Technical, Environmental and Exergetic Aspects of Hydrogen Energy Systems PDF

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 27 (2002) 265–285
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Technical, environmental and exergetic aspects of hydrogen

energy systems
Ibrahim Dincer ∗
Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, P.O. Box 127, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
In this paper, a number of technical, environmental and exergetic aspects of hydrogen and hydrogen energy systems
(particularly fuel cells) and their applications are discussed from an energy point of view. In addition, exergy concept is
introduced for hydrogen energy systems and exergetic aspects are discussed through two illustrative examples which show a
potential usefulness of exergy in hydrogen energy systems. ? 2002 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published
by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Energy; Environmental impact; Exergy; Fuel cell; Hydrogen energy
1. Introduction a substance or energy form to impact the environment. It is

important to mention that in practice a thorough understand-
Energy is a key element of the interactions between na- ing of exergy and the insights it can provide into the e8-
ture and society and is considered a key input for economic ciency, environmental impact and sustainability of energy
development. Environmental issues span a continuously systems, are required for the engineer or scientist working
growing range of pollutants, hazards and eco-system in the area of energy systems and the environment. During
degradation factors that a3ect areas ranging from local the past decade, the need to understand the linkages between
through regional to global. Some of these concerns arise exergy and energy, and environmental impact has become
from observable, chronic e3ects on, for instance, human increasingly signi@cant [2,3].
health, while others stem from actual or perceived en- Hydrogen is one of the most promising energy carriers
vironmental risks such as possible accidental releases of for the future. It is an energy-e8cient, low-polluting fuel.
hazardous materials. Many environmental issues are caused When hydrogen is used in a fuel cell to generate electricity
by or relate to the production, transformation and use of en- or is combusted with air, the only products are water and a
ergy, for example, acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion small amount of NOx . Hydrogen is renewable and found in
and global climate change [1]. many compounds such as water, fossil fuels, and biomass.
The impact of energy resource utilization on the environ- Hydrogen typically makes up about 6% by weight of dry
ment and the achievement of increased resource-utilization biomass. Using biomass for energy results in lower emis-
e8ciency are best addressed by considering exergy. The ex- sions than using fossil fuels. CO2 is continuously recycled
ergy of an energy form or a substance is a measure of its as biomass in the form of trees and other plants that use it
usefulness or quality or potential to cause change and pro- to regenerate, and lower emissions of sulfur and NOx can
vide the basis for an e3ective measure of the potential of be expected when converting woody biomass in compari-
son to coal. To obtain hydrogen from biomass, pyrolysis or
∗ Tel.: +966-3-860-4497; fax: +966-3-860-2949. gasi@cation must be applied, which typically produces a gas
E-mail address: [email protected] (I. Dincer). containing 20% hydrogen by volume, which can be further
0360-3199/02/$ 20.00 ? 2002 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 6 0 - 3 1 9 9 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 1 1 9 - 7
266 I. Dincer / International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 27 (2002) 265–285
Nomenclature
h speci@c enthalpy, kJ=kg Subscripts and superscripts

i current, A
I irreversibility (rate of exergy destruction), kW ch chemical
ṁ mass Iow rate, kg=s e exit
Q̇ heat transfer rate, kW fc fuel cell
P pressure, kPa g gas
s speci@c entropy, kJ=kg K i inlet
T temperature, K in inlet
v voltage, V net net
Ẇ power, kW out out
x mole fraction th thermochemical
0 reference environment,
Greek letters
ambient, surroundings
speci@c exergy, kJ=kg
chemical exergy
steam-reformed to make higher-purity streams for various Instead, a catalyst on the fuel–cell membrane would chem-
fuel cells. The challenge is to overcome the economic barri- ically break the methanol into hydrogen and carbon diox-
ers that current technology presents for converting biomass ide [4].
to hydrogen for use in clean, e8cient energy conversion de- • A fourth option is to produce the hydrogen at central lo-
vices [4]. cations and then store it on board the vehicle as a gas,
Hydrogen that is manufactured from renewable resources as a cryogenic liquid, or in a solid. With this option, the
and used in fuel cells can provide sustainable energy to hydrogen could be produced via steam reforming of nat-
power electric vehicles. The total system, including distri- ural gas, via pyrolysis or gasi@cation of biomass or fossil
bution, refueling and on-board storage of hydrogen may fuels, or via electrolysis of water.
prove superior to batteries recharged with grid power. A
hydrogen-powered electric vehicle may o3er a market en- To date, the principal niche application for power gener-
try for hydrogen and renewable resources in transporta- ation with fuel cells has been in spacecraft. Recently, how-
tion. Attractive transitional applications of hydrogen include ever, there has been increased interest in their application for
use in combustion engine vehicles and production from both stationary and mobile power generation. This interest
natural gas. In either case, the environmental and energy has been motivated by the fuel cells’ high e8ciency, even
policy consequences are signi@cantly less than continued in small-scale installations, and their low waste emissions.
use of oil-derived fuels in conventional combustion engine Recent legislative initiatives in California, USA aimed at
vehicles. mandating the introduction of zero-emission vehicles, and
Fuel cells, which employ hydrogen to produce electricity, the failings of other technologies (e.g., the limited range
can be used to power a wide variety of applications. This and long refueling times of battery-powered vehicles) have
is especially true in transportation, where there are several further promoted the investigation of fuel cells in mobile
options for providing hydrogen for the fuel cells. applications [5].
The primary objective of the present paper is to discuss
• One option for obtaining the hydrogen is to use an technical, environmental and exergetic aspects of hydro-
on-board reformer to extract it from the gasoline in our gen and hydrogen energy systems. In order to highlight the
gas tanks. (Reformers break down hydrogen–carbon importance of the exergy analysis, some illustrative exam-
bonds to produce a mixed gas from which pure hydrogen ples are also presented.
is derived.) This approach could also be applied to other
hydrocarbons.
• A second option is to use methanol as the hydrogen carrier. 2. Environmental issues
Methanol is easier to reform than gasoline and can be
produced from natural gas, solid fossil fuels, or renewable During the past two decades the risk and reality of
biomass resources. environmental degradation have become more apparent.
• A third option is to develop a fuel cell that uses methanol Growing evidence of environmental problems is due to
directly, eliminating the need for a separate reformer. a combination of several factors since the environmental
I. Dincer / International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 27 (2002) 265–285 267
Fig. 2. Illustration of sources of natural and anthropogenic ozone

depleters [6].
the solution to the issue of acid rain deposition requires an

appropriate control of the pollutants such as SO2 and NOx .
Fig. 1. Illustration of the formation, transport, and impact of acid The pollutants have caused only local concerns related to
precipitation [6]. health in the past. However, as awareness of their contri-
butions to the regional and transboundary problem of acid
precipitation has grown, attention has began also focusing
on other substances such as volatile organic compounds
impact of human activities has grown dramatically because (VOCs), chlorides, ozone and trace metals that may partic-
of the sheer increase of world population, consumption, ipate in the complex set of chemical transformations in the
industrial activity, etc. Throughout the 1970s most environ- atmosphere resulting in acid precipitation and the formation
mental analysis and legal control instruments concentrated of other regional air pollutants. There are a number of ma-
on conventional pollutants such as SO2 ; NOx , particulates, jor evidences to show the damages of acid precipitation as
and CO. Recently, environmental concern has extended to follows [6]:
the control of micro- or hazardous air pollutants, which
• acidi@cation of lakes, streams and ground waters,
are usually toxic chemical substances and harmful in small
• toxicity to plants from excessive acid concentration,
doses, as well as to that of globally signi@cant pollutants
• resulting in damage to @sh and aquatic life,
such as CO2 . Aside from advances in environmental sci-
• damage to forests and agricultural crops
ence, developments in industrial processes and structures
• deterioration of materials, e.g., buildings, metal structures
have led to new environmental problems.
and fabrics, and
Three major areas of environmental problems are the
• inIuence of sulfate aerosols on physical and optical prop-
acid precipitation, the stratospheric ozone depletion, and the
erties of clouds.
global climate change. Thus, we will introduce these three
issues in brief.
2.2. Stratospheric ozone depletion
2.1. Acid rain Stratospheric ozone depletion is well known that the
ozone present in the stratosphere, roughly between altitudes
Acid rain (or acid precipitation) is a form of pollution of 12 and 25 km, plays a natural, equilibrium-maintaining
depletion in which pollutants produced by the combustion role for the earth, through absorption of ultraviolet (UV)
of fossil fuels, particularly from both stationary and mobile radiation (240 –320 nm) and absorption of infrared radia-
sources such as smelters for nonferrous ores, industrial boil- tion [6]. A global environmental problem is the distortion
ers, and transportation vehicles, are transported over great and regional depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer
distances through the atmosphere and deposited via precip- which has been shown to be caused by the emissions of
itation on the earth on ecosystems that are exceedingly vul- CFCs, halons (chlorinated and brominated organic com-
nerable to damage from excessive acidity. This acid rain pounds) and NOx (Fig. 2). Ozone depletion in the strato-
deposition was found to be mainly attributable to emissions sphere can lead to increased levels of damaging ultraviolet
of SO2 and NOx [1] and such gases react with water and radiation reaching the ground, causing increased rates of
oxygen in the atmosphere and result in acids such as sul- skin cancer, eye damage and other harm to many biological
furic and nitric acids (Fig. 1). It is therefore obvious that species.
tant emissions have been worked out, including:
• hydrogen energy,
• renewable energy technologies,
• energy conservation, leading to e8cient energy
utilization,
• cogeneration and district heating,
• energy storage technologies,
• alternative energy dimensions for transport,
• energy source switching from fossil fuels to environmen-
tally benign energy forms,
• coal cleaning technologies,
• process change and sectoral shiftment,
• acceleration of forestation,
• carbon or fuel taxes,
Fig. 3. Illustration of greenhouse e3ect [6]. • materials substitution,
• promoting public transport,
• changing life styles,
Energy- and non-energy-related activities are only par- • increasing public awareness.
tially (directly or indirectly) responsible for the emissions
which lead to stratospheric ozone depletion. CFCs, which Of these potential solutions, we will discuss the most impor-
are used in air conditioning and refrigerating equipment as tant ones, in particular, hydrogen energy, in the following
refrigerants and in foam insulation as blowing agents, and section.
NOx emissions which are produced by the fossil fuel and
biomass combustion processes, the natural denitri@cation,
the nitrogen fertilizers, and the aircrafts play the most sig- 3. Comparison of possible fuels
ni@cant role in ozone depletion.
Since we need to manufacture a fuel for the post-fossil fuel
era, we are in a position to select the best possible fuel. There
2.3. Greenhouse e9ect
are many candidates, such as synthetic gasoline, synthetic
natural gas (methane), methanol, ethanol and hydrogen. The
Greenhouse e3ect (or global climate change) is known as
fuel of choice must satisfy the following conditions [7]:
a rise in the earth’s temperature as a result of emissions of
greenhouse gases. Although the term greenhouse e9ect has • It must be a convenient fuel for transportation.
generally been used for the role of the whole atmosphere • It must be versatile or convert with ease to other energy
(mainly water vapor and clouds) in keeping the surface of forms at the user end.
the earth warm, it has been increasingly associated with the • It must have high utilization e8ciency.
contribution of CO2 (currently, it is estimated that CO2 con- • It must be safe to use.
tributes about 50% to the anthropogenic greenhouse e3ect).
However, several other gases such as CH4 , CFCs, halons, In addition, the resulting energy system must be environ-
N2 O, ozone and peroxyacetylnitrate (so-called: greenhouse mentally compatible and economical.
gases) produced by the industrial and domestic activities Veziroglu and Barbir [8] also pointed out that hydrogen is
can also contribute to this e3ect, resulting in an increase in the best fuel, particularly for transportation based on the fol-
the earth’s temperature (Fig. 3). lowing criteria: versatility, utilization e8ciency and safety.
Potentially, the most important environmental problem
relating to energy utilization is the greenhouse e3ect, also
known as the global warming. Increasing atmospheric con- 4. Hydrogen
centrations of greenhouse gases are increasing the manner
in which these gases trap heat radiated from the earth’s sur- Unlike most other fuels, hydrogen cannot be produced
face, thereby raising the surface temperature of the earth. directly by digging a mine or drilling a well. It must be
◦
The earth’s surface temperature has increased by about 1 C extracted chemically from hydrogen-rich materials such as
over the last century, and as a consequence sea level is es- natural gas, water, coal, or plant matter. Accounting for the
timated to have risen by perhaps 20 cm. Such changes can energy required for the extraction process is critical in eval-
have wide-ranging e3ects on human activities all over the uating any hydrogen use option. The current hydrogen pro-
world. duction techniques include steam reforming of natural gas,
Recently, a large number of potential solutions to these cleanup of industrial by-product gases, and electrolysis of
environmental problems associated with the harmful pollu- water. A number of other technologies are being studied,
particularly in developed countries, including several that • convince government decision makers to provide steadily
produce hydrogen from water or biomass using solar or other increasing support for hydrogen and fuel cell development
renewable energy. programs in the near-term, with the realization that these
At present, fuel hydrogen is mostly distributed in tankers technologies will eventually become economically viable
as a cryogenic liquid. Expanded use would probably be the on a broad scale without any government support;
mean distribution in pipelines as a gas, but few hydrogen • help guide hydrogen energy investment choices by gov-
pipelines now exist and any large-scale distribution system ernment agencies in the industrialized world, including
would also require techniques for bulk storage. choices by the U.S. Department of Energy;
In the USA today, the only major non-experimental user • help convince other key players (such as state and local
of hydrogen as a fuel is the space program, for propulsion o8cials, building inspectors, the insurance industry, the
and as an on-board source of electricity. Aircraft applications investment industry, and the public at large) that the hy-
have been widely studied, particularly for supersonic and drogen energy industry is safe, economical, and sustain-
hypersonic planes. Cars, trucks, and buses can burn pure able; and
hydrogen in an internal combustion engine, use it in a fuel • encourage other companies and organizations to join the
cell to drive an electric motor, or burn a hydrogen-containing NHA.
mixture to reduce the environmentally harmful emissions
from another fuel [9]. The above commercialization plan begins by identifying
The idea of using hydrogen as a fuel has been around for the most likely early markets for hydrogen as an energy
many years. As early as 1874, a character in Jules Verne’s carrier, and sets realistic near-term and mid-term goals for
novel The Mysterious Island suggested that when fossil fuel selected market penetration. The plan outlines the major
supplies run out, hydrogen “will furnish an inexhaustible barriers to achieving those goals and recommends activities
source of heat and light”. So far, however, this idea has to capitalize on the incentives and overcome the market
generated much research but little commercial application. barriers.
In the USA, a serious hydrogen commercialization plan
is underway and is one major tool needed to implement the
U.S. National Hydrogen Association (NHA) mission state- 5. Technical aspects of hydrogen energy
ment: “: : :to foster the development of technologies and their
utilization in industrial and commercial applications and pro- 5.1. Hydrogen energy production
mote the transition role of hydrogen in the energy @eld”. The
hydrogen commercialization plan is a living document to be Although hydrogen is the universe’s most abundant ele-
revised and expanded over the coming years as more and ment, it is present in the atmosphere only in concentrations
better information becomes available about new technolo- of less than one part per million. Most of the Earth’s hy-
gies and the growing market for hydrogen energy systems. drogen is bound up in chemical compounds. Hydrogen for
The primary objective of the plan is to obtain commitments large-scale use should therefore be extracted from a source
from both industry and government to begin implementing such as water, coal, natural gas, or plant matter. It cannot
the hydrogen energy industry. Such joint commitment will simply be produced from a mine or a well. Since consider-
require an economically and technically feasible road map able energy is consumed in the extraction process, hydrogen
on how to get from here to there. Industry must be con- should properly be considered an energy carrier rather than
vinced that it can eventually make a return on investments an energy source; the energy released when it is @nally used
in hydrogen technology. Government should be convinced is just the energy that was invested in its original manufac-
that its investments will leverage larger societal bene@ts in ture (minus any losses). Recognizing this fact is of critical
the form of reduced health costs, reduced oil imports, and importance. Any analysis of how hydrogen is to be used
improved international competitiveness over time. In short, must also consider how the hydrogen is to be produced. A
the hydrogen commercialization plan should point to a cred- variety of alternative hydrogen energy production technolo-
ible bene@t=cost ratio for all participants. In summary, the gies are available in practice, including [9]:
plan will be used to [10]:
• Steam reforming. Steam reforming is a chemical process
that makes hydrogen from a mixture of water and a hydro-
• identify unique niche market opportunities where hydrocarbon feedstock, usually a fossil fuel. The most common
gen is economical now, or nearly so, with growth poten- feedstock is natural gas, consisting primarily of methane.
tial toward longer-term goals; When steam and methane are combined at high pressure
• convince appropriate companies, both members and non- and temperature, a chemical reaction converts them into
members of the NHA, to make investments in hydro- hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The energy content of the
gen development, demonstration, and commercialization hydrogen produced is actually higher than that of the nat-
projects, with industry paying an increasing share of the ural gas consumed, but considerable energy is required
cost as each technology approaches market viability; to operate the reformer, so the net conversion e8ciency
is typically only about 65%. Hydrogen produced by this Photoprocesses are a major component of current hydro-
technique can cost as little as 65 a=kg. gen research programs.
• O9-gas cleanup. After steam reforming, the next most • Thermochemical process. This process uses heat to split
common source of hydrogen at present is the cleanup of in- water into hydrogen and oxygen. The conceptually sim-
dustrial o3-gases. Numerous industries give o3 high con- plest version of this technique is direct thermal conver-
centrations of hydrogen in their waste streams petroleum sion, i.e. heating water to extreme temperatures, perhaps
re@neries, blast furnaces, and some chemical plants, for 3400 K. Owing to the high temperatures required, how-
example. Collecting and purifying these gases is often ever, direct thermal conversion is as yet impractical out-
cost-e3ective, with costs typically ranging between 80 and side the laboratory. Chemical reactions can be employed
120 a=kg. Most o3-gas hydrogen is used on-site by the to reduce the required temperature. Various alternatives
industry that produces it, so although o3-gas cleanup is have been studied, often involving complex multistep pro-
an important feature of today’s market, it seems unlikely cesses. Hybrid techniques that incorporate electrolysis into
that it could be expanded enough to meet the increased one or more of the reaction steps are under investigation.
demand that would result from widespread use of hydro- There has been little recent work available on thermo-
gen as a fuel. chemical techniques.
• Electrolysis. Electrolysis means passing an electrical cur- • Radiolysis. This process is the splitting of water molecules
rent through water to split individual water molecules into by collisions with high-energy particles produced in a nu-
their constituent hydrogen and oxygen. Energy losses dur- clear reactor. Since the hydrogen and oxygen atoms thus
ing this process are relatively modest: 65% energy e8- produced quickly recombine to produce water again, ra-
ciency is common, and state-of-the-art large electrolyz- diolysis would probably be only about 1% e8cient. Most
ers can be 80 –85% e8cient. Electrolysis has captured experts agree that radiolysis is less promising than other
considerable attention, even though it accounts for only techniques.
a small fraction of current hydrogen production, because • Solar hydrogen. In this original and simplest form of hy-
it is a clean process and water is abundant. At present, drogen energy production, the solar hydrogen scenario
however, the technique is only used at relatively small envisions producing electricity from sunlight using pho-
plants, with a cost of 2.40 –3:60 $=kg of hydrogen pro- tovoltaic cells, electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen,
duced. This high cost is expected to limit electrolysis to and substituting this hydrogen for the oil and other fos-
niche markets in the near and mid-term. In the long term, sil fuels in general use today. The term is now often used
could electrolysis become more competitive? At present, more broadly to include electrolysis based on other re-
natural gas reforming is more than 3 times more en- newable sources of electricity, such as wind. This idea
ergy e8cient than electrolysis if fossil-source electricity is has received considerable attention largely because of the
used. environmental bene@ts of using hydrogen instead of fos-
• Photoprocess. Photoprocesses use the energy and other sil fuels. It also addresses two barriers to the ultimate
special properties of light (usually sunlight) to produce achievement of large-scale use of solar energy: that solar
hydrogen from either water or biomass. There are three electricity cannot be used directly for non-electric appli-
broad categories of photoprocess. Photobiological tech- cations, such as combustion engines, and that electricity
niques are based on the photosynthesis cycle used by is di8cult and expensive to store.
plants and by some bacteria and algae. The e8ciency of • Partial oxidation of hydrocarbons. Hydrogen may be
photobiological hydrogen production is only 1–5%, but formed from the noncatalytic partial oxidation (i.e., gasi-
researchers hope to increase it to 10% or more. Photo- @cation) of hydrocarbons such as residual oil. Any hy-
chemical processes mimic natural photosynthesis using drocarbon feedstock that can be compressed or pumped
synthetic molecules. This technique is only about 0.1% may be used in this technology. However, the overall ef-
e8cient now, but could in principle be much improved. @ciency of the process (50%) is less than that for SMR
Photoelectrochemical techniques use layers of semicon- (65 –75%) and pure oxygen is required [11]. Two com-
ductor material separated by water. When exposed to light, mercial technologies for this conversion are available: the
the semiconductor layers produce an electrical voltage Texaco gasi@cation process and the Shell gasi@cation pro-
that splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The best cess [12].
prototypes yet demonstrated in the laboratory are about
13% e8cient, but the maximum theoretical e8ciency is There are also some other hydrogen production technolo-
believed to be more than 35%. It has been estimated that gies, such as:
an e8ciency in the @eld of 10 –15% might be econom-
ical, but such estimates depend strongly on projections
of equipment costs. Note that since all these photopro- • thermal decomposition of hydrocarbon fuels,
cesses use light as their primary energy source, their e8- • thermocatalytic CO2 -free production of hydrogen from
ciencies should not be used directly in cost comparisons hydrocarbon fuels,
with processes that use hydrocarbon fuels or electricity. • superadiabatic decomposition of hydrogen sul@de,
• autothermal reforming (combining partial oxidation and some other technique is essential for a practical vehicle. So
steam reforming), far, storage requirements tend to severely limit range. Dur-
• sorption enhanced reaction process (SERP), ing the past two decades, several techniques have been stud-
• production of hydrogen from biomass-derived liquids, ied to overcome this problem. The four main contenders are
• photoelectrochemical hydrogen production, compressed gas, cryogenic liquid, metal hydride, and carbon
• biological H2 from fuel gases and from H2 O, adsorption. Of these, the @rst two appear most promising for
• two-phase photobiological algal H2 -production system, the short-term. Metal hydrides are also relatively mature, but
• H2 production from glucose-6-phosphate. require further R&D to be competitive. Carbon adsorption
is not yet a mature technique, but it appears very promising
Most of the above listed methods are at developmental stage. if R&D goals can be met. Glass microspheres and onboard
partial oxidation reactors are currently under investigation,
5.2. Hydrogen storage but as yet are “insu8ciently characterized for evaluation at
the systems level”. It is likely that di3erent techniques will
5.2.1. Bulk storage in distribution system turn out to be most appropriate for di3erent applications
It is expected that any large-scale hydrogen distribution (buses are less size-sensitive than cars, for example) [9].
system should address the problem of bulk storage, to pro-
vide a bu3er between production facilities and Iuctuations • Compressed gaseous hydrogen storage is at room tem-
in demand. Low-cost and e8cient bulk storage techniques perature in a high-strength pressure tank. Including the
are a major research goal. One can store hydrogen as either weight of the tank, compressed gas storage holds about
a gas or a liquid. The most widely studied options for stor- 1–7% hydrogen by weight, depending on the type of tank
ing gaseous hydrogen are underground caverns and depleted used. Lighter, stronger tanks, capable of holding more hy-
underground natural gas formations. Although hydrogen is drogen with less weight, are more expensive. Compress-
more prone to leak than most other gases, leakage is shown ing the hydrogen gas at the @lling station requires about
not to be a problem for these techniques. For example, town 20% as much energy as is contained in the fuel.
gas (a mixture containing hydrogen) has been stored suc- • Cryogenic liquid storage is at 20 K in a heavily insulated
cessfully in a cavern in France, and helium, which is even tank at ordinary atmospheric pressure. As a liquid, hydro-
more leak-prone than hydrogen, has been stored in a de- gen contains almost 3 times more energy than an equal
pleted natural gas @eld near Amarillo, Texas. The energy weight of gasoline, and takes up only about 2.7 times as
consumed in pumping gas in and out of such storage fa- much space for an equal energy content. Including the tank
cilities may be signi@cant, however. Above-ground storage and insulation, this technique can hold as much as 16%
tanks at high pressure are another option. hydrogen by weight. Furthermore, liquefaction at the @ll-
A certain amount of gaseous storage can be achieved ing station requires about 40% as much energy as is con-
by allowing modest pressure changes in the distribution tained in the fuel. Another disadvantage is the so-called
pipeline system. In the case of natural gas, this technique is “dormancy problem”: despite the insulation, some heat
used to help manage transient demand Iuctuations, such as leaks into the tank, eventually boiling o3 the hydrogen. A
the morning and evening peaks in residential demand in ur- “cryopressure” system stores liquid hydrogen in a pressure
ban areas. Though the same technique might be useful for vessel like that used for compressed gaseous storage, al-
hydrogen, its potential is limited, particularly if the hydro- lowing containment of the boiled-o3 gas. This helps with
gen is to be produced from intermittent sources such as solar dormancy, but increases weight and size.
or wind. • Metal hydride systems store hydrogen in the interatom
Storage in liquid form uses tanks similar to those used for spaces of a granular metal. Various metals can be used.
liquid hydrogen distribution. For example, Kennedy Space The hydrogen is released by heating. Metal hydride sys-
Center uses a 3217 m3 sphere near the launch pad, and can tems are reliable and compact, but can be heavy and ex-
transfer fuel from this tank to the space shuttle at up to 38 m3 pensive. Varieties now under development can store about
per minute. Storage at lique@er plants is in vacuum-insulated 7% hydrogen by weight. Unlike the compressed gas and
spherical tanks that usually hold about 1514 m3 [9]. The cryogenic liquid techniques, metal hydrides require little
energy required for liquefaction may not be a barrier if the or no “overhead” energy when refueling. They do require
hydrogen is to be transported as a liquid anyway, or if the energy to release the fuel, however. For low-temperature
end-use application requires its fuel to be in liquid form. varieties this energy may be available as waste heat from
the fuel cell or engine. For high-temperature varieties,
5.2.2. Hydrogen storage in end use which tend to be the less expensive ones, as much as half
The di8culty of onboard storage is the main barrier to of the vehicle’s energy consumption may go to releasing
fueling vehicles with hydrogen. Because it is a gas, hydro- the fuel from the metal.
gen at room temperature and pressure takes up about 3000 • The carbon adsorption technique stores hydrogen under
times more space than an energy equivalent amount of gaso- pressure on the surface of highly porous superactivated
line. This obviously means that compression, liquefaction, or graphite. Some varieties are cooled, others operate at room
temperature. Current systems store as much as 4% hy- The physical properties of hydrogen make its safety char-
drogen by weight. It is hoped to increase this e8ciency acteristics rather di3erent from those of other fuels. Its low
to about 8%, even for the room temperature variety. Car- density means that it tends to rise and disperse into the atmo-
bon adsorption is very similar to compressed gas storage sphere in the event of a leak, rather than remaining in a “pud-
except that the pressure tank is @lled with graphite; the dle” near the ground. This increases safety in well-ventilated
graphite adds some weight but allows more hydrogen to applications. Its low density also means that a hydrogen ex-
be stored at the same pressure and tank size. plosion releases less energy in a given volume than an ex-
• Glass microspheres are small, hollow, glass micro-balloons plosion of other fuels, and compared to gasoline or natural
whose diameters vary from about 25 to 500 m, and gas, hydrogen requires much higher concentrations in the
whose wall thicknesses are about 1 m. They can be air to produce an explosion rather than just a Iame. Further-
used in large beds to store hydrogen at high pressures. more, hydrogen’s low ignition temperature and Iammabil-
The microspheres are @lled with hydrogen gas at temper- ity over a wide range of concentrations make leaks a sig-
◦
atures of 200 – 400 C. The high temperature makes the ni@cant @re hazard, especially in con@ned spaces such as a
glass walls permeable, and the gas @lls the spheres. Once garage. Because it is clear and odorless, leaking hydrogen
the glass is cooled to room temperature, the hydrogen is is also more likely to go undetected than a leak of gasoline
trapped inside the spheres. The hydrogen can be released or most other fuels. Even the Iame of burning hydrogen is
as needed by heating the spheres. The spheres can also invisible. Techniques of leak detection have been and con-
be crushed to release hydrogen. This option precludes tinue to be an R&D priority. A simple approach is to add an
sphere recycling, but is desirable for applications where odorant like that added to natural gas, or possibly a colorant,
weight is important. or both. Any addition may detract somewhat from the envi-
• Onboard partial oxidation reactor is a concept proposed to ronmental cleanliness inherent to pure hydrogen, however,
help bring about a transition from conventional automo- and additives would need to be chosen with care to avoid
biles to cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells. First, a shift destroying other important features. For example, contam-
would be made from the internal combustion engine to the inants may reduce the e8ciency and=or lifetime of a fuel
fuel cell using a conventional hydrocarbon fuel such as cell.
gasoline or diesel coupled to an on-board partial oxidation As with most fuels, the @re and explosion hazards
process and a water gas shift reaction process. The par- discussed above are the main safety concerns. In some
tial oxidation process yields 30% hydrogen gas directly situations, there may be other safety issues, for example in
and 20% carbon monoxide. Then, the carbon monoxide is applications that involve hydrogen storage under high pres-
chemically reacted with steam to produce additional hy- sure or at extreme low temperatures. These problems can
drogen and carbon dioxide gas, which is readily usable by be minimized with proper equipment design and operating
a hydrogen fuel cell. This fossil-to-hydrogen fuel system procedures, however, and are generally agreed to be of less
would be used as a “bridge” until R&D yields a com- concern than hydrogen’s Iammability.
mercially ready advanced hydrogen storage system or a
suitable hydrogen carrier. 5.4. Economics of hydrogen energy
• Other techniques are still in the early stages of develop-
ment. One uses powdered iron and water. At high tem- Hydrogen is currently more expensive than other fuel
peratures these react to produce rust and hydrogen. Other options, so it is likely to play a major role in the economy
methods are similar to the metal hydride option, but sub- only in the long term, if technology improvements succeed
stitute certain liquid hydrocarbons (also known as “recy- in bringing down costs. Higher prices for fossil fuels would
clable liquid carriers”) or other chemicals for the metal. not necessarily make hydrogen more cost-competitive in the
short term. Since fossil fuels are currently the main source
of heat, feedstock, and electricity for hydrogen production
5.3. Safety plants, rising prices for gas, oil, or coal would also drive
up the price of hydrogen. Since hydrogen can be produced
Hydrogen is intrinsically no more dangerous than many in many di3erent ways, from many di3erent sources, most
other fuels. Its di3erent characteristics require di3erent hydrogen-related international commerce is likely to be not
safety equipment and procedures, but all fuels have some of fuel but of technology: plant components, engineering
potential for accidents; if they did not burn, they would services, construction know-how, and so on. These areas
not be much use as a fuel. Hydrogen is already routinely could potentially represent new export markets.
and safely used worldwide in the petroleum and chemical
industries and elsewhere. It was also routinely used in the
USA as a fuel (a component of “town gas”) before natural 6. Environmental aspects of hydrogen energy
gas became widely available. Town gas is still used in some
countries. Moreover, hydrogen ranks between propane and The use of hydrogen as a fuel is inherently very clean.
methane (natural gas) in safety. Hydrogen consumed by either combustion or a fuel cell
produces only water as an end product. The high tempera- • When fossil fuels burn, they emit a cocktail of toxic pol-
tures involved in combustion may stimulate some NOx pro- lutants that damage the environment and people’s health.
duction from nitrogen and oxygen in the air, but this problem • World oil production will decline in the next 10 –20 years
is familiar from other fuels and can be controlled. Unlike and dependence on a few energy-rich nations will signif-
other fuels, hydrogen contains no other pollutant-producing icantly increase. Energy security and price will be threat-
elements, so it has no potential to produce SO2 , CO, CO2 , ened.
volatile organic chemicals, etc. • Deregulation of the electricity supply industry is changing
The environmental consequences of hydrogen production the market. New companies are entering the market of-
should also be considered, however. As mentioned above, fering energy services based on distributed on-site power
production from fossil fuel feedstocks by steam reforming generation. This segment of the energy market is likely to
leads to carbon dioxide emissions greater than those from grow rapidly and utilities will have to adapt to the oppor-
simply using the feedstock itself as a fuel. Steam reformers tunity and challenge.
should also somehow dispose of feedstock impurities such
as sulfur. Electrolysis is responsible for the emissions of The market for automotive power and stationary gener-
whatever power plants are used to generate the needed elec- ation conversion equipment is the largest market for capi-
tricity. Production of hydrogen from sustainably harvested tal equipment in the world. Fuel cells and fuel-cell-powered
biomass, solar energy, or other renewable sources might vehicles will be an economic growth leader in the coming
considerably reduce production emissions, but (as described decades securing high-quality employment for many thou-
above) these techniques are not yet fully developed. sands of people.
The U.S. Department of Energy (has examined the
full-cycle environmental e3ects of various scenarios for 7.1. Utilization of fuel cells
hydrogen production and use. It concludes that “substantial
emissions can be generated when hydrogen is produced Fuel cell technology is clean, quiet and Iexible one and
from certain energy sources”, namely fossil fuels. Thus, the is already beginning to serve humanity in a variety of useful
technique of hydrogen production remains crucial. ways. But production volume is low and costs are too high.
Public support is needed to help generate initial demand to
break this cycle.
7. Fuel cells as hydrogen energy systems
Fleet vehicles, in particular urban transit buses, represent
an early entry route into the transportation market. This is
Fuel cells power generation is not a new idea. The prin-
due to several factors: conventional buses are signi@cant
ciple was discovered over 160 years ago by a Welsh judge,
sources of noxious emissions in urban areas; central fuelling
Sir William Grove. Until recently, their use was con@ned to
depots will facilitate the use of hydrogen; and, fuel cell buses
the laboratory and to space applications where they provide
are expected to have lower maintenance and operating costs.
electricity, heat and water, and have done so since the 1960s
Several fuel cell buses have been demonstrated in pub-
when they were chosen over riskier, less reliable options.
lic transport systems, particularly in the USA. An event
But the technology was immature and far too expensive for
of special signi@cance occurred on 16 March 1998, when
terrestrial applications.
fare-paying passengers in Chicago boarded the world’s @rst
Recently, interest in fuel cells has increased sharply and
fuel cell bus to enter revenue service. Compressed hydro-
progress towards commercialization has accelerated. Today,
gen fuels the engine, providing a range of about 250 miles.
practical fuel cell systems are becoming available and are
The bus has equivalent performance to a conventional diesel
expected to take a growing share of the markets for auto-
without the growling engine and unhealthy emissions.
motive power and generation equipment once costs fall to
Hydrogen fuel cell buses are now su8ciently technically
competitive levels.
advanced to enter the market but extensive @eld demonstra-
On 26 July 1996 the London Financial Times stated that
tion and Ieet testing is required to prove performance and
“: : : recent progress in cutting the costs and improving the
build con@dence in the technology.
performance of fuel cells has been so rapid that there really
Light-duty automotive applications are by far the largest
does seem to be a good prospect of the technology going
market opportunity available to fuel cell technology and
into mass production as a clean energy source in the next
have been the focus of intense development e3ort. All major
century, both for moving vehicles and for stationary power
automakers now have fuel cell vehicle programs. Most have
generation”. Since then the pace of development has further
either launched prototype cars or announced their intention
accelerated.
to do so. Some examples are as follows. A major milestone
Commercialization is being driven by four major chal-
was achieved on 17 March 1999 with the launch of a pro-
lenges that fuel cells are uniquely able to address [13]:
totype fuel cell car, based on the sub-compact Mercedes
• Build-up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is A-class. Described as the @rst viable fuel cell car, Necar IV
leading to global warming with unpredictable but poten- demonstrated that fuel cell technology had advanced to the
tially catastrophic consequences. point where it met the high performance and compact size
needed for automobile propulsion (the complete fuel cell en-

gine and components are all contained in the double-skinned
Ioor). The car’s energy e8ciency is reported to be close
to double that of the diesel version. Liquid hydrogen tanks
provide a range of 280 miles.
Recently, Daimler–Chrysler has indicated that the tech-
nology has the possibility to be maintenance free and that
mass-produced fuel cell cars are expected in 2004. GM,
Ford, Toyota, Nissan and Honda have already targeted sim-
ilar dates.
7.2. Bene=ts of fuel cells
Fuel cells are considerably e8cient power producers and

create electricity in one simple step, with no moving parts
and (at least in the case of PEMFC) at a very low tempera- Fig. 4. Operation of a fuel cell, converting hydrogen and oxygen
ture. (Compare this to the combustion process employed by (from the air) into electricity, water and heat.
traditional power plants: a fuel is burned at high temperature
to create heat, the heat energy is then converted to mechan-
ical energy and that mechanical energy is @nally converted natural gas and coal, and renewables such as biomass or,
into electricity.) through electrolysis, wind and solar energy.
Since fuel cells do not combust fossil fuels, they are • Fuel cells o9er utilities the opportunity to provide cus-
known as clean power producers, they emit none of the acid tomers with an added value energy service that is not
rain or smog producing pollutants that are the inevitable subject to the same competitive or regulatory pressures as
by-product of burning coal or oil or natural gas. exist for conventional electric supply and will be able to
Furthermore, fuel cells provide a range of critical bene@ts do so at overall lower cost.
that no other single power technology can match [13].
7.3. Principle of fuel cell operation
• A fuel cell converts the chemical energy of hydrogen
and oxygen directly to produce water, electricity, and In principle, a fuel cell operates like a battery. Unlike
heat. They are therefore inherently clean and e8cient and a battery, it does not run down or require recharging, and
are uniquely able to address the issues of environmental produces energy in the form of electricity and heat as long
degradation and energy security. They are also safe, quiet as fuel is supplied. The fuel cell converts chemical energy
and very reliable. directly into electricity without combustion by combining
• Fed with pure hydrogen, they produce zero emissions of oxygen from the air with hydrogen gas. It produces electric-
carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen or any other pollutant. ity as long as fuel, in the form of hydrogen, is supplied. The
Even if fed with fossil fuels as a source of hydrogen, only by-products are water and heat (Fig. 4). No pollutants
noxious emissions are orders of magnitude below those are produced if pure hydrogen is used. However, very low
for conventional equipment. levels of nitrogen oxides are emitted, but usually in the un-
• They o9er signi=cant improvements in energy e>ciency detectable range. The carbon dioxide emissions which come
as they remove the intermediate step of combustion and out from the electrochemical conversion are relatively low
mechanical devices such as turbines and pistons. Unlike because of high e8ciency, and are in concentrated form,
conventional systems, they operate at high e8ciency at facilitating capture hydrogen can be produced from water
part load. Also, unlike conventional plants, their high e8- using renewable solar, wind, hydro or geothermal energy.
ciency is not compromised by small sizes. High e8ciency Hydrogen also can be extracted from anything that con-
saves fuel and reduces CO2 emissions. tains hydrocarbons, including gasoline, natural gas, biomass,
• Fuel cell power plants have demonstrated unprecedented land@ll gas, methanol, ethanol, methane and coal-based gas.
reliability and durability that is signi@cantly better than
conventional equipment. The absence of combustion and 7.4. Types of fuel cells
moving parts means that fuel cells can run continuously
for long periods before servicing and they are far less Fuel cells sound are an e8cient, nonpolluting power
prone to breakdown. source that produce no noise and have no moving parts. But
• They promote energy security and will assist the tran- such cells not only exist, they have been providing electric-
sition to renewable energy sources. Fuel cells can use ity on spacecraft since the 1960s. In more down-to-earth
hydrogen derived from a variety of sources, including applications, they could be used as electricity-generating
plants or as a power source for nearly exhaust-free auto-

mobiles. The main sticking point is the high cost of manu-
facturing the devices, which has largely limited them to a
handful of exotic applications. Now falling prices and new
technologies suggest that the fuel cell’s day may @nally
have arrived. In fuel cells, like in batteries, silent reactions
produce an electric current. Unlike batteries, however, fuel
cells are almost endlessly rechargeable. The cells run on
hydrogen, which reacts with oxygen from the air in such a
way that a voltage is generated between two electrodes; the
reactions occur in a chemical mediator known as an elec-
trolyte. (Some designs consume hydrogen directly; others
start with natural gas that is converted to hydrogen before
entering the cell.) Compared with conventional fossil-fuel
power sources, fuel cells are exceptionally clean and e8- Fig. 5. A commercial ONSI PAFC [4].
cient. Practically their only waste product is water; natural
gas-fueled cells do produce some carbon dioxide as well,
though less than would be created if the fuel were burned. Phosphoric acid-based cells tend to be heavy, which
The type of fuel cell is typically distinguished by makes them less than ideal for use in vehicles. Other com-
the electrolyte that is utilized and can be classi@ed panies are developing cells that are speci@cally designed
into two main categories, based on their operating tem- for that purpose.
peratures, such as low-temperature fuel cells (e.g., 60 (b) Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs). MCFCs are a
◦
–250 C) and high-temperature fuel cells (e.g., 600 – type of direct fuel cell that eliminates external fuel proces-
◦
1000 C). Low-temperature fuel cells have made signi@cant sors. Methane (the main ingredient of natural gas) and steam
progress in transportation applications due to their quick are converted into a hydrogen-rich gas in the reforming an-
start times, compact volume and lower weight compared ode or in a reforming chamber, which are part of the fuel cell
to high-temperature fuel cells. The common types of stack. The fuel cell stack comprises two porous electrodes
low-temperature fuel cells are proton exchange membrane in contact with a molten salt of lithium–potassium carbon-
◦
fuel cells, phosphoric acid fuel cells, alkaline fuel cells, ate (LiKCO3 ). It operates at approximately 650 C. At the
unitized regenerative fuel cells, direct methanol fuel cells. cathode, O2 and CO2 are converted into carbonate ions. The
The high-temperature fuel cells are more e8cient than electrolyte allows carbonate ions to migrate to the anode.
low-temperature ones in generating electrical energy. Also, At the anode, hydrogen reacts with carbonate ions to form
they provide high-temperature waste heat which is a ben- water and CO2 , and two electrons are released. Connecting
e@t in stationary cogeneration applications, but presents a the two electrodes through an external circuit completes the
problem for transportation applications. Two common ones Iow of electrons to generate DC electricity. MCFC plants
are molten carbonate fuel cells and solid oxide electrolyte can achieve an electric e8ciency of 50%, which is consid-
fuel cells. All these are explained below: erably higher than that of a PAFC plant.
(a) Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs). PAFCs are the Fig. 6 shows a MCFC system compatible with
most mature fuel cell technology and are commercially coal-gasi@cated fuel, and is suited for large-sized applica-
available now in sizes ranging from 200 kW to 11 MW. This tions. There are plans to develop a 1000 kW class power
type of fuel cell has been operating successfully in Japan for generation system by 1997 [14,15]. Improvement of the
several years. Current phosphoric-acid fuel cell design has performance, extension of the service life and reduction of
an electrical conversion e8ciency of 41%. Major improve- the cost will be the priority themes for future development
ments await in the areas of capital cost reduction, stack life programs, including:
extension, and operation=management cost reduction.
Fig. 5 exhibits a PAFC designed and constructed by ONSI • Development of stacks: in connection with the external
Corporation in Windsor, CN. Seventy-four of these units, reforming type fuel cell, a 1000 kW stack will be devel-
each the size of a minivan, are now in operation, often in oped. Small cells will be operated for the study of service
locations such as hospitals and remote hotels where grid life and so on. As for the internal reforming type fuel cell,
power is expensive and reliability is worth a premium. a cell will be improved and operated.
PAFCs use liquid phosphoric-acid as an electrolyte. At • Development of balance of plant and plant system: de-
the anode, hydrogen gas is ionized to produce hydrogen ions velopment of the 1000 kW class power generation system
and electrons. The electrons travel from anode to cathode will be carried out.
through an external circuit. Hydrogen ions travel to the cath- • Support study: technological development of stack
ode through the electrolyte. At the cathode, oxygen reacts materials and development for compatibility with
with the hydrogen ions and the electrons to form water. coal-gasi@cated fuel will be carried out.
the generator, thus eliminating the need for an exter-

nal reformer. Individual cells are bundled into an array
of series-parallel electrically connected cells forming a
semi-rigid structure that comprises the basic generator
building block.
There are several features of SOFC technology that make
it very attractive for utility and industrial applications. One
is high tolerance to fuel contaminants. The high temper-
ature of the reaction does not require expensive catalysts
and permits direct fuel processing in the fuel cells. The
solid oxide electrolyte is very stable. Because no liquid
phases are present in the electrolyte, many of the problems
associated with electrode Iooding, electrolyte migration,
and catalyst wetting are avoided. Cell components of the
solid oxide electrolyte fuel cell can be fabricated into a va-
riety of self-supporting shapes and con@gurations that may
not be feasible with fuel cells employing liquid electrolytes.
Analyses and operations of experimental units have
shown that an SOFC plant can achieve an electric e8ciency
Fig. 6. An MCFC power plant [7]. of 50%. SOFC technology also has very low emissions.
Because sulfur is removed from the fuel, no SOx is emitted.
The gas-impervious electrolyte does not allow nitrogen to
pass from the air electrode to the fuel electrode, hence, the
fuel is oxidized in a nitrogen-free environment, averting the
formation of NOx . The temperatures of exhaust gases are not
high; this also helps reduce NOx . NOx emissions measured
at the testing plant have been fewer than 0:5 ppm [14].
(d) Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs).
These cells (membrane or solid polymer) operate at rela-
◦
tively low temperatures (about 90 C), have high power den-
sity, can vary their output quickly to meet shifts in power
demand, and are suited for applications, particularly for au-
tomobiles (where quick startup is required). According to
the U.S. Department of Energy, “they are the primary can-
didates for light-duty vehicles, for buildings, and poten-
Fig. 7. Zirconia ceramic tubes are the key to Westinghouse Elec-
tially for much smaller applications such as replacements for
tric’s design for a solid oxide fuel cell. Each tube (right) is made
rechargeable batteries”. The proton exchange membrane is a
up of multiple ceramic layers bonded together. Multiple tubes can
be linked (left) to form power modules that can be combined to thin plastic sheet that allows hydrogen ions to pass through
build small generators or larger power plants [14]. it. The membrane is coated on both sides with highly dis-
persed metal alloy particles (mostly platinum) that are ac-
tive catalysts. Hydrogen is fed to the anode side of the fuel
(c) Solid oxide electrolyte fuel cells (SOFCs). SOFCs cell where the catalyst encourages the hydrogen atoms to
utilize a solid oxide, usually doped zirconia, as the elec- release electrons and become hydrogen ions (protons). The
trolyte (see Fig. 7). It operates at atmospheric or elevated electrons travel in the form of an electric current that can be
◦
pressures at a temperature of approximately 1000 C. At this utilized before it returns to the cathode side of the fuel cell
temperature, the electrolyte material becomes su8ciently where oxygen has been fed. Moreover, the protons di3use
conductive to oxide ions. The temperature of exhaust gases through the membrane to the cathode, where the hydrogen
◦
from the cells is 500 –850 C (a temperature which is attrac- atom is recombined and reacted with oxygen to produce wa-
tive for cogeneration applications or for use in bottoming ter, thus completing the overall process.
cycles for all-electric power plants) [14]. Ballard Power Systems in Vancouver, B.C., has for sev-
The SOFC conducts oxygen ions (O2 ) from an air elec- eral years been developing a lightweight PEMFC. Fig. 8
trode (cathode), where they are formed, through a solid shows a hydrogen PEMFC power system, which was devel-
electrolyte to a fuel electrode (anode). There, they react oped as an early version of Ballard’s fuel cell system (for
with CO and H2 contained in the fuel gas to deliver electrons details, see Refs. [16,17]). In place of phosphoric acid, PEM
and produce electricity. Reformation of natural gas or other cells employ a thin polymer membrane as their electrolyte.
fuels containing hydrocarbons can be accomplished within By mid-1997, Ballard is planning to launch pilot Ieets of a
Fig. 8. A schematic of PEMFC system [17].
fuel cell-powered passenger bus in Vancouver and Chicago. the fuel cell. On automobiles and buses two air compressors
The U.S. Department of Transportation is also developing are often used. One is a turbocharger and the second is a
fuel-cell buses. supercharger.
In this category, there is also another type of fuel cell, (e) Unitized regenerative fuel cells (URFCs). If the fuel
polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). The PEFC generally cell is designed to operate also in reverse as an electrolyzer,
◦
operates at 80 C which makes it ideal for small applications then electricity can be used to convert the water back into
and allows reasonably inexpensive materials to be used. Un- hydrogen and oxygen (Fig. 9). This dual-function system
fortunately, such a low temperature is quite near the ambient is known as a reversible or unitized regenerative fuel cell.
temperature which hampers disposing of excess heat. A cat- Lighter than a separate electrolyzer and generator, a URFC
alyst is also required to promote the chemical reaction at the is an excellent energy source in situations where weight is
low temperatures involved. Previously, the platinum cata- a concern.
lysts used in the stack made this type of fuel cell expensive. Mitlitsky et al. [18,19] developed the 50-W prototype
New techniques for coating very thin layers of catalyst on which is a single proton-exchange membrane cell (a poly-
the polymer electrolyte have reduced the cost of the catalyst mer that passes protons) modi@ed to operate reversibly as
to around $150 per automobile. a URFC. It uses bifunctional electrodes (oxidation and re-
The PEFC is particular in that only hydrogen fuel can be duction electrodes that reverse roles when switching from
used in the cell. Hydrocarbon fuels must be reformed care- charge to discharge, as with a rechargeable battery) and
fully. Even small amounts of CO in the cell can poison the cathode-feed electrolysis (water is fed from the hydrogen
catalyst permanently. If a reformer is used, this also requires side of the cell). By November 1996, the prototype had op-
a few minutes warm up time. Stored hydrogen must be used erated for 1700 ten-min charge–discharge cycles, and degra-
in the startup phase. Such problems make the PEFC run- dation was less than a few percent at the highest current
ning on stored hydrogen sound better. A larger manufactur- densities. Testing will continue in a variety of forms. Larger,
ing plant running continuously has a much better chance of more powerful prototypes are expected to increase the size
supplying very pure hydrogen. of the membrane and by stacking multiple fuel cells. For use
Larger than 1 kW PEFCs are generally pressurized to on Helios, a prototype will likely provide 2–5 kW running
increase the chemical reaction at the low temperatures in- on a 24-h charge–discharge cycle.
volved. Air compression to about 3 atm or higher must be In a 1994 study for automotive applications, Livermore
used for the fuel cell to have a reasonable power density. On and the Hamilton Standard Division of United Tech-
small systems this results in a substantial loss of e8ciency. nologies studied URFCs and found that compared with
The air compressors also add considerable complexity to battery-powered systems, the URFC is lighter and provides
made of porous carbon plates which are laced with a cat-

alyst which is a substance that accelerates chemical reac-
tions. The electrolyte is potassium hydroxide. At the anode,
the hydrogen gas combines with hydroxide ions to produce
water vapor. This reaction results in electrons that are left
over. These electrons are forced out of the anode and pro-
duce the electric current. At the cathode, oxygen and water
plus returning electrons from the circuit form hydroxide ions
which are again recycled back to the anode. The basic core
of the fuel cell consisting of the manifolds, anode, cathode
and electrolyte is generally called the stack.
Long used by NASA on space missions, these cells can
achieve power generating e8ciencies of up to 70%. They
use alkaline potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte. Until
recently they were too costly for commercial applications,
but several companies are examining ways to reduce costs
and improve operating Iexibility [20].
(g) Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). These fuel cells
are similar to the PEMFCs in that they both use a poly-
mer membrane as the electrolyte. However, in the DMFC,
the anode catalyst itself draws the hydrogen from the liq-
uid methanol, eliminating the need for a fuel reformer. Ef-
@ciencies of about 40% are expected with this type of fuel
cell, which would typically operate at a temperature between
◦ ◦
50 C and 90 C. Higher e8ciencies are achieved at higher
temperatures.
Fig. 9. Schematic illustration of the electrochemistry of a URFC In summary, there are a number of di3erent types of
[18,19]. In the fuel cell mode, a proton-exchange membrane com- fuel cells which are being developed. The characteristics of
bines oxygen and hydrogen to produce electricity and water. When each type are very di3erent: operating temperature, avail-
the cell reverses operation to act as an electrolyzer, electricity and able heat, tolerance to thermal cycling, power density, tol-
water are combined to produce oxygen and hydrogen. erance to fuel impurities, etc. These di3erences make each
technology suitable for particular applications. They are also
at very di3erent stages of development. Some have not yet
a driving range comparable to gasoline-powered vehicles. fully emerged from the laboratory. Table 1 shows the most
Over the life of a vehicle, they found the URFC would be common fuel cells and their operating temperature ranges
more cost e3ective because it does not require replacement. and applications.
In the electrolysis (charging) mode, electrical power It is the view of the WFCC [13] that all these technolo-
from a residential or commercial charging station supplies gies could achieve signi@cant market shares in competition
energy to produce hydrogen by electrolyzing water. The with conventional alternatives. That is if they become tech-
URFC-powered car can also recoup hydrogen and oxygen nically mature on the one hand, and can be produced at costs
when the driver brakes or descends a hill. This regenera- required to be competitive for their particular application on
tive braking feature increases the vehicle’s range by about the other. Table 2 provides a summary on the status of fuel
10% and could replenish a low-pressure (1:4 MPa) O2 tank cell technologies.
about the size of a football [16].
In the fuel-cell (discharge) mode, stored hydrogen is com-
bined with air to generate electrical power. The URFC can 8. Exergetics
also be supercharged by operating from an oxygen tank in-
stead of atmospheric oxygen to accommodate peak power In a broader perspective (except for the zeroth and third
demands such as entering a freeway. Supercharging allows law of thermodynamics), we can de@ne the thermodynam-
the driver to accelerate the vehicle at a rate comparable to ics as a science of energy and exergy including a number
that of a vehicle powered by an internal-combustion engine. of concepts of temperature, pressure, enthalpy, heat, work,
(f ) Alkaline fuel cells (AFCs). The alkaline hydrogen energy, as well as entropy. Apparently, the @rst law of
oxygen fuel cell, as shown in Fig. 10, is one of the oldest thermodynamics refers to the energy analysis which only
and most simple type of fuel cell. This is the type of fuel identi@es losses of work and potential improvements or the
cell that has been used in space missions for some time. H2 e3ective use of resources, e.g., in an adiabatic throttling
and O2 are used as the fuel and oxidant. The electrodes are process. However, the second law of thermodynamics, i.e.,
Fig. 10. Schematic of an AFC [9].
Table 1
Common fuel cells and their technical detailsa
◦
Type Operation temperature range ( C) Application
Solid oxide (SOFC) 500 –1000 All sizes of CHP
Direct methanol (DMFC) 50 –100 Buses, cars, appliances, small CHP
Polymer electrolyte (PEFC) 50 –100 Buses, cars
Phosphoric acid (PAFC) 200 Medium CHP
Molten carbonate (MCFC) 600 Large CHP
Alkaline (AFC) 50 –250 Space vehicles
a Source: Wiens [21].
Table 2
Status of fuel cell technology developmenta
Application Commercial plant (available from)b Fuel cell typec

• Commercial cogeneration (¡ 5 MW) 1996 Phosphoric acid (PAFC)
• Portable=backup power 1999
• Automotive 2002 Proton exchange membrane (PEMFC)
• Commercial and residential 2003
cogeneration (¡ 500 kW)
• Distributed power=cogeneration 2005

• Industrial cogeneration 2005 Molten carbonate (MCFC) and solid oxide (SOFC)
• Central generation —
a Source: WFCC [13].
b Commercial availability is de@ned as series production of complete system after extensive @eld-testing (¿ 20; 000 h=multiple units) of
early production prototypes.
c Practical, full-scale systems have not been fully demonstrated, projected applications, sizes and availability are therefore speculative.
exergy analysis takes the entropy portion into considera- this, recently, international exergy community has expanded
tion by including irreversibilities. During the past decade greatly.
exergy-related studies have received tremendous amount of The exergy of a quantity of energy or a substance is a mea-
attention from various disciplines ranging from chemical sure of its usefulness, quality or potential to cause change.
engineering to mechanical engineering, from environmen- Exergy appears to be an e3ective measure of the potential
tal engineering to ecology and so on. As a consequence of of a substance to impact the environment. In practice, the
portional to the entropy created due to irreversibilities asso-

ciated with the process. Here, Table 3 clearly compares the
concepts of energy and exergy from di3erent perspectives.
Exergy analysis is a method that uses the conservation
of mass and conservation of energy principles together with
the second law of thermodynamics for the analysis, design
and improvement of energy and other systems. The exergy
method is a useful tool for furthering the goal of more
e8cient energy-resource use, for it enables the locations,
types, and true magnitudes of wastes and losses to be deter-
Fig. 11. The interdisciplinary triangle of exergy.
mined. In general, more meaningful e8ciencies are evalu-
ated with exergy analysis rather than energy analysis, since
author feels that a thorough understanding of what exergy exergy e8ciencies are always a measure of the approach
is, and how it provides insights into the e8ciency and per- to the ideal. Therefore, exergy analysis can reveal whether
formance of energy systems, are required for the engineer or not and by how much it is possible to design more e8-
or scientist working in the area of energy systems and the cient energy systems by reducing the ine8ciencies in exist-
environment. ing systems. Many engineers and scientists suggest that the
Here we also provide some key points to highlight the thermodynamic performance of a process is best evaluated
importance of the exergy and its utilization [2]: It is a pri- by performing an exergy analysis in addition to or in place of
mary tool in best addressing the impact of energy resource conventional energy analysis because exergy analysis ap-
utilization on the environment. pears to provide more insights and to be more useful in ef-
@ciency improvement e3orts than energy analysis. Further
• It is an e3ective method using the conservation of mass discussions of exergy analysis for a large number of pro-
and conservation of energy principles together with the cesses and systems are given elsewhere [22– 44].
second law of thermodynamics for the design and analysis It is extremely important that for exergy analysis, the state
of energy systems. of the reference environment, or the reference state, must
• It is a suitable technique for furthering the goal of more be speci@ed completely. This is commonly done by spec-
e8cient energy-resource use, for it enables the locations, ifying the temperature, pressure and chemical composition
types, and true magnitudes of wastes and losses to be of the reference environment. The results of exergy analy-
determined. ses, consequently, are relative to the speci@ed reference en-
• It is an e8cient technique revealing whether or not and vironment, which in most applications is modelled after the
by how much it is possible to design more e8cient energy actual local environment.
systems by reducing the ine8ciencies in existing systems. The exergy method of evaluating energy systems inte-
• It is a key component in obtaining sustainable develop- grates the @rst and second laws of thermodynamics and par-
ment. ticular environmental conditions. Exergy analysis has been
discussed extensively elsewhere and applied to a wide va-
Under these facts, we earlier introduced a new concept riety of processes [22– 44]. Exergy is de@ned as the maxi-
and de@ned exergy as a distinct discipline, because of its mum work that may be achieved by bringing a system into
interdisciplinary character as the conIuence of energy, equilibrium with its environment. Every substance not in
environment and sustainable development (Fig. 11). En- equilibrium with its environment has some quantity of ex-
ergy production, transformation, transport and use have ergy, while an object or system that is in equilibrium with
important impacts on the earth’s environment. Energy and its environment has, by de@nition, zero exergy since it has
environment policies increasingly play a prominent role no ability to do work with respect to its environment.
in relating to a broad range of local, regional and global
environmental concerns.
10. Exergy analysis of fuel cell systems
9. Exergy and energy A hydrogen fuel cell is a device that converts hydrogen
and oxygen directly into electricity, water and waste heat
Exergy is de@ned as the maximum amount of work which while producing none of the noxious by-products typical
can be produced by a system or a Iow of matter or energy of combustion processes. A single fuel cell is connected in
as it comes to equilibrium with a reference environment. series with other cells in a stack to provide a higher voltage.
Unlike energy, exergy is not subject to a conservation law A basic hydrogen fuel cell power system is comprised of
(except for ideal, or reversible, processes). Rather exergy is this stack together with the required ancillary components
consumed or destroyed, due to irreversibilities in any real to provide the stack with the necessary reactants as well as
process. The exergy consumption during a process is pro- to remove the wastes.
Table 3
The main di3erences between energy and exergy
Energy Exergy
• Is dependent on the parameters of matter or energy • Is dependent both on the parameters of matter or
Iow only, and independent of the environment pa- energy Iow and on the environment parameters.
rameters.
• Has the values di3erent from zero (equal to mc2 in • Is equal to zero (in dead state by equilibrium with
accordance with Einstein’s equation). the environment).
• Is guided by the @rst law of thermodynamics for all • Is guided by the @rst law of thermodynamics for
the processes. reversible processes only (in irreversible processes
it is destroyed partly or completely).
• Is limited by the second law of thermodynamics for • Is not limited for reversible processes due to the
all processes (incl. reversible ones). second law of thermodynamics.
• Is motion or ability to produce motion. • Is work or ability to produce work.
• Is always conserved in a process, so can neither be • Is always conserved in a reversible process, but is
destroyed or produced. always consumed in an irreversible process.
• Is a measure of quantity. • Is a measure of quantity and quality due to entropy.
The fuel cell stack, particularly for a PEMFC is the cen- The gross fuel cell stack power is
tral component of the system — this is where the output •
Wfc = iv: (3)
power is generated and where the electrochemical reaction
of hydrogen and oxygen takes place as follows: Here the exergy of particular Iow in the above equation
H2(g) + 1=2O2(g) → H2 O(l) : (1) consists of two components in terms of thermomechanical
exergy ( tm ) and chemical exergy ( ch ) for a given state as
It is important to mention that humidi@cation cells for hu- follows:
midi@cation of the inlet stream are used to prevent dehydra-
th = (h − h0 ) − T0 (s − s0 ); (4)
tion of the membranes in the fuel cell assembly.
An exergy analysis is similar to an energy analysis, but where kinetic and potential energy e3ects are neglected.
takes into account the quality of the energy as well as the
ch = xj (j0 − j00 ); (5)
quantity. Since it includes a consideration of entropy, ex-
j
ergy analysis allows a system to be analyzed more compre-
hensively by determining where in the system the exergy where xj is the mole fraction of the species j in the Iow, j0
is destroyed by internal irreversibilities, and the causes of is the chemical potential of species j in the Iow evaluated at
those irreversibilities. T0 and P0 ; and j00 is the chemical potential of species j in
The Second Law equations for the system under con- the Iow evaluated in the reference environment (or as if it
sideration were derived from a basic exergy balance. For exists in the reference environment). The chemical potential
any open system at steady state, an equation for the rate of values for most materials can be found in a tabular form in
exergy destruction is some reference books (e.g., Kotas [32]).
• •
I= (1 − T0 =Ti ) Q i − Wnet
i 10.1. For a PEMFC stack
• •
+ (m )in − (m )out ; (2)
in out In the case of the fuel cell stack (see Fig. 8), heat is
• transferred from the stack to the environment, and the work
where Qi is the heat transfer rate crossing the system bound-
• interaction is the gross power produced by the stack. Three
ary at a constant temperature Ti . W net is the net work transfer mass streams Iow in and out of the fuel cell: air, hydrogen,
rate (net power) crossing the system boundary. For a com- and water. For clarity, separate terms are included here to
plete fuel cell system, the net work may be summation of account for the water chemically produced that Iows out
the parasitic loads (works or energies) of various ancillary of the fuel cell, and the chemical exergy of the hydrogen
components (e.g., fuel cell, the water pump, the air com- consumed by the reaction. Thus, the internal irreversibilities
pressor and the radiator fan). of the fuel cell can be written in an expanded form with an
exergy balance as
• • • •
I = (1 − T0 =Tfc ) Q − W + m [( H2 )in ]fc − m [( H2 O )out ]fc
fc fc H2 ;cons H2 O;pr
• • •
+[ m ( in − out )air ]fc + [ m ( in − out )H2 O;recir ]fc + [ m ( in − out )H2 ;recir ]fc ; (6)
air H2 ;recir H2 O;recir
where the mass Iow rate of the water used to hu- tions were made to simplify the analysis of the system,
midify the air and hydrogen streams is assumed to including:
be negligible, and the composition of the exhaust air
from the fuel cell is assumed to be the same as that • The fuel cell system is operating at steady state.
for the inlet air. This simpli@cation will have only • A theoretical amount of hydrogen is required based on the
negligible e3ects on the exergy analysis results pre- current produced (using Faraday’s constant). As well, a
sented subsequently because the Iow rate of humidi- theoretical amount of oxygen can be calculated based on
@cation water is small and it is at near-environmental the required hydrogen. During operation, we assume that
conditions (implying its speci@c exergy is twice the theoretical amount of hydrogen and 1.75 times
small). the theoretical amount of oxygen are supplied to the fuel
In calculating exergy Iow rates for material Iows, cell.
Eq. (4) was used to evaluate thermomechanical exergy and,
if necessary, chemical exergy as given by Eq. (5) was then
10.2.1. Results
added on. Air and hydrogen were treated as ideal gases and
water as an ideal liquid. The chemical exergy values for The exergy analysis of the solid polymer fuel cell sys-
both air and water are negligible [17]. tem has led to a better understanding of the system. Some
Here the exergy of the air into the system is zero of the @ndings obtained from the exergy analysis are sim-
since it is assumed to be at atmospheric conditions. ilar to the @ndings obtained from the @rst law analysis
The composition of air exiting the fuel cell is as- of the same system (e.g. the energy and exergy e8cien-
sumed to be the same as that of the environmen- cies for the overall system are similar), while others are
tal air, even though it is actually depleted in oxy- markedly di3erent (e.g. the locations and causes of the
gen and rich in water vapor due to the chemical re- main energy losses are di3erent than those for the main
action occurring within the fuel cell. This compo- exergy losses). In particular, the exergy analysis has al-
sitional di3erence leads to the exhaust air having lowed for a more accurate and comprehensive quanti@-
a small chemical exergy, which is assumed to be cation of the losses within the system. The main losses
negligible. of exergy within the system are associated with exergy
consumptions (or irreversibilities), and the great major-
ity of exergy losses occur within the fuel cell stack. It is
10.2. Illustrative example 1 hoped that a more accurate fuel cell model that accounts
for mass transport losses can be developed and incorpo-
This example was taken from Cownden et al. [17] to rated into the overall system model so that the causes
highlight some signi@cant exergetic aspects of fuel cells. of the losses can be investigated in more detail, and a
Here are the details on the fuel cell studied [17]: meaningful analysis of the e3ects of varying the operat-
ing parameters in the fuel cell system can be performed.
• The fuel cell is A Ballard MK5 solid polymer, or polymer The model with its exergy analysis capability is expected
electrolyte membrane fuel cell. to provide a powerful tool for the design of fuel cell
• The active cell area is 232:0 cm2 . systems.
• The speci@c chemical exergy of hydrogen is 235:2 kJ=kmol. The speci@c results of the work of Cownden et al. [17]
• The number of cells in the stack: 40. can be summarized as follows:
◦
• The fuel cell operating temperature: 75 C.
• The operating pressure of the fuel cell is varied lin- • The second law system e8ciencies are very similar in
early as a function of current density — from 1:3 atm magnitude to the @rst law e8ciencies obtained from an
at 0:11 amp=cm2 to 3 atm at 1:08 amp=cm2 . Below energy analysis of the same system. It is expected, since
0:11 amp=cm2 ; the operating pressure is equal to 1:3 atm; the chemical exergy of hydrogen is very close to the lower
while above 1:08 amp=cm2 ; it is equal to 3 atm. The heating value that was used in the @rst law analysis of the
exergy analysis methodology was integrated into the system.
existing hydrogen fuel cell performance model, and ap- • Most of the exergy entering the system either is consumed
plied to the system with the fuel cell operating at current by internal irreversibilities or leaves the system with the
densities ranging from 0.054 to 1:29 amp=cm2 . product electricity.
• The environment consists of a gaseous mixture at 1 atm • The largest irreversibilities in the system occur within
and 298:15 K; composed of 79% nitrogen and 21% oxy- the fuel cell itself. For example, at maximum net system
gen, on a volume basis; and of liquid water at 298:15 K. power, 80% of the system irreversibilities occur within
the fuel cell. This result is not surprising, since the fuel
Cownden et al. [17] applied the model to one set of cell is the site of chemical reaction. The irreversibilities
operating conditions, and the e3ect of varying the current in the fuel cell of this model are due only to the activation
density was studied. They made a number of assump- overpotential, the ohmic losses within the fuel cell, and
the pressure drop of the reactant streams passing through

the fuel cell.
• Further losses, due to concentration overpotential at the
electrodes and other mass transport losses within the stack,
are not accounted for here. Mass transport losses become
particularly important in the high current density regime
of the polarization curve, causing the fuel cell voltage
to exponentially decrease to zero at the limiting current Fig. 12. Exergy e8ciency diagram for proposed 30 kW AC power
density. plants operating on hydrocarbon fuel [21].
• The substantial improvements can be made in the perfor-
mance of the fuel cell system. In the fuel cell, which is the
major source of irreversibilities, these could be reduced
primarily by reducing the activation and ohmic overpo- which was taken from Wiens [21] is presented in Fig.
tentials, and mass transport losses. 12. In the @gure, the exergy e8ciencies of three types of
fuel cells are compared when operating on hydrocarbon
10.3. Some additional facts on exergy analysis of fuel cells fuel. The fuel cell process is divided into six subsystems.
In each subsystem there are ine8ciencies involved that
Here, we list some additional facts about exergy analy- reduce the exergy that is left in the system. In all cases,
sis of fuel cells which were summarized from the work of the electricity that is extracted is still considered to be
Standaert [45]: part of the exergy of the system. It appears that the SOFC
30 kW system will have an e8ciency of 1:4 times that of
• Exergy losses in high-temperature fuel cells are small. the PEFC and 1:3 times that of the DMFC. If Fig. 12 is
• Overall e8ciencies bene@t seriously from a reduction in examined in more detail, it is apparent that the SOFC is
the amount of heat transferred in the system. the most e8cient largely because of the low reformer and
• Two fuel cells with di3erent electrolyte, but with equal air pressurization losses. This is because the SOFC can
internal resistances and cell areas, may produce a di3er- reform fuel inside the stack and utilize some of the stack
ent amount of power while converting the same amount waste thermal-energy. Because the PEFC operates at a
of fuel and oxidant. These di3erences in power perfor- lower temperature this is not possible. The SOFC does not
mances are expressed by the reversible e8ciency. At a to- need to operate at higher than ambient air pressure. It only
tal fuel utilization of 80%, the reversible e8ciency of an uses a low-pressure blower to drive air through the cell.
ER-MCFC equals 0.75 (based on a homogeneous oxidant The PEFC runs at a high air pressure. In a small 30 kW
Iow of 70% air and 30% CO2 ). Under the same operat- power plant this pressure-energy cannot be readily recov-
ing conditions (except that pure air with 1% H2 O is sup- ered. The DMFC stack e8ciency is very low, but because
plied), the reversible e8ciency of an ER-PCCFC equals there are no reformer losses and less air pressurization and
0.89. Hence, if both cells operate reversibly, the PCCFC system losses, the @nal e8ciency is still higher than the
generates 100 × (89 − 75)=75 = 19% more power than the PEFC.
MCFC. Consequently, the amount of reversibly generated A more detailed breakdown of the three types of fuel
heat by the MCFC will be relatively large, since both cells cells is summarized in Table 4. In this table, for each
release the same amount of power plus heat. The relatively fuel cell system there are three columns. The system ef-
small heat production of a PCCFC is an extra advantage @ciency shows how e8cient each system is in retaining
with respect to the overall system e8ciency. the exergy. The BEP is the amount of bound-energy pro-
• Under the appropriate operating conditions, fuel cells duced which is equal to the loss of exergy. The ExO is
based on the direct oxidation of alternative fuels (e.g. the amount of exergy output that is passed on to the next
methanol, methane or carbon instead of hydrogen) may subsystem.
have a reversible e8ciency larger than unity. Then heat It can be readily seen why the SOFC is the most desir-
is absorbed and converted into power simultaneously able fuel cell of the three for ultimate e8ciency in a fuel
with the electrochemical conversion of fuel and oxidant. cell gas turbine power plant. Notice that after the electricity
Of course, this happens without violating the second law extraction process in the stack, there are still 82 units of ex-
or Carnot limitation. In principle, fuel cells are very suit- ergy retained in the SOFC. The PEFC has only 51.5 units
able for the conversion of recovery heat from industrial and the DMFC has only 46.8 units.
processes. Not shown, however, is that the PEFC operating at ambi-
ent air pressure and using hydrogen as it is fuel would be the
10.4. Illustrative example 2 most e8cient fuel cell without using a bottoming cycle such
as a gas turbine. It would achieve 57% exergy e8ciency,
In this illustrative example, a comparative illustration while the SOFC would be 53% and the DMFC would be
of the exergy e8ciencies of various types of fuel cells 43%.
Table 4
Exergy e8ciency of subsystems in 30 kW AC power plants operating on hydrocarbon fuela
SOFC PEFC DMFC

Subsystem ex (%) BEP (kW) ExO (kW) ex (%) BEP (kW) ExO (kW) ex (%) BEP (kW) ExO (kW)
Hydrocarbon fuel — — 100.0 — — 100.0 — — 100.0
Reformer=burner 95.0 5.0 95.0 80.0 20.0 80.0 100.0 0.0 100.0
Stack electrical 86.0 14.0 82.0 64.0 28.5 51.5 47.0 53.2 46.8
Stack thermal 0.0 27.0 55.0 0.0 1.5 50.0 0.0 1.4 45.4
Pressurization 98.0 1.0 54.0 78.0 10.8 39.2 90.0 4.6 40.8
System 98.0 1.0 53.0 95.0 2.0 37.2 98.0 0.8 40.0
Inverter 94.0 3.0 50.0 94.0 2.2 35.0 94.0 2.5 37.5b
a Source: Wiens [21].
b Abbrev.: BEP, bound energy produced; ExO, exergy output; , exergy e8ciency of the system (= Exergy output=exergy input).
ex
11. Conclusions [2] Dincer I. Thermodynamics, exergy and environmental impact.

Proceedings of the ISTP-11, the 11th International Symposium
The present study has discussed technical, environmen- on Transport Phenomena, 29 November–3 December 1998,
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Thermodynamic optimization of complex energy systems. The
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can be drawn from this study:
[4] Schmidt DD, Gunderson JR. Opportunities for hydrogen:
• An enhanced understanding of the environmental prob- an analysis of the application of biomass gasi@cation
lems relating to energy use presents a high-priority need to farming operations using microturbines and fuel cells.
and urgent challenge, both to allow the problems to be Proceedings of the 2000 Hydrogen Energy Program Review,
NREL=CP-570-28890.
addressed and to ensure the potential solutions are bene-
[5] Cownden R, Nahon M. Performance modeling and
@cial for the economy and the energy and energy systems
improvements of a solid polymer fuel cell system. Proceedings
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What are some of the technical, environmental and exergetic aspects of hydrogen energy systems discussed in the paper?

What are some of the technical, environmental and exergetic aspects of hydrogen energy systems discussed in the paper?

What are some of the promising applications of hydrogen as an energy carrier mentioned in the paper?

What are some of the promising applications of hydrogen as an energy carrier mentioned in the paper?

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 27 (2002) 265–285

Technical, environmental and exergetic aspects of hydrogen

Keywords: Energy; Environmental impact; Exergy; Fuel cell; Hydrogen energy

1. Introduction a substance or energy form to impact the environment. It is

h speci@c enthalpy, kJ=kg Subscripts and superscripts

Fig. 2. Illustration of sources of natural and anthropogenic ozone

the solution to the issue of acid rain deposition requires an

tant emissions have been worked out, including:

needed for automobile propulsion (the complete fuel cell en-

7.2. Bene=ts of fuel cells

Fuel cells are considerably e8cient power producers and

plants or as a power source for nearly exhaust-free auto-

the generator, thus eliminating the need for an exter-

Fig. 8. A schematic of PEMFC system [17].

made of porous carbon plates which are laced with a cat-

Fig. 10. Schematic of an AFC [9].

Application Commercial plant (available from)b Fuel cell typec

• Distributed power=cogeneration 2005

portional to the entropy created due to irreversibilities asso-

the pressure drop of the reactant streams passing through

SOFC PEFC DMFC

11. Conclusions [2] Dincer I. Thermodynamics, exergy and environmental impact.

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