Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SJSU E-10
Cathode Anode
What is A Fuel Cell?
A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy
conversion device. It produces electricity from
external supplies of fuel (anode side) and
oxidant (cathode side).
A fuel cell is similar to a battery in that an
electrochemical reaction is used to create
electric current. The charges can be released
through an external circuit via wire connections
to anode and cathode plates of the battery or
the fuel cell.
Fuel cells are different from batteries in
that they consume reactant, which must
be replenished, while batteries store
electrical energy chemically in a closed
system.
The major difference between fuel cells and
batteries is that batteries carry a limited supply of
fuel internally as an electrolytic solution and solid
materials (such as the lead acid battery that
contains sulfuric acid and lead plates) or as solid
dry reactants such as zinc /carbon powders found
in a flashlight battery.
Fuel cells have similar reactions; however, the
reactants are gases (hydrogen and oxygen) that
are combined in a catalytic process. Since the gas
reactants can be fed into the fuel cell and
constantly replenished, the unit will never run
down like a battery.
Fuel cells are named based on the type of
electrolyte and materials used. The fuel cell
electrolyte is sandwiched between a positive and
a negative electrode.
Because individual fuel cells produce low
voltages, fuel cells are stacked together to
generate the desired output for specific
applications. The fuel cell stack is integrated into
a fuel cell system with other components,
including a fuel reformer, power electronics, and
controls. Fuel cell systems convert chemical
energy from fossil fuels directly into electricity.
How does a fuel cell work?
A fuel cell consists of an anode,
cathode, and electrolyte
A fuel cell is consisted of two
electrodes (an anode and a cathode)
that sandwich an electrolyte (a
specialized material that allows ions to
pass but blocks electrons).
The anode and cathode must be porous to allow the air and fuel in
Micro-fuel cell developed by Fraunise ISE for A hydrogen fuel cell public bus accelerating at
use in applications such as cellular phones traffic lights in Perth, Western Australia
Warsitz Enterprises' portable fuel cell A fuel cell powers a laptop computer
power unit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell
History (contd)
GE went on to develop this technology with NASA,
leading to it being used on the Gemini space project.
This was the first commercial use of a fuel cell. It wasn't
until 1959 that British engineer Francis Thomas Bacon
successfully developed a 5 kW stationary fuel cell. In
1959, a team led by Harry Ihrig built a 15 kW fuel cell
tractor for Allis-Chalmers which was demonstrated
across the US at state fairs. This system used potassium
hydroxide as the electrolyte and compressed hydrogen
and oxygen as the reactants. Later in 1959, Bacon and his
colleagues demonstrated a practical five-kilowatt unit
capable of powering a welding machine. In the 1960s,
Pratt and Whitney licensed Bacon's U.S. patents for use
in the U.S. space program to supply electricity and
drinking water (hydrogen and oxygen being readily
available from the spacecraft tanks).
Fuel Cell Efficiency
The efficiency of a fuel is dependent on the
amount of power drawn from it. Drawing more
power means drawing more current, which
increases the losses in the fuel cell. As a general
rule, the more power (current) drawn, the lower
the efficiency. Most losses manifest themselves
as a voltage drop in the cell, so the efficiency of a
cell is almost proportional to its voltage. For this
reason, it is common to show graphs of voltage
versus current (so-called polarization curves) for
fuel cells.
A typical cell running at 0.7 V has an
efficiency of about 50%, meaning that 50%
of the energy content of the hydrogen is
converted into electrical energy; the
remaining 50% will be converted into heat.
(Depending on the fuel cell system design,
some fuel might leave the system un-
reacted, constituting an additional loss.)
Voltage Vs Current
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
Voltage (mV)
1000 Series1
800
600
400
200
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Current (mA)
Power Vs Voltage
1200
1000
800
Power (mW)
600 Series1
400
200
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
Voltage (mV)
Major Fuel Cells
PAFC SOFC MCFC PEMC
Commercially No Yes Yes
Yes
Available
Size Range 100-200kW 1kW-10MW 250kW-10MW 3-250kW
Fuel Natural gas, Natural gas, Natural gas, Natural gas,
digester gas, hydrogen, fuel hydrogen hydrogen,
propane oil propane, diesel
Efficiency 36-42% 45-60% 45-55% 25-40%
Environmental Nearly zero Nearly zero Nearly zero Nearly zero
emissions emissions emissions emissions
Other Features Cogen (hot Cogen (hot Cogen (hot Cogen (80oCwater)
water) water, LP or HP water)
steam)
Commercial Some Some Some Some commercially
Status commercially commercially commercially Available
Available Available Available
California Energy Commission:
http://www.energy.ca.gov/distgen/equipment/fuel_cells/fuel_cells.html
Process
GE's Russell Hodgdon shows a polymer electrolyte in 1965. To
speed the reaction a platinum catalyst is used on both sides of
the membrane. Hydrogen atoms are stripped of their
electrons, or "ionized," at the anode, and the positively
charged protons diffuse through one side of the porous
membrane and migrate toward the cathode. The electrons
pass from the anode to the cathode through an exterior
circuit and provide electric power along the way. At the
cathode, the electrons, hydrogen protons and oxygen from
the air combine to form water. For this fuel cell to work, the
proton exchange membrane electrolyte must allow hydrogen
protons to pass through but prohibit the passage of electrons
and heavier gases. Efficiency for a PEM cell reaches about 40
to 50 percent. An external reformer is required to convert
fuels such as methanol or gasoline to hydrogen. Currently,
demonstration units of 50 kilowatt (kw) capacity are operating
and units producing up to 250 kw are under development.
Dr. Russell Hodgdon of GE demonstrated a
polymer electrolyte in 1965
Fuel Cell Lab Exercise
plug
H2 tank
Charging
Fuel
cell
O2 tank
plug
hose water
reservoir
Distilled Water
H2 tank
Fuel
cell
O2 tank
plug
Q&A
Q1. The major difference between
fuel cells and batteries is:
A. Fuel cells generate hydrogen gas, whereas
batteries consume stored solid or liquid
B. Fuel cells generate oxygen gas, whereas
batteries consume electricity
C. Fuel cells consume hydrogen gas, whereas
batteries consume stored solid or liquid
D. Fuel cells consume oxygen gas, whereas
batteries consume stored solid or liquid
E. Fuel cells consume water, whereas batteries
consume stored solid or liquid
Q2. Which of the following is the
by-product of a fuel cell reaction?
A. Water
B. Hydrogen
C. Oxygen
D. Electrolyte
E. All of the above
Q3. Which of the following is not a
reactant of a fuel cell?
A. Bio-diesel
B. Methane
C. Methanol
D. Air
E. Gasoline
Q4. Which of the following describes the
function of a fuel cell in a discharge mode?