Scannell.Thompson.wiki.spring.2011

**Where Has All the Oil Gone?**  Fuel unfortunately for us is a non-renewable resource. Because of the rate at which we harvest these non-renewable resources it will ultimately lead to their extinction. Natural resources such as coal, petroleum, oil as well as other natural gases take thousands of years to form naturally and cannot be replaced as fast as they are being consumed.

It is because of this gas and oil prices are alarmingly high. At the present time, the main energy source used by us is non-renewable fossil fuels, which have been in continual use since the 17th century. It cannot be said how much oil, and petroleum is left in the world. This is mainly because OPEC is careful to monitor how much of these resources come out of a given country to be put into the global market. Traditionally, OPEC set limits on how much oil a country produces and sells in order to keep the price higher than it could be in order to keep it from being a truly competitive market. However they did not want it so high as to encourage consumers to develop alternatives. With that being said it is evident that, because we are currently looking to develop alternatives, the competitive market is in trouble, and the end of this resource is to be seen sooner than expected.

What has not been mentioned yet is the effect that burning all this petroleum has on the environment. The emissions from cars contain carbon dioxide which is considered a "gree ﻿ nhouse gas." Carbon dioxide effects our climate in many different ways. The way it works is that certain "greenhouse gases" can't escape from our atmosphere because they get trapped. Even though CO2 is what plants need to create oxygen the ratio at which CO2 is being emitted versus being used is very skewed. This imbalance has begun to catch up with us and is the first to be blamed for global warming.

 On average global demand for oil, currently at more than 80 million barrels per day and climbing, has come closer than ever to exceeding the world’s known production capacity. Between th ﻿ e global oil market failing and the environment failing also, This brings up the question: what are our options?

**What Do We Do Now?** =**Are there any short-term fixes?** = = = The best thing to do for the market and for our wallets is decrease demand and ideally increase supply. However seeing as it is unlikely that world peace will be taking place any time soon the crude oil supplies will continue to remain tight. So for short term fixes the best that we can do as consumers is decrease our demand of this resource.

=**What about long-term fixes?** =

They're the same: increase supply and decrease demand. But with a long term fix in mind there are more opportunities to make this happen. Such as developing oil fields, building new refineries, or something a bit closer to home: replacing gas guzzlers with gas sippers, or replacing fossil fuels entirely.

Types of fuel cell
 This table is taken directly from: []
 * **Fuel cell name** || **Electrolyte** |||| **Status**  ||   ||
 * ** Metal hydride fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">** Aqueous alkaline solution** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Electro-galvanic fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Aqueous alkaline solution** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC)** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Polymer membrane (ionomer)** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Zinc-air battery ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Aqueous alkaline solution** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">** Mass production **  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Microbial fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Polymer membrane or humic acid ** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Upflow microbial fuel cell (UMFC)** ||  |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Regenerative fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Polymer membrane ( ionomer )** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Direct borohydride fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Aqueous alkaline solution** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Alkaline fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Aqueous alkaline solution** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Direct methanol fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Polymer membrane (ionomer)** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Reformed methanol fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Polymer membrane (ionomer)** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Direct-ethanol fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Polymer membrane (ionomer)** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Proton exchange membrane fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Polymer membrane (ionomer)** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** RFC - Redox ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Liquid electrolytes with redox shuttle and polymer membrane (Ionomer)** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Phosphoric acid fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Molten phosphoric acid (H3PO4)** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Molten carbonate fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Molten alkaline carbonate ** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Tubular solid oxide fuel cell (TSOFC)** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**O2--conducting ceramic oxide ** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Protonic ceramic fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**H+-conducting ceramic oxide** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Direct carbon fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Several different** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Planar Solid oxide fuel cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**O2--conducting ceramic oxide ** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Enzymatic Biofuel Cells ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Any that will not denature the enzyme** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Research**  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** Magnesium-Air Fuel Cell ** || <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**salt water** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**Commercial / Research**  ||   ||

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** How 'bout Those Fancy Cars? ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> With the depleting fuel and oil sources worldwide an alternative resource is a must. One of the leading alternatives is using Hydrogen to power cars. Currently it is used in the propulsion of spacecrafts, however it is hoped that it will eventually be mass produced so that hydrogen powered cars be something of the present instead of an idea of the future.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">The automobile industry is pursuing this type of energy along with many other types of alternative energies. The problem with pursuing these types of energies is the cost, right now the companies have not figured out an effective way to produces cars at a price people would pay in a market like today. Ford recently just made a big investment into hydrogen, mean while GM and Nissan just reduced their spending in hydrogen research to produce more "Volt" cars. These companies have the right keys to do this, they are just not using the right doors, If they worked together on this they could figure out a cost effective way to produce these car on a large scale. = = =<span style="color: #1ae01d; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">**Pros** = = = <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**-Can be produced locally, cutting out dependency on imports** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**-Does not create any harmful pollutants or greenhouse gases that can be attributed to causing global warming**: Using hydrogen, the fuel cells only emit water when being used. Even when using hydrocarbon fuels, fuel cells emit considerably less emissions than other combustion based technologies, this is for two reasons. Firstly their higher efficiency means they require less fuel to generate the same energy and secondly because there is no combustion, there are little to no NOx or SOx emissions and no particulate emissions.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**-High Efficiency:** Like all other engines, fuel cells are energy conversion devices. They take stored energy and convert into energy that can be controlled and used as means of powering a mode of transportation. A fuel cell uses an electrochemical reaction to take energy directly in the form of heat and electricity, both of which can be utilised right at the point of generation. Internal combustion engines take the stored energy via a controlled explosive reaction which is used to drive a dynamo which in turn is used to generate electricity. Because fuel cells convert the fuel to energy in one step with out the need for multiple steps, they are able to achieve much higher conversion efficiencies, as mentioned before when all the moving parts of the internal combustion engine are accounted for, this engine turns out being only about 33% effiecient. For example, PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) & SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) have electrical efficiencies up to 60%. Fuel Cell vehicles can be up to 2-3 times more efficient than current gasoline vehicles and can achieve the equivalant of 60-70 miles to the gallon. When asked the National Academies of Science and the NHA's Energy Evolution Study have made it clear that fuel cell vehicles can reduce light duty demand for gasoline to almost nothing by 2050 and reduce CO2 emissions by 80%. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**-Safety:** Hydrogen has been used in multiple industries (hospitals, welding, glass making) for a long time and according to Air Products, it has the best safety record of any industrial gas. Hydrogen is, of course, negatively associated with the Hindenburg disaster, in fact investigations (done by the one and only Jamie and Adam of Mythbusters) have concluded that it was the coating on the airship that ignited and caused the fire. Hydrogen is the lightest of all gases and disperses very quickly. Hydrogen, like natural gas and petrol, is a fuel and will burn, not explode, when ignited. Hydrogen is only explosive when it is able to build up in a enclosed space, which is very difficult as it has a habit of escaping (hydrogen is the smallest element). As long as appropriate safety procedures are followed, as they should with any fuel, hydrogen is a safe fuel.

=<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Cons = = = <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">-**Cost of Hydrogen is currently expensive to produce and only available in a few locations**

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">-**Flamability:** Hydrogen is extremely flammable, as any chemistry student who has ignited hydrogen in a test tube can attest. It takes 14 times less energy to ignite hydrogen than it does to ignite natural gas. Hydrogen does pose an added danger to bystanders or first responders in the event of a fire because a hydrogen flame is virtually invisible in daylight.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">-**Fuel cell vehicles are too expensive to afford by the average consumer**

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**-Hydrogen contains less energy the gas or diesel so time between "fill-ups" are not quite commercialized yet**

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**-Toxicity:** An abundance of gathered hydrogen in areas that are not well ventilated poses an suffocation risk to people in the area. Hydrogen gas is odorless and colorless, and the reaction with oxygen that would turn the free hydrogen into harmless water vapor happens very slowly at standard temperature and pressure. As a result, the free hydrogen creates an oxygen-deficient environment and it can cause headaches, depression of the senses, unconsciousness or even death.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">** How Do They Do It? **

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Typically in a car you will find an internal combustion engine fueled by some sort of petroleum product. It works by converting chemical energy (fuel) into heat energy. the heat energy then expands the compressed air to drive the piston down. Typically a third of this heat goes straight out of the exhaust, which is why the exhaust gets hot. Another third of the heat is absorbed into the engine, hence the need for a cooling system which means that only a third of the heat generated is used to drive the piston down making the internal combustion engine only about 33% efficient. Now when it is broken down that way it is plain to see that although we have been using this system for decades maximum efficiency was not one of the internal combustion engines strong points.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">﻿On average the amount of CO2 that is put out by an internal combustion engine is becoming more and more detrimental to the enviornment:
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Diesel 22.48 lbs /gal CO2
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Gasoline 19.29 lbs /gal CO2
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">E-85 13.69 lbs /gal CO2
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Ethanol 12.64 lbs /gal CO2

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Primarily the internal combustion engine through used of gasoline has been the main mode of transportation from getting from point A to point B. Burning fuel this way has been the most logical since the creation of automobiles. The reward was far great than the risk and there was really no question of other options at the time. Today, however, it seems that the risk has surpassed the reward and what we are risking is our planet.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em;">What is happening? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em;">When the cell burns the hydrogen it reacts with oxygen(O2) to form H20 and heat, it also produces small amounts of nitrogen oxide. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em;">However it is not as simple as it sounds, to get pure hydrogen it takes energy to manufacturer it. Once it is made it is an "energy carrier", the energy is eventually delivered as heat when the hydrogen is burned. The flame produced from the hydrogen is a "radiant emission" from the new formed water molecules. The water is in a "excited state" initially, then transitions to a "ground state" this transition releases thermal radiation. When it burns in the air the temp. is roughly 2000°C. Hydrogen fuel can power anything with an electric motor i.e cars, planes, boats and even home appliances. What makes this a good alternative energy to pursue is that it only burns water which is safe to humans and the atmosphere. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em;"> At the gas pressure that hydrogen is typically stored, hydrogen requires four times more storage volume than the volume of gas that produces the equivalent energy, but the weight of this hydrogen is nearly one third that of the gasoline. With regard to safety from unwanted explosions, hydrogen fuel in automotive vehicles is at least as safe as gasoline. Even more information regarding how it is manufactured and put to use can be gleaned from the YouTube video.

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<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Pure Hydrogen is made from fossil fuels reform or the electrolysis of water. Using renewable energy to make hydrogen by electrolysis would require a greater amount of energy input than direct use of the renewable energy to operate electric vehicles, because of the extra conversion stages and losses in distribution.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Many companies are working to develop technologies that might efficiently use the potential of hydrogen energy for many uses. The attraction of using hydrogen as an enregy, if hydrogen is prepared without using fossil fuel inputs, vehicle propulsion would not contribute to carbon dioxide emissions. The drawbacks of hydrogen use are low energy content per unit volume, high tankage weights, very high storage vessel pressures, the storage, transportation and filling of gaseous or liquid hydrogen in vehicles, the large investment in infrastructure that would be required to fuel vehicles, and the inefficiency of production processes.



<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Fuel cells offer the ability to generate electricity and heat at the point of creation. A coal-fired power station can be as low as 30% efficient (effectively, for every 3 lumps of coal you put in, your only getting the energy from one of them) and most of the waste is lost via heat (cooling towers).This electricity is then used to generate heat in the home (electric boilers, heaters, hobs and kettles) which is extremely inefficient. By generating the electricity at the point of use the heat that is produced can by used to heat buildings from as small as houses to as large as skyscrapers. There is other technology that can also be used to generate fuel (hydrogen) as well as power, heat and cooling (quad-generation) to providing hydrogen production for fuelling hydrogen vehicles. In certain applications fuel cell can achieve 80-90% efficiency. In day to day applications fuel cells can reduced overall energy demand by 30%.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 340%; text-align: center;">**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">In Conclusion ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">To use Hydrogen as the main reliable source of energy for the world would be impossible right away. The world relies on fossil fuels to much, however we need to start producing other energies on a large scale. I believe if we started using some of the oil fields in Texas or some other reserver to start to build the foundation on producing Hydrogen as reliable resources. The only way we truly learn about something is by doing it, we have to start making this stuff on a large scale to learn and improve. Eventually we might be able to use water as a raw material to get pure hydrogen. The point is there are a thousand idea's but the only way to see if something can be done is by doing it, and thats why we need to start experimenting on a large scale to improve on what we already know.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">As stated before Hydrogen can be used to power anything with an electric motor. Hydrogen when burned produces clean emission and this is what we need to look into as well. We can not take the same path as before by just burning anything and letting it destroy the atmosphere. Hydrogen could with out a doubt could replace our dependency on fossil fuels completely with time and research. The world as a whole can not be sustained by this limited supply of oil for an indefinite time, so the time is now when we need to forge on and look for different alternatives while we still have some of this fuel source left.



<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Sources: <span style="color: #003399; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none;">[] <span style="color: #003399; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none;">[] <span style="color: #003399; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-decoration: none;">[]

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">﻿Bibliography:

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">F. Kreith (2004). "Fallacies of a Hydrogen Economy: A Critical Analysis of Hydrogen Production and Utilization". Journal of Energy Resources Technology

<span class="citation book" style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Larminie, James (1 May 2003). //Fuel Cell Systems Explained, Second Edition//. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Milewski J. Lewandowski J. Miller A. Reducing CO2 emission from a coal fired power plant by using a molten carbonate fuel cell. Chemical and Process Engineering 30 (2009)

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Romm, Joseph (2004). //The Hype about Hydrogen, Fact and Fiction in the Race to Save the Climate//. New York: Island Press