Revolutionary fuel cell R.Parthasarathy The Hindu 08/17/2000 FUEL CELLS helped the Apollo astronauts make it to the moon in the late Sixties, when the technology remained little more than a curiosity. They now show promise for generating electricity to homes, running off natural gas. Hydrogen has held a leading position in Chemistry: it is the front-ranking element in the Periodic Table. Now it shows promise as the fuel cell of the future: combine it with oxygen in a fuel cell and it will deliver electricity, with water as one byproduct. Fuel cell engines could make productive use of about 60 per cent of the power generated; internal combustion engines, in contrast, waste 75 per cent of the power generated. It appears a dramatic shift in favour of hydrogen gas is probable. What are the technical hurdles? Which fuel can provide economically the hydrogen the cells will consume? The safety of hydrogen gas as a fuel is viewed with awe by the public ever since the demise of the Hindeburg, a hydrogen-filled Zeppelin, in 1937. Supply of hydrogen gas itself is prohibitively expensive. The next alternative is to adopt technologies what convert liquid fuels such as gasoline or methanol into hydrogen gas. To meet the economics and the environmental concerns, auto manufacturers are pushing hard to introduce fuel cells. A new collaboration between car and fuel cell-makers, oil companies, has sprungaup.It is based on chemical reaction, which causes electricity to flow. The technique, in principle, was invented in 1839 by Sir William Grove, a Welsh Judge, who began his career in Physics. He noted when the molecules of hydrogen and oxygen combined in his experimental cell, they produced an electric current. As hydrogen meets an electrode (in the fuel cell) serving as Catalyst, electrons are stripped from the hydrogen atoms; the protons thus created diffuse through a membrane, namely a catalytic electrode usually of platinum or nickel. The electrons flow via the other electrode to an external circuit. Auto manufacturers are gearing up to unveil in the next decade cars which will run on fuel-cell engines. This engines, will present a challenge to internal combustion which are popular since Henry Ford's day. The hydrogen has to be generated from breaking a hydrocarbon such as methane. This process produces carbon which clogs up the cell's metallic catalyst. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia have shown that replacing nickel by a new catalyst made of copper and cerium oxide prevents the build-up of carbon. This will reduce considerably the cost of fuel cell. Thus the mass market for these electrochemical powerpacks could be elsewhere, in millions of house owners. "Within five years they could be installing a fuel cell that would run on natural gas. This battery in the basement could generate enough electricity to run the home as well as heating it", reports New Scientist (18 March 2000). <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
