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Fuel Cells Essay, Research Paper

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to inform you why fuel cells are a good source of

energy. In principle a fuel cell operates like a battery. Unlike batteries fuel cells don’t

run down or require recharging. In the first section the energy source will be defined

and described. The three sub-sections are; how they work, current us, and the future of

fuel cells. In the second section the two criteria chosen will be defined. The two criteria

are environmental friendliness and reliability. In the third and final section the two

chosen criteria will be applied to the energy source. To understand fuel cells you need to

know how they work. You also need to know the current use and development. Although

no one can tell the future of fuel cells, you can tell what direction they are headed.

Environmental friendliness is a good piece of criterion to use when analyzing an energy

source. Fuel cells are environmentally friendly because their only waste product is

water. Reliability is also a good piece of criterion to use when evaluating an energy

source. Fuel cells are reliable because they run on hydrogen and we will have hydrogen

forever.

Introduction.

What would the world be like without electricity? If you really think about it you

will find that many of the everyday things we do would be impossible. You would not be

able to eat many foods without cooking them over some kind of flame. You would have

absolutely no luxuries such as TVs, computers, cars, and many other things that use

electricity. This could be reality someday if something is not done to find an alternative to

our traditional methods of burning coal and oil. Someday these resources will run out and

we will be stuck without electricity. This is why we should invest our time, money, and

research into the production of fuel cells. Fuel cells are a good energy source because

they are environmentally friendly and reliable despite being expensive.

In principle a fuel cell operate like a battery. Unlike batteries fuel cells don’t run

down or require recharging. It will produce energy in the form of electricity as long as

fuel is supplied(Little, Authur). The main fuel of the cells is liquid hydrogen. On March

17,1999, DaimlerChrysler unveiled the NECAR 4, the first fuel powered car. The

compact car seats five passengers. Although DaimlerChrysler claims to lead the fuel cell

car industry, Ford Motor co. officials say they will have a driveable version of their five

seat compact car, the P2000, this spring.

In the first section the energy source will be defined and described. The three

sub-sections are; how they work, current us, and the future of fuel cells. In the second

section the two criteria chosen will be defined. The two criteria are environmental

friendliness and reliability. In the third and final section the two chosen criteria will be

applied to the energy source.

Section I.

To understand fuel cells you need to know how they work, how they are being

used today, and how they will be used in the future.

How they work.

In principle, a fuel cell operates like a battery. Unlike a battery, a fuel cell does not

run down or require recharging. It will produce energy in the form of electricity and heat

as long as fuel is supplied. A fuel cell consists of two electrodes sandwiched around an

electrolyte. Oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen over the other, generating

electricity, water, and heat. Hydrogen fuel is fed into the “anode” of the fuel cell. Oxygen

(or air) enters the fuel cell through the cathode. Encouraged by a catalyst, the hydrogen

atom splits into a proton and an electron, which take different paths to the cathode. The

proton passes through the electrolyte. The electrons create a separate current that can be

utilized before they return to the cathode, to be reunited with the hydrogen and oxygen in

a molecule of water (Little,Aurthur).

Current Use.

To understand fuel cells you need the current use and development. On March 17,

1999, DaimlerChrysler unveiled the NECAR 4, the first fuel cell powered car. The

compact car seats five passengers. Although DaimlerChrysler claims to lead the fuel cell

passenger car companies, who aims to market them by the year 2004, Ford Motor Co.

officials said they expect to have a driveable version of their five-seat fuel cell car, the

P2000, this spring.

Ferdinand Panik, head of DaimlerChrysler’s fuel cell program, said the NECAR 4

was a breakthrough because the fuel cell technology was small enough to fit into a

compact car but there was still room to seat five passengers. The fuel cells were stacked

underneath the car’s floor board and the liquid hydrogen tank took up some space in it’s

small trunk (Associated Press).

The car drives like a normal car, has a top speed of 90 miles per hour and can go

280 miles without refueling. It weighs 1,100 pounds more than a typical compact

gasoline-powered car because of the fuel dell technology.

Right now, ONSI Corporation in Windsor, Conn., a subsidiary of International

Fuel Cells, is the only commercial manufacturer of fuel cells. Seventy-four of its units,

each the size of a minivan, are now in operation, often in locations such as hospitals and

remote hotels where grid power is expensive and reliability is worth a premium. Each cell

produces 200 kilowatts of power;

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