Sri Lankans still fight to defeat fuel prices, but world auto
manufacturers use hydrogen and oxygen to run vehicles
13-09-2006
http://www.lankaeverything.com/vinews/business/20060913005912.php
Sri Lankans are now engaged to defeat the fuel price increase, while
two local fuel distributors increase their fuel prices regularly.
However local researchers say using of alcohol would minimize fuel
cost, but motorists are fear to use these new fuel varieties. Recently
the government has introduced alcohol mixed fuel to run three wheelers,
but three wheeler drivers say it will reduces their engine?s life span.
Meanwhile worlds leading auto manufacturers use fuel cell concept to
run vehicles. A number of auto giants say that they could switch on
their new fuel cell vehicles without any trouble.
Speaking to media, Chairman of the Sugarcane Research Institute
Dr.C.S.Weeraratne said Sri Lanka should adopt alternative power and
energy resources to reduce fuel imports.
According to the leading auto manufacturers a fuel cell is an
electrochemical device that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce
electricity, with water and heat as its by-product. As long as fuel is
supplied, the fuel cell will continue to generate power. Since the
conversion of the fuel to energy takes place via an electrochemical
process, not combustion, the process is clean, quiet and highly
efficient ? two to three times more efficient than fuel burning.
No other energy generation technology offers the combination of
benefits that fuel cells do. In addition to low or zero emissions,
benefits include high efficiency and reliability, multi-fuel
capability, sitting flexibility, durability, sand ease of maintenance.
Fuel cells are also scalable and can be stacked until the desired power
output is reached. Since fuel cells operate silently, they reduce noise
pollution as well as air pollution and the waste heat from a fuel cell
can be used to provide hot water or space heating for a home or office.
In principle, a fuel cell operates like a battery. 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.
A fuel cell consists of two electrodes sandwiched around an
electrolyte. Oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen over the
other, generating electricity, water and heat.
Hydrogen fuel is fed into the "anode" of the fuel cell. Oxygen (or air)
enters the fuel cell through the 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. The electrons create 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 not
combustion, emissions from this type of a system would still be much
smaller than emissions from the cleanest fuel combustion processes.
The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) in Petten has built
the first car to be powered by a Dutch fuel cell system. The key
component, the PEM fuel cell stack, has been developed entirely in
Petten. The car itself is a modified version of an existing electric
service vehicle, the DaimlerChrysler GEM. The standard GEM is powered
by a traction battery, the capacity of which restricts the car's
operating range and necessitates regular and lengthy recharging from
the mains.
But the new version developed by ECN and christened the HydroGEM has a
far greater range and can be refuelled quickly. The fuel cell produces
sufficient power to supply electricity to utensils such as electric
tools as well. The HydroGEM is quiet and extremely clean, making it
suitable for use at airports, railway stations, distribution centres
and other industrial locations, not to mention on nature reserves and
even in hospitals.
According to Frank de Bruijn, unit manager Hydrogen & Clean Fossil
Fuels, the main purpose of the HydroGEM at this stage is to investigate
how the fuel cell technology developed at ECN performs in practice.
"Our own General Services Department starts using the HydroGEM this
autumn," he explains, "making it the first Dutch hydrogen vehicle to
enter operational service.
" Compared with battery-powered vehicles, the HydroGEM has a
considerably wider operating range. Lengthy recharging periods are also
a thing of the past. Refuelling with hydrogen takes no more than ten
minutes. The vehicle has an electronically limited maximum speed of
40kph and a payload of up to 400kg. The propulsion system developed by
ECN consists of a 5kWe fuel cell, which is used in combination with the
original 6.5kWh battery pack. The hydrogen is stored in a 76-litre tank
at a pressure of 200 bar. That is sufficient fuel to enlarge its range
to at least 200km.
ECN is one of Europe's leading institutes in hydrogen research. The
mission of ECN's unit Hydrogen & Clean Fossil Fuels is to develop new
fuel cell technologies for both mobile and stationary applications,
with the aim of improving performance, reducing costs and extending
operational life. In April this year, ECN and the European Union's
Joint Research Centre (JRC-IE) organised a well-attended open day for
administrators and local government officers at their research facility
in Petten. This featured presentations about the regulatory and safety
aspects of hydrogen propulsion technology, practical experiences with
it and licensing matters.
The hydrogen-powered Honda FCX is the first fuel cell vehicle certified
by the U.S. EPA for every day commercial use. It is one of many
alternative fuel vehicles manufactures around the world are developing.
Honda plans to lease approximately 30 fuel-cell cars in California and
Japan during the next several years. So there will be even more
instances where this groundbreaking technology will see everyday use.
In principle, a fuel cell operates like a battery. 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.
The type of fuel cell used in the Honda FCX is called a Polymer
electrolyte fuel cell. Powered by Hydrogen gas the fuel cell provides
power to the FCX's AC synchronous electric motor to give the FCX a top
speed of around 93 mph. with engine output at around 60kW Honda claim
the clean FCX has similar performance to the its petrol drinking
brother the Honda Civic.
The first practical use of a Fuel Cell was in the 1960s with the Apollo
Space Program, for years fuel cell technology has been seen as too hard
and too costly, but now as development continues we may see more cars
like the FCX but the question often remains were does one fill up with
fuel.
All the Honda FCX's made for the US have been sold to Californian
government, the cost of the cars are too expensive for the average
buyer and California is using them not only as city runabouts but as a
publicity stunt to promote green cars.
If cars like the FCX ever become popular then petrol stations will have
to start supplying hydrogen as well as regular petroleum products but
currently there are only a handful of Honda FCXs around.
Honda has been working on ways to refill the FCX and has established an
experimental Home Energy Station (HES) that generates hydrogen from
natural gas for use in fuel cell vehicles while supplying electricity
and hot water to the home.
The new HES system that has been jointly developed with strategic fuel
cell partner Plug Power Inc. is located on the grounds of Honda R&D
Americas in Torrance, California, and will undergo experiments in
hydrogen production, storage and fueling, as part of ongoing research
into hydrogen energy sources.
The new HES system, which can currently produce enough hydrogen to
refill the tank of a Honda FCX hydrogen fuel cell vehicle taking just a
few minutes once a day.
Hydrogenics Corporation, a leading designer and manufacturer of
hydrogen and fuel cell systems, recently announced it has entered into
a manufacturing and supply agreement with American Power Conversion
(APC) a leading global provider of high availability systems for
network-critical physical infrastructure (NCPI).
Under the agreement, Hydrogenics will deliver up to 500 HyPM? XR 12 kW
Fuel Cell Power Modules for integration into APC's NCPI solutions,
specifically its InfraStruXure? architecture. APC integrates the fuel
cell power module into its advanced, centrally managed, modular and
scalable InfraStruXure architecture. The systems are scalable in
increments of 10 kW with 30 kW available per standard 19" server
cabinet. Today, this fuel cell product is available as an option for
APC's InfraStruXure system targeting customers requiring high quality,
three-phase AC 'extended run' backup power in business-critical data
centers, satisfying both the air conditioning and electrical needs of
these applications.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for Hydrogenics to continue our
development of a commercial fuel cell product for an identified high
potential market that can start reaping cost-effective benefits today,"
said Pierre Rivard, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Hydrogenics. "Securing this largest single order to date for fuel cell
units is a great show of confidence from a world leading NCPI systems
provider- not only in Hydrogenics' products and expertise, but in the
first-mover opportunity that fuel cell technology provides.
The order was achieved in part by setting a new industry benchmark for
volume production, enabling significant cost reductions that can be
passed to the customer. Here is proof that the fuel cell industry has
made real progress in getting to a pricing structure that offers
commercial potential for substantial and growing markets."
Interest from the backup power market for Hydrogenics' fuel cell
solutions is based on the ability to deliver reliable cost-effective
high-quality power, in a compact footprint, for long periods of time as
long as there is a sufficient supply of hydrogen.
This overcomes the deficiencies of batteries which need to be replaced
every three to ten years and require a large amount of weight-bearing
space. Fuel cells also overcome the reliability shortcomings of diesel
generator systems which may fail to start up on demand and be subject
to increasingly prohibitive and costly siting restrictions.
There are number of fuel cell varieties , such as Phosphoric Acid,
Proton Exchange Membrane or Solid Polymer , Molten Carbonate , Molten
Carbonate , Solid Oxide Alkaline , Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ,
Regenerative Fuel Cells , Zinc Air Fuel Cells and Protonic Ceramic Fuel
Cell .
According to the recently carried out researches, no other energy
generating technology holds the combination of benefits that fuel cells
offer. Energy Security. U.S. energy dependence is higher today than it
was during the "oil shock" of the 1970s, and oil imports are projected
to increase.
Passenger vehicles alone consume 6 million barrels of oil every single
day, equivalent to 85 percent of oil imports. If just 20 percent of
cars used fuel cells, we could cut oil imports by 1.5 million barrels
every day.
Physical Security. Because of their distributed nature, fuel cells
allow the country to move away from reliance on central station power
generation, and long-distance, high voltage power grids, which are the
most likely terrorist targets in any attempt to cripple our energy
infrastructure.
High Reliability/High Quality Power. The National Power Laboratory
estimates that the typical computer location experiences 289 power
disturbances a year that are outside the voltage limits of the computer
equipment.
U.S. businesses lose $29 billion annually from computer failures due to
power outages and are quickly realizing that fuel cells may help
prevent not only loss of power, but also loss of dollars. Fuel cells
offer clean, high quality power, crucial to an economy that depends on
increasingly sensitive computers, medical equipment and machines.
Fuel cells can be configured to provide backup power to a
grid-connected customer, should the grid fail. They can be configured
to provide completely grid-independent power or can use the grid as the
backup system. Modular installation (the installation of several
identical units to provide a desired quantity of electricity) provides
extremely high reliability in specialized applications. Properly
configured fuel cells can achieve up to 99.9999% reliability, less than
one minute of down time in a six year period.
Fuel Flexibility. As long as fuel is supplied, the fuel cell will
continue to generate power. A fuel cell system that includes a "fuel
reformer" can utilize the hydrogen from a hydrocarbon or alcohol fuel.
Hydrogen can also be produced from electricity from conventional,
nuclear or renewable sources.
Hydrogen can be extracted from novel feed stocks such as landfill gas
or anaerobic digester gas from wastewater treatment plants, from
biomass technologies, or from hydrogen compounds containing no carbon,
such as ammonia or borohydride.
Electrolysis uses an electric current to extract hydrogen from water.
Fuel cells, in combination with solar or wind power, or any renewable
source of electricity offer the promise of a totally zero-emission
energy system that requires no fossil fuel and is not limited by
variations in sunlight or wind flow. This hydrogen can supply energy
for power needs and for transportation.
High Efficiency. Because they make energy electrochemically, and do not
burn fuel, fuel cells are fundamentally more efficient than combustion
systems. When the fuel cell is sited near the point of use, its waste
heat can be captured for beneficial purposes (cogeneration). In
large-scale building systems, these fuel cell cogeneration systems can
reduce facility energy service costs by 20% to 40% compared to
conventional energy service.
Fuel cell power generation systems in operation today achieve 40% to
50% fuel-to-electricity efficiency utilizing hydrocarbon fuels. Systems
fueled by hydrogen can consistently provide more than 50 percent
efficiency. Even more efficient systems are under development. In
combination with a turbine, electrical efficiencies can exceed 60
percent.
When waste heat is put to use for heating and cooling, fuel utilization
can exceed 85 percent. Fuel cell passenger vehicles are expected to be
up to three times more efficient than internal combustion engines,
which now operate at 10 to 16 percent efficiency.
Environmental Benefits. Air pollution continues to be a primary health
concern in America. Exposure to ozone, particulate, or airborne toxic
chemicals has substantial health consequences. Scientists are now
directly linking air pollution to heart disease, asthma and cancer.
Recent health studies suggest polluted urban air is a comparable health
threat to passive smoking. Fuel cells can reduce pollution today and
offer the promise of eliminating pollution tomorrow.
Power Generation. Fuel cells offer excellent environmental performance
compared to power generation technologies that rely on combustion.
Based on measured data, a fuel cell power plant may create less than
one ounce of pollution per 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity produced
- compared to the 25 pounds of pollutants for conventional combustion
generating systems. Fuel cell power plants are so low in emissions that
some areas of the United States have exempted them from air permit
requirements. As we move toward use of renewable fuels in fuel cells,
producing electricity will become a zero emission process. Motor
Vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles are the least polluting of all vehicles
that consume fuel directly.
Fuel cell vehicles operating on hydrogen stored on-board the vehicles
produce zero pollution in the conventional sense. Neither conventional
pollutants nor green house gases are emitted. The only byproducts are
water and heat.
Systems that rely on a reformer on board to convert a liquid fuel to
hydrogen produce small amounts of emissions, but would still reduce
smog-forming pollution by up to 90 percent compared to traditional
combustion engines, depending on the choice of fuel. The simple
reaction that takes place inside the fuel cell is highly efficient.
Even if the hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, fuel-cell vehicles
can reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a global warming concern, by
more than half. Tests performed on a fuel cell bus, fueled by methanol,
showed zero emissions of particulate matter and hydrocarbons, and
near-zero emissions of carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides - levels far
below the 1998 emission standard for buses.
Fuel cells used as auxiliary power units (APUs) to power air
conditioners and accessories in over-the-road trucks could reduce
emissions by up to 45% from long haul vehicles, and deliver economic
benefits to the truck owner in lower fuel use and less wear and tear.
According to DOE, fuel cell APUs in Class 8 trucks can save 670 million
gallons of diesel fuel per year and 4.64 million tons of CO2 per year.
Modularity/Scalability/Flexible Siting. The beauty of fuel cells is
their versatility - since they are scalable, fuel cells can be stacked
until the desired power output is reached. The voltage from a single
cell is about 0.7 volts, just about enough for a light bulb. When the
cells are stacked in a series, the operating voltage increases to 0.7
volts multiplied by the number of cells stacked. Fuel cells enable us
to think about power generation in innovative ways. A fuel cell car,
for example, is also a clean, efficient electrical power-generating
unit on wheels.
International Benefits. Fuel cells are entering the market at a time
when countries face growing pressure to adopt alternative energy
technologies on a large scale. The challenge for the fuel cell industry
is to ensure that it is ready with competitively priced
performance-proven products as demand grows.
More nations are focused on sustainable energy strategies. Fuel cells
offer an opportunity for countries to move toward greater
sustainability in resource consumption. Fuel cell efficiencies yield
substantial reductions in emissions of climate change gases and promise
an end to the exclusive reliance on carbon fuels for energy. Battery
replacement/alternative. Fuel cell power sources are also being
developed for portable electronic devices.
In these applications, the fuel cell would provide a much longer
operating life than a battery would, in a package of lighter or equal
weight per unit of power output. The fuel cell would not require
"recharging;" a liquid, solid, or gaseous fuel canister could be
replaced in a moment. Fuel cells also have an environmental advantage
over batteries, since certain kinds of batteries require special
disposal treatment. Fuel cells provide a much higher power density,
packing more power in a smaller space.
Military Applications. Fuel cells help the military reduce the cost of
battlefield logistics, provide a source of energy for the modern
soldier, save money and reduce pollution at military installations and
on board ships and terrestrial vehicles, and most importantly, save
lives and materiel by reducing telltale heat and noise.
A recent Defense Science Board report entitled "More Capable
Warfighting Through Reduced Fuel Burden" concluded, "over 70 percent of
the tonnage required to position today's US Army into battle is fuel."
The report also found that significant war-fighting, logistics and cost
benefits occur when weapons systems are made more fuel-efficient.
Many organizations are working on miniature fuel cells for portable
applications since soldiers are starting to carry a range of enabling
electronic technologies, computers, personal radios, displays and
thermal imaging, all intended to increase his effectiveness, lethality
and survivability. Right now, these devices are limited by their power
source. Miniature fuel cells can operate 10 times longer than
conventional batteries used to power hand-held battlefield computers,
and are much more cost-effective.
Stationary fuel cells are helping the military to address their peak
electric power needs while complying with the presidential directive to
reduce energy use at Federal facilities by 20%. Stationary fuel cells
for military applications can provide back up or standby .
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