Fuel Cells
Jason Garvan
Heather Hahn
Joseph Hillemeyer
Business 754
With the worlds fossil fuel sources dwindling, current problems with the internal combustion engine involving air pollution and inefficiency, a new source of fuel is needed. Fuel cells may be the answer. In our fast paced environment, no one can imagine a time without a vehicle to move from one place to another. But, vehicles require a source of energy to operate and today’s source has a number of problems. There are shortages coming in the world’s oil supply, which when coupled with high demand will lead to a search for new sources. The pollution caused by vehicles currently is cause for great concern. And the engine as it stands now is inefficient.
The solution to these problems - fuel cells. If the fuel cell were cheaper, there would not be much to complain about. Fuels cells would be better for the environment, producing very low levels of unwanted emissions and low noise. More importantly, fuel cells would alleviate oil demand. The most significant challenges to the development of fuel cell power systems include cost (system and life cycle), lack of demonstrated reliability for most types, lack of infrastructure for some types, and the need to identify and develop markets. Making fuel cells cheaper requires more research and development by automobile manufacturers, energy companies, fuel cell technology companies and government agencies. This partnership would explore ways to make the fuel cell both economically and efficiently, while producing some positive effects on the environment.
Every since the invention of the automobile, petroleum use has skyrocketed. Providing a major source of fuel for automobiles and conventional energy sources, oil is a key commodity in the world’s economies. Oil is such a key resource that governments stockpile it in the event a cutoff in supplies occurs. The First Oil Shock, in 1973, incurred a global recession indicating just how much the world had become dependant on oil.
More governments are attempting to do two things. First and foremost, they are continuing to secure oil supplies either by stockpiling, military involvement, or partnerships. Secondly, many governments and industries are attempting to lessen their reliance on oil for both economic security and environmental concerns. A seemly daunting task considering how “all roads lead to the oil pipeline”. Political pressures surrounding environmental issues and oil have further pushed alternative fuel considerations. Current methods of oil burning for sources of energy are being revamped to become more efficient and reduce emissions.
Several major problems exist regarding petroleum fuel industries’ lifeline. These problems include diminishing oil supplies, pollution caused by using oil as fuel, and the inefficient use of oil as a fuel source.
World energy and transportation relies on the inexpensive fuel source, oil. However, as world production peaks and consumption increases, oil prices are increasing dramatically. The crux of the problem boils down to decreasing oil supply and increasing demand.
In the United States, passenger vehicles alone consume 6 million barrels of oil daily, which is roughly equivalent to 85 percent of U.S. oil imports1. Globally, oil provides around 40 percent of energy needs and about 90 percent of transportation fuel needs2. In 2000, this equated to roughly 25 billion barrels of consumed oil3. Given the current rate of consumption, oil supplies (including factoring in additional oil discoveries) would last less than 40 years3. However, rate of oil consumption has and is increasing which decreases the estimate time of depletion (gasoline vehicle use is expected to grow roughly 2 percent annually). Some experts have predicted serious problems by 2015 when physical shortages occur as worldwide production of conventional oil declines permanently3.
"The emissions from burning fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, to generate power are among the largest contributors to air pollution…”4. In the United States, “motor vehicles are the largest contributor to air pollution”5. Emissions are a byproduct of the combustion process used to burn fossil fuels for energy. The less efficient the engine, the higher the emissions are. U.S. Government regulations, along with consumer awareness, have pushed engine manufacturers to produce engines that emit less and are far more efficient. However, the internal combustion engines (IC engines) will always release pollution; it is just a matter of how little release is possible or is reclaimable. A mounting problem as each year, governmental regulations on emissions become stricter.
A smaller problem, which indirectly affects fuel industries, centers on how inefficient oil based engines are. Automobile engines are roughly 26 percent efficient6. Since the 1970s, major improvements have been made on engine efficiency. Today, highbred automobiles are pushing 35 percent efficiency. In contrast, most power generation plants, which use oil as a fuel source, are considerably more efficient.
Fuel cell technology has been around since 1839 in rudimentary form. In 1839, Sir William Grove discovered that it was possible to generate electricity by reversing the electrolysis of water7. Then, in 1889, two researchers by the name of Charles Langer and Ludwig Mond came up with the name of fuel cell as they tried to develop the first practical fuel cell, using coal, gas and air. In the early 1900’s research was stopped on fuel cells because of the advent of the IC engine.
In 1932, Francis Bacon developed the first successful fuel cell device. It was designed using hydrogen, oxygen, alkaline electrolytes and nickel electrodes. Then in 1959, Bacon developed and demonstrated the first practical five-kilowatt fuel cell system.
It was during this same time that NASA began to develop compact electrical generators for their space program. This led to greater funding of fuel cell technology by NASA. More recently, automakers and federal agencies have begun to support research in the field of fuel cell technology, primarily for automobiles, but also for other applications as well. With this support, several different types of fuel cells have been developed:
* Alkaline fuel cells – AFC
* Direct methanol fuel cells – DMFC
* Molten carbonate fuel cells – MCFC
* Phosphoric acid fuel cells – PAFC
* Proton exchange membrane fuel cells – PEM
* Regenerative fuel cells – RFC
* Solid oxide fuel cells – SOFC
Fuel cells are small and modular in nature. Therefore, fuel cell power plants can be used to provide electricity in many different applications, from cell phones to electric vehicles to large, grid-connected utility power plants. As it stands now, fuel cells are a developing technology that has a few commercial uses today, but will emerge as a significant source of electricity in the near future.
The electrolysis process is produced when an electric current is introduced into a conducting liquid, an electrolyte, where it flows between two electrodes. This leads to the splitting of the water or other chemical compounds into their ionic (charged) components, which then react chemically.
Structurally, a fuel cell is similar to that of a battery. Both consist of two porous electrodes: a positive electrode (an anode) and a negative electrode (a cathode) that is separated by an electrolyte. However, a fuel cell directly converts hydrogen, or other hydrogen-rich fuels into electricity through chemical reactions between the hydrogen and oxygen (an oxidant) inside the cell rather than through combustion. This process is much more efficient than general thermal engines (80% versus 40% efficiency).
In a fuel cell, pure hydrogen gas, or hydrogen extracted from a hydrocarbon such as methanol or gasoline, is combined with oxygen and fed into the cell. A catalyst at the anode, which is from the platinum-family elements, causes hydrogen atoms to give up their negatively charged electrons, therefore leaving the positively charged protons. The negatively charged oxygen ions from the ionized oxygen gas on the cathode side of the cell attract the hydrogen protons. As the protons pass through the “semi-permeable solid electrolyte membrane”, the remaining electrons are redirected to the cathode through an external circuit. This results in a current being produced that then powers an electric motor.
The hydrogen protons and oxygen ions combine with the electrons at the cathode to produce water, the principle by-product of the cell. The other by-product is heat, which can be captured, released, or reused, depending on the use of the fuel cell. There may also be some atmospheric pollutants released as exhaust if pure hydrogen is not used. This is most common in “reformer” systems.
Generally, a single fuel cell only produces a few volts of electricity. In order for more power to be produced, fuel cells are often times piled into “stacks” so as to produce more voltage. (See diagram below)
Fuel cells operate at maximum efficiency when operating on pure hydrogen and pure oxygen. Pure oxygen is very expensive, and thus air is used as the source of oxygen in most applications, except where the extra cost can be justified, as in the space program.
Pure hydrogen is expensive, and difficult to transport and store, therefore, like pure oxygen it is only used in special cases. Gaseous mixtures of hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2), which can be created by the 'processing' of fossil fuels or biomass, are used instead of hydrogen in most commercial uses of fuel cells. The most economical sources of the necessary H2/CO2 fuel mixture have been found to be; gaseous hydrocarbons such as natural gas and propane, light hydrocarbon liquids such as naphtha and methanol (from biomass), heavier hydrocarbon liquids such as fuel oil; and coal.
There are three common methods of processing these hydrocarbon fuels to create the H2/CO2 mixtures required by fuel cells. 'Steam reforming' is a simple process involving the reaction of light hydrocarbon fuels with steam. 'Partial oxidation' is the incomplete burning of a fuel and is used to process heavier hydrocarbon liquids and coal is 'gasified', by reacting coal with oxygen and steam at high temperatures. Fuel processing can be performed at any stage before the fuel is added to the fuel cell, but it is most common to perform the processing at the 'point of use' as this eliminates the need for storage of the hydrogen rich fuel. Liquid hydrocarbons such as naphtha and methanol are preferable for transportation applications of fuel cells because they are easily transported and stored and can be steam reformed at the point of use. Large stationary fuel cell power plants are generally designed to use natural gas, fuel oil or coal as a source of fuel, depending upon local costs and availability.
Strengths:
Limitations:
Industry impacts within the next ten to fifteen years are minimal. However, as fuel cell technology becomes more viable and used, the long-term impacts are significant.
Consumers can appreciate the high efficiency, silent operation,
portability and low maintenance fuel cells provide.
Fuel cells hold distinct advantages in efficiency, noise, emissions, and
upkeep over IC engines. However, current predictions in pricing shows that while
fuel cells will cost significantly less to maintain, the initial cost is much
more when compared against fossil fuels. But,
the price should lower and become just slightly higher than IC engines as
technology increases and mass production ensues.
Social impacts include dramatic reductions in pollution. Monetary wise, this directly affects governments, businesses, and individuals as less money and resources are spent on physical emission regulation and cleanup. Reduction in pollution can also be linked to health benefits.
Economic impacts are uncertain. Significant investment will need to be made to create an infrastructure to support fuel cells. Economic destabilization will occur for those corporations and countries that depend on oil processing and exportation. If current trends continue to push toward fuel cell utilization, those industries and countries that embrace this new technology will have a distinct advantage over those who do not.
Governments are expected to continue stringent requirements on IC engine emissions. As more alternative fuel sources become available and affordable, even stricter regulations will be put into place. It is possible that at one point, governments may even fine corporations and individuals who use IC engines.
“The California Fuel Cell Partnership is a combination of automobile manufacturers, energy companies, fuel cell technology companies and government agencies. This partnership expects to place up to 60 fuel cell vehicles on the road by the end of 2003.” 11 Since fuel cells are not expected to be mainstream for some 10 to 20 years, it would be beneficial to join in a partnership with companies that have a common goal of seeing that fuel cell technology becomes our future. This would allow parties of the partnership to help shape the future and development of fuel cell tech with limited investment and risk exposure. Furthermore, this would help the firms stay on top of developments and act accordingly.
Companies within the partnership should consider having pilot fueling stations for those larger cities with hybrid, fuel cell vehicles. This associates the companies name with fuel cell technology (both for consumers and industry players) for future marketing and expertise. Consideration should also be given to the niche markets for fuel cells and how to focus on them in the future. One strategy would be to watch Iceland. Iceland has made great advances in hydrogen fuel cells and has set goals for the entire island to be using fuel cells by the year 2030. It would become important for other countries and businesses to benchmark using Iceland’s implementation to learn ways to use and produce the product more effectively.
While there are still major obstacles to large-scale fuel cell commercialization, including cost and reliability issues, there are also many opportunities for rewarding investments aimed at lowering the manufacturing costs, improving long-term reliability, and increasing market penetration. The largest concern for fuel cells is the high price associated with the product. To make this a marketable product, the price must be reduced. To do this, the company must use the present technology and invest in R&D for fuel cells. There are many applications and types of fuel cells and one of them might be useful in more than one area. Fuel cells will be a part of our future as indicated as more governments and businesses invest in this technology; it is up to us to decide when and how.
1.
Fuel Cells 2000. http://www.fuelcells.org/fcbenefi.htm.
Obtained 4/12/2003
2.
Campbell. Colin J.
“Forecasting Global Oil Supply 2000-2050”. Hubbert Center Newsletter (2002,
3rd quarter). Obtained
from http://hubbert.mines.edu/news/Campbell_02-3.pdf
3.
Herron, Hunter E.
“The Looming Crisis In Worldwide Oil Supplies” July 2000. Obtained
from http://www.petroleumequities.com/OilSupplyReport.htm.
4.
McCord , Joel. “New Md.
facilities must be energy-saving; Goal is to have 6% of electricity generated by
solar, wind power”. The Baltimore Sun (March 14, 2001). Obtained from http://www.climateark.org/articles/2001/1st/newmdfac.htm.
5.
Fuel Cell Bus Project. “Program Overview”. Georgetown University.
Referenced from http://fuelcellbus.georgetown.edu/overview3.cfm
6.
Shuldiner, Herb. “NECAR 5
sets fuel-cell record” Washington Times Online (August 2, 2002). Obtained from
http://www.washtimes.com/autoweekend/20020802-82075880.htm.
7.
Motavalli,
J.: “Forward Drive: The Race to Build Clean cars for the Future”; Sierra Club
Books, 2000
8.
Frank
C. Schora, Elias J. C mara, 'Full Cells: Power for the Future', in
Jefferson W. Tester, David O. Wood and Nancy A. Ferrari (Eds.), Energy and
the Environment in the 21st Century, MIT Press, 1991.
Obtained from http://www.iclei.org/
9.
Birch,
Stuart. “Ford’s focus on the fuel cell”.
Obtained from http://www.sae.org/automag/features/fordfc/index.htm
10.
“Fuel
Cells start to Look Real”. Obtained
from http://www.sae.org/automag/features/fuelcells/index.htm