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Fuel of the Future - Hydrogen
Jeffrey Havelin, P.E.
Overview
More people are
driving more cars today than ever before. More than 200 million vehicles
are on the road in the U.S. alone. But the car has contributed to
our air and water pollution and forced us to rely on imported oil from the
Middle East, helping to create a significant trade imbalance. Today many people
think fuel cell technology will play a pivotal role in a new technological
renaissance, just as the internal combustion engine vehicle revolutionized life
at the beginning of the 20th century. Such innovation would have a global
environmental and economic impact.
Hydrogen-powered fuel cells represent a radically different
approach to energy conversion, one that could replace conventional power
generation technologies like engines and turbines in applications such as
automobiles and small power plants.
This course will review the design and theory of hydrogen based
fuel cells. Expanded use of hydrogen as an energy carrier for America
could help address concerns about energy security, global climate change, and
air quality. Hydrogen can be derived from a variety of domestically available
primary sources, including fossil fuels, renewables, and nuclear power. Another
key benefit is that the by-products of conversion are generally benign for human
health and the environment. Despite these compelling benefits, realization of a
hydrogen economy faces multiple challenges. Unlike gasoline and natural gas,
hydrogen has no existing, large-scale supporting infrastructure—and building one
will require major investment. Although hydrogen production, storage, and
delivery technologies are currently in commercial use by the chemical and
refining industries, existing hydrogen storage and conversion technologies are
still too costly for widespread use in energy applications.
The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of
eighteen (18) questions at the end of this course to obtain PDH credits.
Specific Knowledge or
Skill Attained
This course reviews the
following specific topics:
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Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell.
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Electrochemistry of fuel cells
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Processing Hydrocarbon Fuels into Hydrogen
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Reformate/air fuel cell “engine” utilizing liquid methanol as fuel
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Direct methanol fuel cell technology
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Regenerative Fuel Cell
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Alkaline fuel cells
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Phosphoric acid fuel cells
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Molten carbonate fuel cells
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Solid oxide fuel cells
Course
Click on the
following PDF attachment and review Fuel Cells Green Power-
Publication LA-UR-99-3231, published by Los Alamos National Laboratory
under contract with the US Department of Energy, prior to taking a quiz for
credit. You will be quizzed on the attached document in its entirety.
Fuel Cells Green Power (1.0 MB)
You may need Acrobat Reader to view this document.
Click on the link below to download a free copy of Acrobat Reader.
To obtain PDH credits for this course, you will need to take a quiz for
credit. Click on the link below.
(To take the quiz,
your web browser must be set to accept cookies. See how to
check your cookie settings.)
 
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