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• Fuel cells - electricity form without burning
  
• Investigating the Effect of Temperature on Reaction Rate
  
• Measuring Oxygen Consumption in a Fuel Cell
  
• Investigating the Rate Determining Step in a Multi-step Reaction
  
• Measuring the Power of a Fuel Cell
  
• Investigating the internal resistance of a cell
  
• Measuring the atomic mass of oxygen and aluminium
  
• Build your own band aid fuel cell
  
• Fuel Cell Basics
  
• Build a hydrogen fuel cell
  
• How Does Temperature Affect the Electrical Output of a Fuel Cell?
  

See also:

• Fuel Cell Design


• Types of Fuel Cells


• Fuel Cell Efficiency


• Fuel Cell Applications


• Hydrogen Vehicle


• Hydrogen Economy

Methanol fuel cell. The actual fuel cell stack is the layered bi-cubic structure in the center of the image

A fuel cell is an electrochemical conversion device. It produces electricity from various external quantities of fuel (on the anode side) and an oxidant (on the cathode side). These react in the presence of an electrolyte. Generally, the reactants flow in and reaction products flow out while the electrolyte remains in the cell. Fuel cells can operate virtually continuously as long as the necessary flows are maintained.

Fuel cells are different from batteries in that they consume reactant, which must be replenished, whereas batteries store electrical energy chemically in a closed system. Additionally, while the electrodes within a battery react and change as a battery is charged or discharged, a fuel cell's electrodes are catalytic and relatively stable.

Many combinations of fuel and oxidant are possible. A hydrogen cell uses hydrogen as fuel and oxygen as oxidant. Other fuels include hydrocarbons and alcohols. Other oxidants include air, chlorine and chlorine dioxide.^[1]

History

The principle of the fuel cell was discovered by German scientist Christian Friedrich Schönbein in 1838 and published in the January 1839 edition of the "Philosophical Magazine".^[8] Based on this work, the first fuel cell was developed by Welsh scientist Sir William Robert Grove in 1845. The fuel cell he made used similar materials to today's phosphoric-acid fuel cell. In 1955, W. Thomas Grubb, a chemist working for the General Electric Company (GE), further modified the original fuel cell design by using a sulphonated polystyrene ion-exchange membrane as the electrolyte. Three years later another GE chemist, Leonard Niedrach, devised a way of depositing platinum onto the membrane, which served as catalyst for the necessary hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions. This became known as the 'Grubb-Niedrach fuel cell'. GE went on to develop this technology with NASA and McDonnell Aircraft, leading to its use during Project Gemini. This was the first commercial use of a fuel cell. It wasn't until 1959 that British engineer Francis Thomas Bacon successfully developed a 5 kW stationary fuel cell. In 1959, a team led by Harry Ihrig built a 15 kW fuel cell tractor for Allis-Chalmers which was demonstrated across the US at state fairs. This system used potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte and compressed hydrogen and oxygen as the reactants. Later in 1959, Bacon and his colleagues demonstrated a practical five-kilowatt unit capable of powering a welding machine. In the 1960s, Pratt and Whitney licensed Bacon's U.S. patents for use in the U.S. space program to supply electricity and drinking water (hydrogen and oxygen being readily available from the spacecraft tanks).

United Technology Corp.'s UTC Power subsidiary was the first company to manufacture and commercialize a large, stationary fuel cell system for use as a co-generation power plant in hospitals, universities and large office buildings. UTC Power continues to market this fuel cell as the PureCell 200, a 200 kW system.^[9] UTC Power continues to be the sole supplier of fuel cells to NASA for use in space vehicles, having supplied the Apollo missions, ^[10] and currently the Space Shuttle program, and is developing fuel cells for automobiles, buses, and cell phone towers; the company has demonstrated the first fuel cell capable of starting under freezing conditions with its proton exchange membrane automotive fuel cell.

How Does a Fuel Cell Work?

For more information see the following links: Fuel Cell Design Types of Fuel Cells Fuel Cell Efficiency Fuel Cell Applications Hydrogen Vehicle Hydrogen Economy References ^ S. G. Meibuhr, Electrochim. Acta, 11, 1301 (1966) ^ LEMTA - Our fuel cells ^ Larminie, James (May 2003). Fuel Cell Systems Explained, Second Edition. SAE International. ISBN 0768012597.  ^ "Ballard Power Systems: Commercially Viable Fuel Cell Stack Technology Ready by 2010", March 29, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.  ^ EP patent 0950075, "Electrolytic Membrane, Method of Manufacturing it and Use", granted 2003-02-12, assigned to DSM  ^ Ballard Uses Solupor (September 13, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-05-27. ^ Water_and_Air_Management ^ History of Fuel Cells. Johnson Matthey plc.. Retrieved on 2007-05-27. ^ The PureCell 200 - Product Overview. UTC Power. Retrieved on 2007-05-27. ^ Apollo Space Program Hydrogen Fuel Cells External links TC 105 IEC Technical standard for Fuel Cells BIGS: Fuel Cell Animation EERE: Fuel Cell Types EERE: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies Program Fuel Cell Today Fuel Cells 2000 USFCC Ponaganset's Fuel Cell Education Initiative Classes r2h Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Wiki Thermodynamics of electrolysis of water and hydrogen fuel cells Hydrogen Fuel Cells - Alternative Renewable Energy Questions and answers on Hydrogen and Hydrogen Fuel Cells