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2D Nanomaterials in Flexible Fuel Cells
Published in Ram K. Gupta, Energy Applications of 2D Nanomaterials, 2022
Tauqir A. Sherazi, Misbah Jabeen, Tahir Rasheed, Syed Ali Raza Naqvi
Fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts chemical energy of fuel into electrical energy. Mostly the fuel used in these fuel cells is hydrogen, thus it does not lead to carbonaceous emissions. The chemical reaction is aided by oxidant gases, while water produces as by-product. Fuel cells have a variety of applications ranging from stationary power production to portable devices, and in transportation [9]. Fuel cell produces electric energy similar to batteries, but it differs from batteries such that fuel cells are provided with a continuous supply of fuel contrary to recharging phenomenon in batteries. They are highly efficient and are environmentally benign. Major components of a simple hydrogen fuel cell are polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM), cathodic catalyst layer, cathode, anodic catalyst layer, anode, and current collectors [10]. Different catalysts are used in fuel cell depend on cell type such as nickel is used for high temperature and platinum is used in low-temperature fuel cell [11] (Figure 4.2).
Fuel Cells
Published in Bernard F. Kolanowski, Small-scale Cogeneration Handbook, 2021
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts chemicals into electricity. Another electrochemical device we are all familiar with is the battery—whether it’s the battery in your car or the double A battery in your hand held calculator it, too, is the same as a fuel cell. Batteries have all their chemicals stored inside and converts those chemicals into electricity. However, the big difference is that when batteries go dead we either discard them or re-charge them. In the case of the fuel cell chemicals constantly flow into the cell so it never goes dead. As long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell the electricity flows out of the cell. Most fuel cells in use today use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals. Natural gas is the source for hydrogen which is “reformed” within the fuel cell. Oxygen comes from the air. Any source of methane gas, such as digester and land fill gas may be used as the ultimate source of the hydrogen fuel.
The Other Energy Sources
Published in Anco S. Blazev, Power Generation and the Environment, 2021
Fuel cells are thought of as more environmentally friendly than most other electricity generating technologies. In the end, they are. The produced power is free of pollutants, resulting in only pure, clean water as a byproduct.
Numerical investigation of a novel rhombohedral interconnector configuration for planar solid oxide fuel cells
Published in International Journal of Green Energy, 2023
Raj Kumar, A. Veeresh Babu, Shirish H. Sonawane
A fuel cell is a type of energy conversion device that generates electricity and heat by utilizing the chemical energy of fuel (Park, Vohs, and Gorte 2000; Stambouli and Traversa 2002). The fuel cell is a clean and potential power source with applications in a wide range of sectors like power plants, automobiles, and portable gadgets; it could be a promising alternative to fossil fuels (Babu and Calay 2017; Penner, Appleby, and Baker et al. 1995). Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are high-temperature fuel cells that utilize ceramic materials which conduct oxygen ions like yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as the electrolyte. Since its working temperature is relatively high, around 600°C–1000°C, it can achieve an efficiency of over 60% when combined with an appropriate bottoming cycle, such as a gas turbine (Inui, and Urata et al. 2006).
Fault-Tolerant Modular Switched-Capacitor DC-DC Converter (MSCC) for Fuel Cells
Published in Electric Power Components and Systems, 2023
Xiangping Chen, Zhengzhao He, Dong Wang, Wenping Cao
Decarburization of electrical power systems has led to the rapid development of renewable energy [1, 2] in which one of the effective ways to use intermittent energy is to produce hydrogen via water electrolysis. Fuel cells have been researched since 1990s. Fuel cells can be used for portable, backup, transportation, and stationary power applications. Their power rating ranges from less than 100 watts (portables), 50 kilowatts (vehicles) to a few megawatts for buildings and facilities. Furthermore, fuel cells can consume hydrogen to transform hydrogen back to electricity as a power source in electrical vehicles. This kind of application cause increasing concerns on power electronic converters [3] since a converter is a crucial component in applications. Figure 1 demonstrates a block diagram of the drivetrain in a fuel cell electrical vehicle. A fuel cell module consumes both hydrogen and oxygen to generate DC electricity. DC voltage of the fuel cell module is to be boosted into higher voltage via a DC/DC converter before being used by batteries. Afterwards, electrical power from batteries is to transform into AC power by two inverters which link with powertrain of two wheels in a vehicle. The development of efficient and reliable converters in such applications gives rise to controllability, energy savings as well as environmental benefits [4]. Ideally, they should have high efficiency, fault tolerance, modularization and flexible voltage output [5–7]. But these criteria often conflict with one another when a converter is designed.
Investigating the effects of reactant gas flow geometrical shape on the performance of solid oxide fuel cell
Published in International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, 2022
Today, the performance of fuel cells has been tried using different fuels (hydrocarbons, hydrogen, natural gas, biogas, methanol, ethanol, etc.). Among them, from the perspective of energy density and environmental benefits, hydrogen is the perfect fuel choice to solve the problem of global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels. However, hydrogen storage and distribution systems require further research, which is beyond the scope of this work. Hence, in this numerical work, a 3D hydrogen-fuelled P-SOFC model has been developed and its performance has been evaluated using different shapes of reactant gas flow channels under similar operating conditions and active areas. In addition to this, a parametric sweep analysis has been studied to examine the effects of electrode thickness under similar electrolyte thickness. Many runs were conducted at cell voltage range from 0.95 V to 0.2 V in step down of 0.05 V through a parametric model to generate a complete polarisation curve as a function of voltage and current density. A parametric nonlinear stationary with a direct linear system solver (MUMPS) has been used to linearise the PDEs at a convergence relative tolerance of 0.001.