HYDROGEN FUEL CELL

A.Kalyan Chandra

A.Sindhura

B.Tech III year II semester

B.Tech III year II semester

1.CMR institute of Technology , Kandla Koya ,Medchal,RR Dist -501401 ABSTRACT

Nowadays the society is facing a serious problem regarding the air pollution, which is caused due to the emissions from the vehicles which run on fossil fuels. Hydrogen fuel cells are the best alternatives to reduce the air pollutions. Fuel cell is a cell in which reaction between fuel and oxidant take place in presence of a chemical medium to produce electric current. The fuel cell in which hydrogen is the fuel and oxygen is the oxidant is termed as hydrogen fuel cell (HFC). Hydrogen fuel cells are efficient, nonpolluting and can be used in electricity power generating plants or as power sources. The major advantage of using fuel cells is that these are more clean and produce no noise. Apart from generating electric current it also produces water vapor and heat as byproducts. Hence it is pollution free.

INTRODUCTION TO FUEL CELLS:

A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts a source fuel into an electric current. It generates electricity inside a cell through reactions between a fuel and an oxidant, triggered in the presence of an electrolyte. Fuel cells are different from conventional electrochemical cell batteries in that they consume reactant from an external source, which must be replenished. Many combinations of fuels and oxidants are possible. A hydrogen fuel cell uses hydrogen as its fuel and oxygen (usually from air) as its oxidant. Other fuels include hydrocarbons and alcohols. Other oxidants include chlorine and chlorine dioxide.Fuel cells sound like a science-fiction fantasy: an efficient, nonpolluting power source that produces no noise and has no moving parts. But such cells not only exist, they have been providing electricity on spacecraft since the 1960s. In more down-toearth applications, they could be used as

electricity-generating plants or as a power source for nearly exhaust-free automobiles. The main sticking point is the high cost of manufacturing the devices, which has largely limited them to a handful of exotic applications. Now falling prices and new technologies suggest that the fuel cell's day may finally have arrived.

In fuel cells, as in batteries, silent reactions produce an electric current. Unlike batteries, however, fuel cells are almost endlessly rechargeable. The cells run on hydrogen, which reacts with oxygen from the air in such a way that a voltage is generated between two electrodes; the reactions occur in a chemical mediator known as an electrolyte. Compared with conventional fossil-fuel power sources, fuel cells are exceptionally clean and efficient. Practically their only waste product is water. Fuel cells are simply devices that convert fuel (such as hydrogen, methane, propane, etc.) directly into D.C. electricity. The process is an electro-chemical reaction that is similar to a battery. Unlike the battery though, fuel cells do not store the energy with chemicals internally. Instead, they use a continuous supply of fuel (chemical) from an external storage tank. HYDROGEN FUELCELL PREPARATION AND WORKING They are made up of three segments which are sandwiched together: the anode, the electrolyte, and the 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 is created, and an electric current is created, which can be used to power electrical devices, normally referred to as the load.

At the anode a catalyst oxidizes the fuel, usually hydrogen, turning the fuel into a positively charged ion and a negatively charged electron. The electrolyte is a substance specifically designed so ions can pass through it, but the electrons cannot. The freed electrons travel through a wire creating the electric current. The ions travel through the electrolyte to the cathode. Once reaching the cathode, the ions are reunited with the electron to create water. In the archetypal hydrogen oxygen proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) design, a proton-conducting polymer membrane, (the electrolyte), separates the anode and cathode sides. On the anode side, hydrogen diffuses to the anode catalyst where it later dissociates into protons and electrons. These protons often react with oxidants causing them to become what is commonly referred to as multifacilitated proton membranes. The protons are conducted through the membrane to the cathode, but the electrons are forced to travel in an external circuit (supplying power) because the membrane is electrically insulating. On the cathode catalyst, oxygen molecules react with the electrons (which have traveled through the external circuit) and protons to form water in this example, the only waste product, either liquid or vapor.
APPLICATIONS OF CELL TECHNOLOGY HYDROGEN FUEL

Hydrogen-Powered Personal Helicopter A personal helicopter weighing just 230 lb created sizzling news when it flew on hydrogen with zero emission. With an ability to carry payloads up to 800 lbs, this pocket

Hercules can fly for 90 minutes. Fitted with easy controls, this reaches a speed of 100 knots thanks to a pair of small yet powerful motors mounted on it. Two common and easily available things - Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and a catalyst - combined to bring about a milestone in personal aviation history with attention to the environmental issues as well ! Avimech has combined these two to power engine in to an innovative machine. POWER Fuel cells are very useful as power sources in remote locations, such as spacecraft, remote weather stations, large parks, rural locations, and in certain military applications. Because fuel cells have no moving parts and do not involve combustion, in ideal conditions they can achieve up to 99.9999% reliability. Since electrolyzer systems do not store fuel in themselves, but rather rely on external storage units, they can be successfully applied in large-scale energy storage, rural areas being one example. In this application, batteries would have to be largely oversized to meet the storage demand, but fuel cells only need a larger storage unit (typically cheaper than an electrochemical device). TRANSPORTATION
ADVANTAGES OF HYDROGEN FUEL CELL

High Efficiency Fuel Cell vehicles can be up to 2-3 times more efficient than current gasoline vehicles and can achieve the equivalent of 60-70 miles to the gallon. Reliability & Maintenance The only moving parts in fuel cells are involved with water, heat Reduced dependency on foreign oil. The hydrogen used for powering hydrogen fuel cell cars can be made from a variety of sources including water. This means that there will be less dependence on foreign oil for gasoline. Low Emissions Whey hydrogen is used in a fuel cell, the only byproducts are heat and water. There is no combustion , there are negligible NOx or SOx emissions and no particulate emissions. Very Low Noise and Vibrations Few moving parts means all you will ever hear of a fuel cell is either a compressor, blower or pump (think of the fan in a desktop computer). This also means that the fuel cell doesnt vibrate at any noticeable rate (an order of magnitude less than a combustion engine).

All major automakers are working to commercialize a fuel cell car. Automakers and experts speculate that a fuel cell vehicle will be commercialized 2010.50 fuel cell buses are currently in use in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia .Trains, planes, boats, scooters, forklifts and even bicycles are utilizing fuel cell technology as well

Environmental Benefits Fuels cells can reduce air pollution today and offer the possibility of eliminating pollution in the future.

DISADVANTAGES OF HYDROGEN FUEL CELL

The technology to produce, store, and transport hydrogen power at an efficient cost is not yet available and will not likely be for a long while. A hydrogen fuel cell car will not be able to travel as far on a tank of fuel as a traditional gasoline powered car. The fuel cell cars are not equipped to store the amount of hydrogen needed for long distances, so you would need to fill up more often. If you live in an area where the temperature gets down to freezing, you might have a problem with your hydrogen fuel cell car. Since these cars have water in the fuel cell system constantly, there is a risk it could freeze. Also, the hydrogen fuel cell car has to be at a certain temperature to perform well. Typical gasoline powered cars only use about 20% of the fuel to power the car. With hydrogen fuel cell cars, around 40-60% of the fuel is used to power the electric motor, making it less efficient. Hydrogen is highly explosive! REFERENCE 1) Hydrogen and fuel cells by Rebecca L. Busby 2) Tomorrows energy by Peter Hoffmann. 3) www.wkipedia.org