RENEWABLE ENERGY SURCES

(EEO-4210)
TOPIC- Fuel Cell and Classification

PRESENTED BY:-

AMAAN SAIFI
SAJID AHMED
AWAIZ KHAN
CONTENT

o Fuel Cell
o History
o Application
o Advantages
o Construction
o Fuel Cell Operation
o Classification
FUEL CELL
• Fuel cell is the electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a
fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity
through a pair of redox reactions.

• Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requiring a continuous

source of fuel and oxygen (usually from air) to sustain the chemical
reaction, whereas in a battery the chemical energy usually comes from
substances that are already present in the battery.
 
• Fuel cells can produce electricity continuously for as long as fuel and
oxygen are supplied.
HISTORY

• Fuel cell were first demonstrated by British scientist

Sir William Robert groove in 1839.

•  The first commercial use of fuel cells came

more than a century later following the
invention of the hydrogen–oxygen fuel cell
by Francis Thomas Bacon in 1932.

• The alkaline fuel cell, also known as the Bacon

fuel cell after its inventor, has been used
in NASA space programs since the mid-1960s
to generate power for satellites and space
capsules. Since then, fuel cells have been used
in many other applications.
 APPLICATIONS
  Fuel cells are used for primary and backup
power for commercial, industrial and
residential buildings and in remote or
inaccessible areas.
 They are also used to power fuel cell
vehicles, including forklifts, automobiles,
buses, trains, boats, motorcycles, and
submarines.
 A H2-O2 fuel cell has been used in USA to
provide electric power in shuttle spacecrafts
such as apollo.
 Fuel cell can be used for load levelling .
When generation exceeds demand , excess
generated energy can be converted & stored
as H2 & when there is demand , stored H2 is
used in fuel cells to meet the additional
demand.
 For remote & inaccessible locations, fuel cells
can be used unattended for a long period.
ADVANTAGES OVER
OTHER ENERGY SOURCES

 HIGH EFFICIENCY
 QUIET IN OPERATION
 LESS POLLUTANT
 NO TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTUIN LOSSES
 FUEL CELL PLANTS ARE COMPACT &
REQUIRES LESS SPACE.
 COMBINED HEAT & POWER
PARTS OF FUEL CELL
Fuel cell consists of four parts :

• ANODE - Negative part of fuel cell where oxidation takes place .

Hydrogen is fed to anode.
• CATHODE- Positive part of fuel cell where reduction takes place.
Oxygen is fed to cathode.
• ELECTROLYTE – A medium that conducts charged ions from one electrode to
other in fuel cell. KOH is used as electrolyte.
• CATALYST – chemical substance that increase rate of reaction.
platinum catalyst is used.
Fuel Cell Operation
• A fuel cell is a lot like a battery. It has two electrodes where the reactions take place and an
electrolyte which carries the charged particles from one electrode to the other.

• In order for a fuel cell to work, it needs hydrogen (H2​) and oxygen (O2​). The hydrogen
enters the fuel cell at the anode. A chemical reaction strips the hydrogen molecules of their
electrons and the atoms become ionized to form H+.

• The electrons travel through wires to provide a current to do work.

• The oxygen enters at the cathode, usually from the air. The oxygen picks up the electrons
that have completed their circuit. The oxygen then combines with the ionized hydrogen
atoms (H+), and water (H2​O) is formed as the waste product which exits the fuel cell.
Chemistry of Fuel cell
• The reaction in a single fuel cell typically produces only about 0.7 volts. Therefore,
fuel cells are usually stacked or connected in some way to form a fuel cell system
that can be used in cars, generators, or other products that require power.

• The reactions involved in a fuel cell are as follows:

Anode side (an oxidation reaction): 2H2​=>4H++4e−

Cathode side (a reduction reaction): O2​+4H++4e−=>2H2​O

Net reaction (the "redox" reaction): 2H2​+O2​=>2H2​O

Classification
Fuel Cells are majorly classified into three categories:

 Based on the type of Electrolyte

 Based on Types of Fuel and Oxidant
 Based on Operating Temperature
Classification
There are following many types of fuel cells. They are basically
classified based on electrolyte used:

i. Alkaline fuel cell

ii. Molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC)
iii. Phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC)
iv. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell
v. Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)
Alkaline fuel cell
 In this type of fuel cell a solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH) in water is
used as electrolyte.
 Efficiency is about 70% and operating temperature is 150°C to200°C.
 The disadvantage of this fuel cell type is that it is easily poisoned by carbon
dioxide (CO2).
 Cell output range from 300W to 5kW.
 Alkali cells are used in Appolo spacecraft to provide both electricity and
drinking water.
 They require pure hydrogen and platinum electrodes.
 MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL
CELL (MCFC)
 These cells use high temperature compounds of salt
carbonates i.e. Na, Co, or MgCo, as the electrolyte.
 Efficiency ranges from 60% to 80% and operating
temperature is about 650°C.
 They use nickel electrodes which are inexpensive
compared to platinum used in other cells.
 MCFCs don't require an external reformer to convert more
energy-dense fuels to hydrogen.
 The primary disadvantage of current MCFC technology is
durability.
PHOSPHORIC ACID FUEL CELL
(PAFC)
 These cells use phosphoric acid as electrolyte.
 Efficiency ranges from 40% to 80% and operating, temperature is between 150°C to
200°C.
 Existing phosphoric acid fuel cells have outputs up to 200 kw and 11 MW units have
been tested.
 Platinum electrode-catalysts are need and internal must be able to withstand the
corrosive acid.
 They are 85 percent efficient when used for the co-generation of electricity and heat,
but less efficient at generating electricity alone (37 to 42 percent).
PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE
(PEM) FUEL
 These cells work with a polymer electrolyte in the form of thin, CELL permeable
sheet.
 Efficiency is about 40% to 50% and operating temperature is about 80°C.
 Cell outputs ranges from 50 to 250 kW.These solid flexible electrolyte does not leak
or crack.
 These cells operate at a low enough temperature to make them suitable for homes and
cars.
 The platinum catalyst is also extremely sensitive to CO poisoning.
SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL (SOFC)

 These fuel cells use a hard ceramic compound of metal (like calcium or
zirconium) oxides (0) as electrolyte.
 Efficiency is about 60% and opening temperature is about 1000°C.
 Cell output is up to 100 kW.
 At such high temperature a reformer is not required to extract hydrogen
from the fuel and waste heat can be recycled to make additional
electricity.
Classification
Another category is based on Types of Fuel and oxidant
1. Hydrogen (pure)-Oxygen (pure) fuel cell
2. Hydrogen rich gas-air fuel cell
3. Ammonia –air fuel cell
4. Synthesis gas- air fuel cell
5. Hydro carbon (gas)- air fuel cell

The third category is based on Operating Temperature: