Hydrogen Fuel Cell

Hydrogen Fuel Cell

Abstract

One of the most dynamic fields which have been developing rapidly with time is the field of automobile. The changes in it, since its invention were almost continuous and rapid. It has been observed that even today after so much of advancement automobile makers are striving hard to make it a perfect machine in every aspect, enabling it to face any problems that would come up in future, and one such biggest problem is the depletion of fossil fuels which forces us to look for alternate and equally efficient fuels. This paper is based on a study done in this direction.Firstly we understand the need for having an alternate fuel. Next we see the advantages of the fuel cells by understanding the their detailed composition and functioning .We then see the various fuel cells and check their feasibility. Finally we compare the fuel cells with the conventional heat engines ,so as to check its effectiveness for implementation in future.

INTRODUCTION

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-to-earth 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; natural gas-fueled cells do produce some carbon dioxide as well, though less than would be created if the fuel were burned.

This paper will shed light on the working, viability and applications of fuel cells.

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