Pure drinking water is the byproduct of the hydrogen fuel cell. Put a glass under the exhaust pipe of a hydrogen fuel-cell automobile and a drink of refreshing cup of hot pure H2O could be obtained. Sounds crazy but that is exactly what a hydrogen fuel cell gives off as its byproduct. This fuel cell is virtually pollution free and energy efficient and so much so that its proponent's state increases of efficiency to be two to three times that of the traditional combustion engine. It is predicted that fuel cell energy will eventually replace traditional sources of energy and be in use in products from cell phones to stock cars.
Fuel cells were first researched as far back as 1839 by Sir William Grove who is regarded as the "Father of the fuel cell". In 1889 two scientists named Charles Langer and Ludwig Mond first started to design a fuel cell from coal gas and air but the invention of the combustion engine left little interest for the research to continue. It was not until 1932 that Francis Bacon developed the first successful fuel cell but it was not demonstrated until 1959. Now in today's time there are fleets of fuel cell automobiles being tested and evaluated for the eventual replacement of gas powered cars.
A hydrogen fuel cell is an electromechanical device that combines hydrogen with oxygen from the air to produce electricity, heat and water. There is not a combustion chamber or any moving parts so this system of energy production is reliable, quiet and mostly pollution free.
The technology works by separating the protons from the fuel (hydrogen gas) through a catalyst. The protons then flow through a membrane to later combine with the oxygen to form water. This step is also through the help of a catalyst. The electrons then go to the cathode from the anode to produce electric power.
A more detailed explanation is this. The cathode attracts electrons and the anode attracts the protons. There is a platinum coating on the anode panel to help separate the protons (H+ ions). There is electrolyte between the anode and cathode panels that will let through protons but not electrons. The electrons are then forced to flow through an external circuit to form electrical current. This current is then the power of the fuel cell. The accumulating protons left behind then react with the separated oxygen from the hydrogen gas in the form of water and heat from the help of another platinum coating on the cathode. The process will continue as long as there is pure hydrogen and oxygen supplied to the fuel cell. The individual fuel cells then can be stacked together. This is called a fuel cell "stack" and the total number of fuel cells in the stack determines the voltage and the total surface area of the panels determines the current. The total electrical power generated is then calculated by multiplying the current by the voltage.
The hydrogen fuel cell is much like the recharging liquid battery of today's automobile but the difference being that a fuel cell uses hydrogen gas to produce the recharging power rather then a generator powered by a gasoline engine.
One hurdle for hydrogen fuel cells to be successful in the way of people wanting to use them is the availability and cost of the hydrogen gas fuel. Other fuel gases can be used but they need what is called a reformer to get the pure hydrogen and oxygen mixture for the fuel cell to operate properly. The economy of hydrogen gas is quiet better then is gas. For example a hydrogen fuel cell car will go 5000 miles per fill up. Again the problem now is hydrogen availability and this hydrogen must be pure or the fuel cell will not work properly. Currently there is only about 70 hydrogen fuel filling stations world wide. General Motors has projected that it will cost between 10 and 15 billion dollars to build 11,700 new filling stations. That is not a lot of money compared to the 85 billion cable operators pay for cable system installation for television and internet.
The United States has spent billions of dollars in the last decade to further the research and development of hydrogen fuel cells as well as other types of fuel cells. This is in response to the global warming issues and the dwindling fossil fuel reserves in the world. Hydrogen fuel cells are coming soon and some skeptics say as early as 10 years from now while others say 50 or more. The world infrastructure hurdles will have to be over come in order for fuel cells to take off as well as the perfecting of the fuel cell technology itself.
References
Ashley, S. (2005). On the road to fuel-cell cars. Scientific American. 292: 62-69.
Company, U. T. (2005). UTC Fuel Cells.
Engineers, S. o. A. (2005). Society of Automotive Engineers.
Institute, H. F. C. (2005). How fuel cells work.
Leslie, J. (1997). Dawn of the Hydrogen Age. Wired: 1-8.
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