devices, normally referred to as the load.

Science of Fuel Cells

Most important design features:

Electrolyte substance usually defines the type of fuel cell Anode breaks down the fuel into electrons and ions anode catalyst is usually made up of very fine platinum powder

Cathode turns the ions into the waste chemicals like water or carbon dioxide cathode catalyst is often made up of nickel

Typical fuel cell produces a voltage from 0.6 to 0.7 V at full rated load.

Types of Fuel Cells

Alkaline Fuel Cell Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Alkali Fuel Cell

Operates on compressed hydrogen and oxygen Uses potassium hydroxide solution in water as its electrolyte 70 % efficient

150 to 200 C operating temperature

Cell output ranges from 300 W to 5 kW Used in Apollo spacecraft to provide both electricity and drinking water

Requires pure hydrogen fuel

Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell

Uses high-temperature compounds of salt carbonates as the electrolyte Efficiency ranges from 60 to 80 percent Operating temperature is about 650 C

Units with output up to 2 MW have been constructed, and designs exist for units up to 100 MW

Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell

Uses phosphoric acid as the electrolyte Efficiency ranges from 40 to 80 % Operating temperature is between 150 to 200 C Existing phosphoric acid cells have outputs up to 200 kW, and 11 MW have been tested.

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Uses polymer as the electrolyte in the form of a thin, permeable sheet Efficiency ranges from 40 to 50 % Operating temperature is about 80 C

Cell outputs generally range from 50 to 250 kW

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Uses hard, ceramic compound of metal oxides as electrolyte Efficiency is about 60 % Operating temperature is about 1,000 C

Cells output is up to 100 kW

At such high temperature, a reformer is not required to extract hydrogen from the fuel, and waste heat can be recycled to make additional electricity.

Applications

Power

Stationary fuel cells are used for commercial, industrial and residential primary and backup power generation. Fuel cells are very useful as power sources in remote locations, such as spacecraft, remote weather stations, large parks, communications centers, rural locations including research stations, and in certain military applications.

Cogeneration

Combined heat and power fuel cell systems are used to generate both electricity and heat for homes, office building and factories. The system generates constant electric power and at the same time produces hot air and water from the waste heat.

Applications

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

Fuel Cell and Batteries

Similarities

A fuel cell is very similar to a battery in that a battery also converts chemical energy to electrical energy The electricity produced is DC Both use an electrolyte to conduct ions A battery is an energy storage device that has a fixed amount of chemical energy A fuel cell will keep producing electricity as long as fuel is supplied

Differences

Fuel cell reactions do not degrade over time

Advantages and Disadvantages of Fuel Cells

Advantage

Water is the only discharge

Disadvantages

CO2 discharged with methanol reform

Technology currently expensive

Hydrogen often created using dirty energy (e.g., coal) Pure hydrogen is difficult to handle