Cheaper Fuel Cells

Technology Review ^ | 4/5/2006 | Kevin Bullis

[Neville72]

Fuel cells still cost too much to be a viable alternative for internal combustion engines in cars -- they require expensive materials and are difficult to make. Now, according to results presented last week at the American Chemical Society meeting in Atlanta, a new, simple-to-produce material boosts the performance of fuel cells many times -- and could be a major step toward making them affordable.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers who developed the new material say it can "dramatically outperform" the material now used to form fuel-cell membranes. Proton-exchange membranes are used in fuel cells to sort protons and electrons, by allowing the protons to pass through them from one electrode to the other, while blocking electrons and forcing them to travel between electrodes via an external circuit, powering a motor or other electronic device along the way.

[To see images of the new material for fuel cells, click here.]

The researchers say the new membrane conducts protons nearly three times as well as the currently used material, significantly improving power density. Also, unlike the current material, the new membrane can be easily molded into patterns to increase its surface area. By increasing the area by up to 60 percent, the researchers have further doubled the power density of a fuel cell. Joseph DeSimone, the UNC-Chapel Hill chemistry and chemical engineering professor who heads the lab where the work was done, thinks they can increase the membrane's surface area 20 to 40 times by using different patterns, increasing the power density proportionately.

Such improvements in power density mean that a much smaller fuel cell could provide adequate power for a vehicle. The material is also easier to work with, which should reduce manufacturing costs. It begins as a liquid that can be poured over a patterned mold, something that's not possible with the material now primarily used in membranes, a fluorinated polymer called Nafion made by DuPont, which is solid at room temperature. Once in a mold, the liquid form of the new material is cured with light to form a resilient solid. "Fuel-cell cars are currently ten times as expensive as conventional cars," says James McGrath, chemistry professor at Virginia Tech. "A lot of that is related to processing. If you can simplify the processing, that would be great. Joe [DeSimone]'s liquid processing technique has a lot of potential for fabricating the intricate patterns necessary to produce a fuel cell."

DeSimone says that a clearer idea of potential cost savings from their new material should be available within six months. And he expects that fuel cells using the membrane could be in production within two to three years.

The new material is a long-needed advance, says Brian Benicewicz, professor of chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). "For about 30 years now, everybody has used the exact same piece of Nafion, or the same Nafion-like product. We have 30 years of history that shows what the problems are, and a number of engineering solutions to get around the problems with the membrane. What is refreshing about Joe's approach is that now, instead of engineering around a problem membrane, he's actually going back and trying to engineer a better membrane."

The enhanced conductivity of the new material comes in part from having a higher acid content than Nafion -- by definition, acids tend to give up protons, allowing protons to move freely through the material. The amount of acid that can be incorporated into Nafion is limited -- too much acid and its polymers dissolve in water. Because the new material forms a cross-linked polymer once cured, it doesn't dissolve in water, even after being heavily loaded with acid. As a result, "the conductivity goes through the roof," says DeSimone.

While the material has been tested using hydrogen as a fuel, DeSimone says the lab is now testing the material with methanol -- a fuel source that could be important for fuel cells in portable electronics, and maybe vehicles.

[strategofr]

"Even if they can get the cost comparable to a gasoline/diesel IC engine, the cost of the fuel will still be prohibitive. Hydrogen is hideously expensive to make and methanol, while cheaper than hydrogen, still takes more energy to create that you can get out of it."

I to believe you. Assuming you're right, do you understand the point behind this apparent scam?

[Krusty]

Hydrogen bonds are hard to break? In water that is true, but it is not true for every hydrogen bond. "The hydrogen bond has only 5% or so of the strength of a covalent bond." http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/H/HydrogenBonds.html


Here is an example of the new technology I'm talking about. Keep in mind, this is just one example. Maybe this one will turn out to be a dead end, but eventually there is a good probability of a breakthrough. All I'm saying is, keep an open mind. And NO I am not endorsing any sort of mandated alternative fuel, so the worst thing that can happen is a few companies go bankrupt (which thousands of companies do every year).

http://amminex.com/index_files/Page374.htm
Ammonia storage for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) systems

"Ammonia is the perfect fuel for a SOFC. Amminex has developed a compact fuel delivery system, which provides ammonia by desorption from a solid storage unit. The material has a very high ammonia capacity (0.6g/cm3), which is close to that of liquid ammonia). Ammonia is a short-cut towards kick-starting the hydrogen economy (PJ Feibelman, Thoughts on starting the Hydrogen Economy, PHYSICS TODAY 58 (6): 13-14 JUN 2005 ). It is produced world-wide, there is an infrastructure and the corresponding hydrogen density is very high. The Amminex technology bridges the gap between the safety hazard of liquid ammonia and the attractive properties in terms of NH3 as fuel. The ammonia storage material is as harmless as window cleaning fluid. The vapor pressure is 4000 lower than that of liquid ammonia at room temperature. The volumetric ammonia density is less than 10% lower."

[edwin hubble]

Cheap Hydrogen Fuel

GE says its new machine could make the hydrogen economy affordable, by slashing the cost of water-splitting technology.

http://www.technologyreview.com/BizTech/wtr_16523,295,p1.html

"...researchers at GE say they've come up with a prototype version of an easy-to-manufacture apparatus that they believe could lead to a commercial machine able to produce hydrogen via electrolysis for about $3 per kilogram -- a quantity roughly comparable to a gallon of gasoline -- down from today's $8 per kilogram. That could make it economically practical for future fuel-cell vehicles that run on hydrogen."

[lmailbvmbipfwedu]

Its the city, anyway I want to be off grid totally. Our electric company is a joke, and I can't afford to keep replacing equipment every time a storm occurs and causes a surge. The total house surge suppressor is expensive, and in my opinion not necessary if I didn't have to deal with arrogant fools. Let's see, I buy natural gas from the gas company and sell electrons back to the electric company, right? Only fault I can find is that I buying at retail and selling at whole sale. I knew I was selling at cost, but I thought volume would take care of me...............