1 / 15

Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Hydrogen Fuel Cells. Alternative Energy Source Claire Campbell and Mary Ann Aabye. Primary Goals. Provide a fuel source that is… Clean Readily available Inexpensive Provide a fuel source for… Automobiles Electronics/Appliances Industry Home heating/cooling

hasana
Télécharger la présentation

Hydrogen Fuel Cells

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Hydrogen Fuel Cells Alternative Energy Source Claire Campbell and Mary Ann Aabye

  2. Primary Goals • Provide a fuel source that is… • Clean • Readily available • Inexpensive • Provide a fuel source for… • Automobiles • Electronics/Appliances • Industry • Home heating/cooling http://www.byexample.com/projects/current/hydrogen_generator

  3. Hydrogen’s Potential • Very abundant • Produces a lot of energy • Burns clean • Reduces other pollutants http://sitemaker.umich.edu/section4group1/hydrogen_power

  4. Producing Usable Hydrogen • Hydrogen must be isolated • Does not store well • From water: • Water Splitting • From fossil fuels: • oxidizing methanol http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/tip/2003/mar21/hydrogen.htm

  5. How do Fuel Cells Work? • Hydrogen fuel combines with oxygen to form electricity which in turn can power electric dependent machines. • Hydrogen is NOT the actual fuel

  6. Diagrams http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5030050 http://www.apep.uci.edu/der/buildingintegration/2/Technologies/FuelCells.aspx

  7. TypesofFuelCells • Polymer exchange membrane: transportation • Solid oxide: unreliable BUT when sustained is the most efficient • Alkaline: oldest • Molten-carbonate: large generators • Phosphoric-acid: good for small plants • Direct-methanol: expensive

  8. General Uses • Hydrogen technology is being used in technologies such as: • Cell phone batteries • Power tools • Hybrid cars • Air conditioning units and heat pumps • Actuators

  9. Hybrid vs. Fuel Cells http://www.hydrogencarinfo.com/bmwhydrogencar.html http://www.evworld.com/press/Toyota_Volta.jpg

  10. Fuel Cells have become popular in the US Military Mainly in Middle East Reduce dependence on foreign fuel Fuel cell generators are easy to transport Hydrogen vehicles get better mileage http://www.evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=946 In the Military…

  11. Technological Obstacles • Hydrogen is difficult to store once it is produced. • To be stored for cars it must be in liquid form, which defies its natural gaseous state. • The easiest way to produce hydrogen is to use fossil fuels. • Production requires very hot thermal reactions.

  12. Political Obstacles • US government has actually supported hydrogen production for over 40 years (since the space program) • Energy-Policy Act, 1992 funded for 5 years of research. • Bush announced National Hydrogen Vision, but the initiative lacks funding and support from most average citizens.

  13. Economic Obstacles • Hydrogen production is expensive because it is rarely used. • Right now, energy being produced meets the price of hydrogen production, but there isn’t a net profit (assuming $.08 kWh). • The infrastructure to support hydrogen use is still being built.

  14. Negative Impacts • Current: • Fossil fuels used to produce most hydrogen • No trend towards more sustainable methods • Future: • Leaks into the upper atmosphere

  15. Bibliography • http://www.mtpc.org/cleanenergy/fuelcell/impactenv.htm • http://www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/proj_production_delivery.html • http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/hydrogen/overview.php

More Related