A Quick Look at Different Fuels and How They Work Essay

A fuel cell is, in principle, a very simple electrochemical device. The chemical reaction that powers hydrogen fuel cells is the same as that which occurs when hydrogen burns. The chemical equation for this reaction is: 2H2 + O2 ( 2H2O + energy. "Normally hydrogen burns, reacting with oxygen from the air, producing water, heat and light. ... In the fuel cell the chemical reaction is exactly the same, but instead of producing light and heat energy, electrical energy is produced."2 All fuel cells consist of an electrolyte (a substance that allows only the passage of ions) sandwiched between two electrodes. When a fuel containing hydrogen is passed over the negative electrode, otherwise known as an anode, it is ionized. Ionization of the fuel, often accomplished with the assistance of a catalyst, removes electrons from the hydrogen creating positively charged hydrogen ions and negatively charged free electrons. Since only the ions can pass through the electrolyte situated between the electrodes, the electrons must find another route to the positive electrode or cathode, where they will be reunited with the hydrogen ions and combined with oxygen atoms to form water. The electrons passing around the electrolyte constitute an electric current, and thus can be used to provide power during their journey from anode to cathode.3

First, the article claims that the fuel cell engines utilize easily available , renewable resources. However, the professor refutes that by saying that the resources are not easily available. Although, hydrogen is available in water, but it's not usable. She said it must be in apurified liquid state and it's highly artificial, so the process of produce and stor the liquid hydrogen is not easy because

However, some pundits are concerned that adopting hydrogen energy as the sole strategy for the issues facing the automobile’s future is problematic because of the lengthy time frame in which they are projected to become ubiquitous. Furthermore, the present infrastructure for the distribution of hydrogen fuel sources or the production of hydrogen fuel cells is not only insufficient, but slow to develop. As such, fossil fuels are presently the main source for hydrogen production, which means that hydrogen vehicles do not successfully decouple the automobile from a fossil fuel economy. This is also widely inefficient because it will generate four times the carbon dioxide emissions generated by gasoline efficient automobiles. Furthermore, compressing hydrogen for the purposes of

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (fcvs) have not been around for long, but over the past decade that have developed into a new potential successor of the combustion engine. Fcvs function the same as an electric cars but the difference is the hydrogen fuel cell stack. Hydrogen fuel stacks are just multiple layers of fuel cells stacked up and when hydrogen is pumped in to mix with oxygen a reaction takes place. From this reaction electricity and water vapor is created. The electricity carries on and powers the electric motor(s) in the car. The vapor is released from the exhaust and since only water vapor is released, no harm is done to the environment.

Every single day society uses different technology to get through the day but we never know where our help was made or how, even how it was made. One key factor in any type of tech that we use is what keeps it running and how efficient that power source is like gasoline. A lot of tech and automotive are built to run on fossil fuels and also gasoline is the biggest source of natural raw material to be used as a energy. Gasoline is the life source to most American transportation systems and vehicles. Petroleum products and internal combustion engines have helped the United States into a world power over the past century and continues to power the overall majority of motor vehicles like land, sea, or air transportation. Even though people

Gasoline is a flammable liquid that is made from the refinement of petroleum or better known as crude oil. It helps fuel cars, farm machinery, planes and other type of engines. What is petroleum? It’s a fossil fuel that supplies energy around the world than any other source out there. Petroleum, including gasoline is primarily a mixture between hydrocarbons and small amounts of other substances. In 1994, its known that the United States used up to 7,587,00 barrels of oil a day which concludes that America is the worlds largest consumer in oil. The majority of today’s crude oil is located along side the Persian Gulf Basin with some amounts in Alaska and in

Honda has already produced a hydrogen fuel cell concept car they claim is “overall 64% energy efficient”. To put this into perspective in the average gasoline combustion engine “only about 20 percent of the thermal-energy content of the gasoline is converted into mechanical work”, making it 20% energy efficient [5]. This new line of cars could bring about jobs in the automotive industry and all industries that branch from it. As of right now the commercial market for hydrogen gas produced from the use of fossil fuels is at about $100 billion. A majority of this hydrogen goes into producing fertilizers and petrochemicals [1]. All it would take is an inexpensive source of green hydrogen, such as the one recently discovered, to completely change this industry.Overall hydrogen has the ability to bring about jobs and continued advancements in every market and industry touched by it. This could be just about every industry when considering how important transportation and shipping are to the economy; hydrogen would give them an inexpensive fuel for transport. Hydrogen fuel could do this all the while solving our most important problem of finding a renewable energy source.

Gasoline was not invented; it is a naturally made product that petroleum industry has taken over, kerosene being the principal product. Gasoline goes through a process called “distillation”, volatile is separated, more valuable fractions of crude petroleum. However, what was made was all the new ways and numerous forms of processes needed to improve the quality of

The combustion cars burn hydrogen, and produce water vapor, which is non-polluting. In fuel cell conversion, hydrogen is turned into electricity through a fuel cell, which powers the engine. Fuel cell conversion is highly efficient. The only problem is the expensive cost of making a reliable fuel cell that would provide electric power in a hydrogen car. The cost of mining coal and oil is much more cheaper compared to the cost of making fuel cells. An article in usnews.com states, “an even bigger problem would be building a hydrogen infrastructure comparable to a gas station on every corner, which would cost billions”. As you can see, once again oil products have proven to be relatively less expensive.

Hydrogen and fuel cells are not technically renewable energy although they are everywhere and don't cause much pollution. With hydrogen, it can be used as fuel and the only emission is water. By using hydrogen there can be a large reduction in green house gases and air pollution. Plus the hydrogen can be used in the fuels cells to power electric motors or batteries for electricity. If your wondering what fuel cells is, there pretty much batteries, or what you would power an electric car with. The only thing about hydrogen is that it is hard to obtain, or it takes more energy to make it than it gives off. Hydrogen is an element on the periodic table and is in the gas family. Hydrogen’s atomic number is 1and it was discovered by a man by the name of Henry Cavendish in the year of 1766. Hydrogen has no color, taste, and smell, is slightly soluble in water and is highly explosive. Hydrogen can be found anywhere in the universe and is used as the fuel for many solar reactions. The hydrogen that is in our atmosphere has three different isotopes and they are called protium, which has one proton, then deuterium, which has one proton and one neutron. Then the third is tritium, which has one proton and two neutrons. Now if your wondering what protons and neutrons are, then you came to the right place. A proton is sub atomic particle with a positive charge found in the nucleus of an atom. A neutron is a sub atomic particle with a negative

There are many way fuel can cause environmental harm this can come in many forms, but one is that the use of gasoline is affecting air quality by producing emissions. This is because the process of refining the crude oil releases toxins into the atmosphere and thus causing air pollution. Burning gasoline, starting your car and driving it creates a small controlled fire, causes the combustion reaction to occur, producing water vapor and the infamous Carbon Dioxide which is awful for the environment and people breathing it in. This is due to gasoline (which is cleaner than coal) it still contributes to the production of greenhouse gases. Another thing about gasoline that causes harm to the environment is oil spills that occur mostly when oil is lost during transportation.

small, positively-charged proton with a negatively-charged electron orbiting very fast, a model analogous to the earth orbiting the sun, or the moon orbiting the earth. Fuel cells take advantage of this structure. Using a membrane and a catalyst, hydrogen is broken up into a proton and an electron. While there are many different membrane models for fuel cells, the most appropriate one for car travel is the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM, also called the Proton Exchange Membrane). It is called this because protons are able to easily pass through the membrane. However, because the membrane does not allow electrons to pass through it, the electrons take a detour through an electrical circuit to the other side of the cell. If hydrogen is supplied into the cell at a steady rate, the stream of electrons in the electrical circuit creates electric power. However, like all batteries, you need a positive end (cathode) and a negative end (anode); in other words, the hydrogen atoms must have a “reason” to make this electrical circuit. And what is this reason? Oxygen. With oxygen at the other end, hydrogen is more than willing to create this current so that it can bind and form H2O, or water on the other end.

Alternative sources are the only absolute way we can secure the safety of our environment. Everyday carbon monoxide is released into our air. This is creating holes in the ozone layer and exposing humans to deadly fumes (Bad Greenhouse, 1). More money available to scientists who study alternative fuels will allow them to do more extensive testing and research. Although the world is not yet running

The formation of the other two fossil fuels (crude oil and natural gas) took millions of years just like coal. Oil and gas come from the remains of small animals and plants. Long ago, when the animals and plants died, they sank to the bottom of the sea. The dead matter formed a large mass, which over time was covered by layers of sand, silt, and mud. As the weight of the sediment increased, the mass became more and more compressed. Then, the heat and pressure of the Earth eventually turned the mass into oil and gas. If the heat applied during the formation was low, then more oil was produced than gas. If the temperature was

In order to understand the why behind the need to change from fossil fuels to hydrogen power, it is necessary to understand what that power is and how it works. Hydrogen is the most abundant and simplest element on earth. It is most commonly found as part of water. In its pure gaseous form it is extremely light, but when ignited in this state releases a large amount of energy in an explosion. In this violent reaction the hydrogen combines with free oxygen molecules in the atmosphere and creates water vapor. This is similar to the way gasoline is combined with air and ignited in an internal combustion engine in the cars used today and like with gasoline, the combustion of hydrogen has risks. In addition to the risk, some of the energy released in the reaction is lost in the form of sound and heat. As an alternative to burning, these same gases can be combined with the use of catalysts to extract the free electrons produced as liquid water is formed(Popovici and Hoble Dorel). Using cables connected to a fuel cell such as this, those electrons go through a circuit, generating electricity. This is more efficient than combustion because less energy is wasted in the form of sound and heat. Going further, greater efficiency for this reaction can be had the lower the temperature it is allowed to take place at, with 83% power at 25◦C(77◦ F)(Popovici and Hoble Dorel). As fuel cells are created with better heat management and