By: Stavan Shah, Dong June Jang, William Zheng, Andrew Peck

  A fuel cell is a kind of voltaic cell  All fuel cells produce electricity from Hydrogen and Oxygen and generate heat and water as byproducts  Fuel cells are different than other batteries because they use an external supply of fuel  Fuel cells vary depending on their external fuel source  Fuel cells are considered to be the future of energy Preface attempt-to-put-hydrogen-and-fuel-cells-back-on-federal-clean- energy-radar

  Hydrogen comes into anode  H 2 →2H + +2e -  The hydrogen ions flow through the electrolyte  The electrons flow through an electrical current and create electricity  Oxygen comes into cathode  2H + +2e - +½O 2 →H 2 O  Heat and water is released Chemistry Involved 0for%20sustain%20energy.html

  Fuel Cell Stack- An anode, cathode, and electrolyte.  Fuel Cell Processor- Can be either a Steam Methane Reformer, a Partial Oxidation Reformer, or an Autothermal Reformer.  Electrolyzer- Separates water molecules using electricity to for hydrogen and oxygen atoms  Fuel Cell Conditioner- Conditions the DC electricity into AC electricity which is used in most devices.  Fuel cells are secondary batteries Components of Fuel Cells s-fuel-cells

  Petroleum scarce, wanted to make alternative fuel  Created in 1839 by William Grove. Called “gas battery”  Wanted to make it more efficient  In 1889 Charles Langer and Ludwig Mond expand on Grove’s work and name fuel cell  In 1950s General Electric invents proton exchange membrane fuel cell  1959 Francis Bacon made 5 kW Alkaline fuel cell Historical Context m_Robert_Grove

  Fuels cells have long been used in the space program to provide electricity and water for astronauts  In the near future, fuel cells will be able to power virtually anything that runs on electricity spanning from computers to cell phones  Buses, backup power, material handling machinery, and cars  Fuel cells are very efficient and very cost-effective and will soon power vehicles as announced by the President and many carmakers. Uses /

  Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells(PAFC)  Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells(PEM)  Direct-Methanol Fuel Cells  Alkaline Fuel Cells  Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells  Solid Oxide Fuel Cells  Reversible Fuel Cells Types of Fuel Cells

  Uses a water-based, acidic polymer membrane as its electrolyte  These types of fuel cells operate on pure Hydrogen  Lower temperature and pressure ranges  Used in the Space Shuttle in 2011  Transforms chemical energy to electrical energy Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells xchange_membrane_fuel_cell

  Use liquid phosphoric acid as the electrolyte  First fuel cells to be commercialized  Disadvantages of PAFC cells:  Low power density  Aggressive electrolyte  Advantages of PAFC cells:  At 200 degrees Celsius, they can tolerate a CO concentration of about 1.5%  Concentrated phosphoric acid electrolyte can operate above the boiling point of water Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells ( PAFC)

 Producing Fuel Cells: Step 1:Ceramic materials along with additives and solvents are milled to a fine powder. This mixture is fed into a conveyer with a knife which shapes the layer and a kiln which dries the mixture. Step 2: The electrochemical active anodes and electrolyte levels are sprayed onto the sheet with a spray robot. Step 3: The sheet is cut into the desired shape and sized. They are then sintered in very high temperature ovens or kilns. While in the oven, the cells will shrink as the ceramics particles stick to one another. After sintering, the cells are checked again, and the high quality ones move on. Cathode and contact layers are then added using a spray or printing process. Manufacturing

  Simple disposal because fuel cells are relatively environmentally friendly  Homeowners- Under federal law, homeowners can dispose of fuel cells as everyday garbage, but state and local laws may vary.  Businesses- Must dispose of discarded fuel cells at proper waste treatment facilities. Disposal

  Fuel cells have a higher efficiency than other oil, nuclear, and coal energy  Hydrogen fuel-cells only produce water as a byproduct; very green and environmental friendly  Use of hydrogen gas and oxygen gas as fuel is more sustainable and more abundant than fossil fuels Strengths green/images/ /title/green-earth-fanart

  Fuel cells are very expensive to manufacture  Fueling the fuel cells is difficult because the transportation and storage of hydrogen gas safely is difficult and unwieldy  Public accessibility to hydrogen gas is extremely limited, so its use as a source of energy for transportation is impossible  The development and research of fuel cells is not entirely complete, so few products are available Limitations

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