Description
Hydrogen fuel cell technology
promises to help us deal with the dwindling supply of fossil fuel. But
how far away is this technology for you and me?
Aren't you tired of the high price of gasoline for your car? Not to
mention your concern for the environment. Well, a solution to both of
these concerns may be just around the corner. For years, scientists
have being working on an alternative energy source that promises to
change the way we live by changing the source of fuel for some of our
most basic energy-using engines. This new technology is called a fuel
cell, and it's based on using water as the original source of the fuel!
A fuel cell provides a DC (direct current) voltage that can be used to
power motors, lights, or any number of electrical appliances--including
cars.
The technical name for a fuel cell is an electrochemical energy
conversion device. You've actually been using one for many years, which
is a battery. All batteries are electrochemical energy conversion
devices.
But hydrogen fuel cell technology is a new twist on an old theme. Here's the basic idea of how it works:
A fuel cell converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and
in the process it produces electricity. The difference between a simple
battery and a fuel cell is that all the chemicals are stored inside the
battery. The battery converts those chemicals into electricity but
eventually it "goes dead" as the chemicals are used up. So you end up
either throwing it away or recharging it.
On the other hand with a fuel cell, chemicals constantly flow into the
cell. So as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell,
electricity flows out of the fuel cell. Simply put, a fuel cell
releases electrons from the hydrogen gas, creating electricity with the
waste product being pure water! The electricity is used to power an
electrical device--like the electric motor to run your car.
In an internal combustion engine, the gasoline engine burns gas and the
battery converts chemical energy back into electrical energy when
needed. However, fuel cells should do both tasks more efficiently.
This reaction in a single fuel cell produces only about 0.7 volts. To
get this voltage up to a reasonable level, many separate fuel cells
must be combined to form a fuel-cell stack.
One problem with using hydrogen is that it is not easily stored for
consumer use. Other alternatives could be natural gas, propane, and
methanol gas. But the primary objective of using fuel cell technology
is pollution reduction. The fuel cell is also very efficient. Around
80% of the fuel used in these hydrogen fuel cells is converted into
usable energy compared to only 20% for a gasoline powered engine and
about 30% overall for a battery powered electric vehicle.
There is no question that the fuel cell holds great promise for the
future. However, many challenges remain, and it's been predicted that
hydrogen fuel cell technology won't be available for the masses until
around 2050.
By: Charles Brown
Sustainable Living Articles @ http://www.articlegarden.com
C. Brown is the publisher of Hybrid-Electric-Car.net where you can learn more about hydrogen fuel cells on his website.
