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What Are The Advantages Of Hydrogen Fuel Cells?

  •  Hydrogen fuel cells are cleaner than most energy sources, such as a combustion engine, because they emit only water vapor and heat
  • Gasoline energy is less efficient because much more of the energy is lost as heat and incompletely burned emissions
  • Hydrogen fuel cells would reduce the cost of the expensive process of extracting, refining and transporting petroleum.
  • We will not "run out" of hydrogen.
  • Cars with hydrogen fuel cell technology can use more powerful electronic systems because hydrogen provides more electric power

What Are The Challenges Of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology?

  • Hydrogen is highly flammable and difficult to store and transport
  • Pure Hydrogen gas is not naturally abundant; it must be made by splitting methane or splitting water. Both of these processes require energy Because of thermodynamics, the process to acquire pure hydrogen (from water or from methane) is energy intensive and usually requires natural gas. So, hydrogen is an energy carrier, not an energy source.
  • The Cato Institute estimates that 130 billion pounds of hydrogen would be needed for the US car fleet. It would require around 150 trillion cubic feet of methane to get this amount of Hydrogen.
  • Currently no infrastructure is in place for large-scale hydrogen fuel cell technology

How Can Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Relate To Furman?

The PureCycle™ systems have low operating and maintenance costs and can be adapted to the existing systems, making it an accessible technology to Furman. Proponents say this technology is well suited to hotels, offices, schools and hospitals, as well as businesses which depend heavily on refrigeration.

If hydrogen is produced in a sustainable way using renewable energy, then hydrogen fuel cell technologies can provide a sustainable source of energy. These PureComfort™ solutions would allow Furman to reach its new green initiative in the coming years as well as become a leader in environmentally-friendly energy.

What Is A Hydrogen Fuel Cell?

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that splits hydrogen down into its basic components through oxidation and uses those currents, of protons and electrons, to produce electricity. Hydrogen fuel cell technology offers promise of lower-emission engines for industries and automobiles.

The most promising hydrogen fuel cell prototype is the PEMFC or the proton exchange membrane fuel cell.

This fuel cell model has water vapor as the only emission.

Developing Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology

The United States government views hydrogen fuel as the possible next wave of energy. The House approved the Energy Policy Act 2005, which allocated $4 billion of the Department of Energy funds to be spent on the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology. One of the leading firms in the United States leading the way in this research is United Technologies, based in Hartford, Connecticut. UTC, United Technologies Connecticut, has developed the PureCycle system, a system that is based on hydrogen fuel cell technology that is emission free and is a closed cycle process.

“In principle, the PureCycle™ 200 works like a reverse air-conditioner. Energy is absorbed into the system by a liquid refrigerant that vaporizes when heated. The hot vapor turns a turbine, which drives a generator to create electricity. Later, the hot vapor circulates through a fan-vented cooling chamber, returns to liquid form, and begins the cycle again.” (UTC)

Most major automotive makers in the world are researching hydrogen fuel cell cars.

This model shows how fuel cell technology can replace combustion engines.

The replacement of combustion engines with hydrogen fuel cells is predicted to decrease greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxides, by 50 percent. These gases are significant in contributing to the depletion of the ozone and global climate change.