A Fuel Cell Defined
In principle, a fuel cell operates like a battery. But unlike a battery, a fuel cell does not run down or require recharging — it will produce energy in the form of electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied.Structurally, a fuel cell consists of two electrodes sandwiched around an electrolyte. Oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen passes over the other resulting in electricity, water and heat.Hydrogen fuel is fed into the anode of the fuel cell. Air (oxygen) enters the fuel cell through a cathode. Encouraged by a catalyst, the hydrogen atom splits into a proton and an electron which take different paths to the cathode — the proton passes through the electrolyte and the electron creates a separate current that can be utilized before they return to the cathode to be reunited with the hydrogen and oxygen in a molecule of water.A fuel cell system which includes a fuel reformer can utilize the hydrogen from any hydrocarbon fuel — from natural gas to methanol, and even gasoline. Since the fuel cell relies on chemistry and notcombustion, emissions from this type of a system are still much smaller than emissions from the cleanest fuel combustion processes.
October 13th, 2010