The Pros And Cons Of Hydrogen

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

There are many types of alternative non traditional fuel forms and methods that have been developed to generate renewable energy, such as wind energy and bio fuel energy, which is created from alcohol derived from vegetable matter such as from corn. There are two types of energy derived from water, one is Geo thermal energy generated from hot water, and the other is hydroelectricity energy generated from a rush of flowing water. And when you mix

Wind energy, one of the oldest forms of renewable energy used by humans, is produced simply by harnessing the power of the wind with wind turbines and generating electricity. Geothermal energy is energy from the heat of the Earth, and is drawn from locations with naturally heated water like hot water reservoirs and geysers or areas deep within the Earth accessed by drilling (NREL, "Learning About Renewable Energy"). Hydroelectric power, in simplest terms, uses the power of water rushing downwards to rotate a propeller attached to a generator that in turn produces electricity (Perlman). Another form of renewable energy is biomass, such as wood, biofuel, and bio-waste, which is burned to produce energy; however, it is not clean energy.

As you go throughout your day, you use energy many times. Turning on the lights, using the toaster, taking the bus to school, all examples of using energy. Slowly, the fossil fuels that we are burning to get this energy are harming the environment. Hydrogen energy and biofuels would bring many benefits to Long Beach,

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.

In conclusion, Hydrogen-3, better known as tritium, is a substance that is used in everyday life. Completely disregarding the fact that tritium is beneficial for us, it has its effects with consequences that are either minor, or life threatening. It should be noted that tritium is not something to be consumed or to be handled without the correct scientific clothing. In addition, tritium helps us with fuelling nuclear reactions, which is its most common use but can also be used for insufficient light sources and chemical reactions. Closing off, tritium is very useful for scientists but must be handled cautiously.

There are many ways to make energy but some aren't possible in the U.S. The possible sources available in the U.S. are nuclear power, fossil fuels- coal, oil and gas, alternative energy- solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, hydroelectric, man power, biomass, natural

The United States of America produces energy using every resource available. There are nonrenewable, renewable, and other energy resources being used. Nonrenewable resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas are created by fossil fuels over a hundred of million years ago. Hydroelectric, solar, biomass, geothermal and wind power are considered renewable resources as they can be constantly replenished in a short period of time. Nuclear energy is in debate whether to be renewable or nonrenewable as it uses nuclear fission and nuclear fusion to create energy. This can come from any atom that makes up the world; however, right now nuclear energy is mostly using uranium which leads people to say this is nonrenewable.

Hydrogen-3 is the only radioactive isotope of hydrogen. Tritium was first discovered, unintentionally, in 1934 by Physicist Ernest Rutherford, M.L. Oliphant and Paul Harteck. It was unintentional, as they had not expected tritium to be made by a mixture of deuterium and high-energy deuterons. Deuterons are the nuclei of deuterium atoms, and deuterium is the second isotope of hydrogen. Unfortunately, Rutherford was unable to isolate the matter and the position was later passed onto to Luis Alvarez and Robert Cornog. Hydrogen-3, can either be artificially or naturally made, however it is very rare to be made naturally. Since 1934, approximately 220 kilograms of tritium has been produced only, in the United States of America, however due to the

Scientists have also figured out how to harness solar energy, using electricity from photovoltaic cells to yield hydrogen that can be later used in fuel cells. But hydrogen has failed to catch on as a practical fuel for cars or for power generation in a world designed around liquid fuels.

Recent years have shown an increasingly large need for a practical renewable energy source for such reasons as diminishing fossil fuels and increases in greenhouse gasses. Hydrogen appears to be a way out of this gasoline-dug hole, or at least, a way out in the future. Hydrogen fuel cell cars are being engineered as we speak as the technologies to refuel them cleanly are being proposed. Unfortunately, most of the technologies associated with hydrogen are still in the prototype/pre-production stages and require better enhancements before becoming mainstream. This paper assesses the practicality of hydrogen power in cars both now and in the future while explicating the actual process of how a

The existing green energy sources are solar energy, wind energy (harvested using wind turbines), geothermal energy (harvesting energy trapped in the earth), biogas (natural gas beneath the earth surface) and biomass (energy from biological material) apart from the hitherto mentioned hydroelectric source (EPA, 2012).

In 1831, scientist Michael Farday discovered the first form of electricity. He found that when a magnet moved inside a copper coil it created what is known as an electric current. This invention is known as a turbine generator. Even today, in full sized power stations this simple invention is still used and works very effectively. These power stations create mass amounts of energy to turn the turbines. Most of the time the energy is made from the heat, for example when coal is burned. More environmentally friendly power stations use wind or flowing water to turn these turbines. This is known as renewable energy because it will not run out, unlike when oil and coal are used.(3)

Renewable resources are also known as alternative energy sources. Alternative Energy is any source of energy that can be renewed (Issit). Renewable Energies include hydrogen fuel, biomass fuel, hydropower, solar power, geothermic energy, and nuclear power. Hydrogen fuel is an amalgamation of hydrogen and oxygen which is used to produce electricity (Issit). Biomass fuel is made from materials which have already been used, such as compost, and can be used to generate electricity (Issit). Hydropower can be created through moving water or wind to generate electricity (Issit). Using sunlight to produce electricity is called solar power (Issit). Geothermic energy is energy made by the heat under the earth’s mantle (Issit). Nuclear power is

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