In my fuel class, I created a research paper on fuel cells and how they contribute pollution to the earth. In my paper I talk about pros and cons of fuel cell and where they are found in the world. I’m most proud of the pros and cons I listed because it really shows how fuel cells contribute to things we use everyday. Please look at my research paper below and learn more about fuel cells!
MML
3.7.13
Fuel
My chosen energy is fuel cells. Fuel cells can be found in solar panels. Fuel cell is a great source of energy because they are great to use if you need a long lasting source of energy. Solar panels are a great example on how fuel cells work. The down side about using fuel cells is that once they are used, its hard to replace them.
Chemical Equation
1.Example on how H2 and O mix with Fuel Cells.
2.This is one way that molecules pass through fuel cells
https://www.spaceflight.esa.int/impress/text/education/Catalysis/Question_Catalysis_12.html
Carbon Footprint Information
A carbon footprint is a very large part of life. We use this to find out how much carbon dioxide we are contributing to the earth. Fuel cells are in some way connected to carbon footprint because we use fuel cells to create long lasting energy. For Example, solar panels are a great way to lower your carbon footprint, and fuel cells are located in them.
There are other ways you can lower your carbon footprint like recycling paper and plastic to changing the windows in your house so they can let in more light and less heat.For example, I calculated how much carbon I use in a year and it turned out to be 47,000 Carbon Dioxide used a year. I found this out by using a EPA calculator which helps you find out how much carbon you use a year. Calculating your carbon footprint is a great way to find out how you can reduce your footprint and make our planet a better place to live in.
Pros and Cons of Fuel Cells
There are many different pros and cons of using fuel cells in our daily life for example,
Pros:Fuel Cells
- High efficiency
- Clean. Carbon free when using H2 and O2.
- Can use renewable fuels
- Do not need recharging.
- Can run continuously (as long as fuel is available)
- Provides base load power (good complement to renewables)
- No moving parts
- No noise
- Certain types are well suited to CHP applications
- Fuel can be made from water which is abundant or many other things
- Highly scalable–cell phones to power plants.
- Well suited for distributed generation, eliminating distribution losses.
- Can be run in reverse for energy storage, producing hydrogen from electricity and water
Cons:Fuel Cells
- High cost due to expensive materials like platinum
- Requires fuel
- Reliability still evolving.
- Durability, particularly at high temperatures.
- Robustness. Many are sensitive to temperature and contamination.
- Hydrogen fuel not readily available
- Little (but growing) infrastructure for hydrogen delivery
- Safety concerns with hydrogen (though it is less dangerous than gasoline)
- Low density of fuel, compared to gasoline
- Could become irrelevant if batteries got good enough
In conclusion fuel cells have been around for about 150 years and are very powerful knowing that they have to be used with another energy. For example, think of a fuel cell as a car, the car is doing all the work but the gas is powering it. The “gas” for a fuel cell could be a lot of things from water to nuclear power. We use fuel cells in many things like nasa spaceships to solar panels. People don’t know how much we use fuel cells and how important they are but fuel cells are not the most reliable energies because you need to fuel it before you use.
References:
“IMPRESS Education: Catalysis.” IMPRESS Education: Catalysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 07
“Fuel Cell Energy: Pros and Cons.” Triple Pundit RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2013.