Johnson.MMA.Fall2009.EnergyandWater

 ** __Hydrogen Fuel Cells__ **
 * __By 1/C Josh Johnson__ **

**1. **** What is the problem at hand? ** The problem at hand with the current form of gas-powered internal combustion engines is that it produces carbon emissions as well as high gas prices. Gas powered engines as a result of the burning of gasoline to power a vehicle, produce carbon dioxide emissions that get released into the atmosphere. These emissions add to the increasing hole in the Ozone layer that speeds up the theory of global warming. Also gas prices, while lower now than they have been in the past, are high. They have reached prices of almost four dollars a gallon in the past couple years. With the recession going on currently, it is hard for people to pay these high prices to power their cars. While for most people who live outside major cities, they have no option now but to drive their cars. **2. **** What is the driving force of the problem? ** The problem is driven by the reliance of people throughout the world to use things that are powered by gasoline combustion engines. People are forced to use cars, planes, boats and even busses. Without these, transportation in these times is impossible. People often have to travel up to 100 miles daily just to get to work. This would be impossible without a vehicle. **3. **** What are poeple currently doing or not doing to solve the problem? ** Renewable energy sources have been in development for the last decade or so. However these energy sources originally made the cars much more expensive to purchase. But now hybrid car prices are around the same as the price for a normal gas combustion engine version. There are many versions of renewable energy being developed, such as electric-powered cars, hydrogen fuel cell and battery powered cars. However I believe that hydrogen fuel cells are the best one of them all. 4. ** Explain how it works. THIS IS A BIG ONE! ** Hydrogen fuel cells would burn clean, resulting in very little if any carbon emissions. The only waste product of these cells is pure H20. This water is so pure that it is safe enough to drink. In fact, NASA has been using hydrogen fuel for years to lift their shuttles into outer space. And once the astronauts are in space, the water that is produced as waste is used as drinking water. Hydrogen can be produced many different ways such as through many chemical processes or via water, fossil fuels or biomass. The two most common methods of producing hydrogen involve the processes of electrolysis, which is water splitting, or steam reforming. Currently the most common method is steam reforming methane gas to separate the carbon atom from the four hydrogen atoms. This is used in producing approximately 95% of the hydrogen we use today. The only current downfall is that since carbon is released, it still adds to the problem of greenhouse gases being released into the environment. The other process, electrolysis, is highly inefficient and highly expensive right now. However this process does not release dangerous gases into the atmosphere. The most effective way currently of electrolysis is adding energy to water to separate the hydrogen atoms from the oxygen atom. Another method of producing energy via Hydrogen is using hydrogen fuel cells which are similar to batteries. These can be used efficiently to produce electricity. While it is a very expensive process, These cells have a huge potential, A large cell can be enough to produce enough electricity to power a whole region of businesses and homes. And on a smaller scale they can also power such things as cars and cell phones. These are the chemical reactions for the various methods of producing hydrogen: Steam reforming: CH4(g) + H2O(g) → CO(g) + 3H2(g) + energy (Water Shift Gas Reaction): CO(g) + H2O(g) → CO2(g) + H2 + energy Electrolysis: 2H2O(aq) → 2H2(g) + O2(g) **5. **** determine the amount of CO2 it produces or inhibits ** Hydrogen fuel powered cars produce very little carbon emissions, they only produce pure water (which is safe enough to drink) out of the exhaust pipe, it is the cleanest of all renewable energy sources. Since this hydrogen fuel will replace gasoline powered cars, it inhibits a lot of carbon dioxide that would have otherwise been released into the atmoshphere. ** highlight the best aspects of it ** The best aspects of Hydrogen fuel is that it would be release only clean emissions. It would replace the noxious carbon dioxide emissions of a gasoline combustion engine with pure water. This would help slow down global warming and help prevent the increase of the hole in the Ozone layer. The fuel cells are much more efficient in producing energy as electrochemical conversions are much more efficient than combustion which is used in gas powered vehicles. There is also no moving parts in the fuel cell, which increases in overall efficiency. A fuel cell powered car will be much quieter and have less vibration that a combustion powered car. Since fuel cells have no moving parts, they are much more reliable than normal combustion engines which have a lot of moving parts. ** describe how the critics would discuss it ** James Woolsey, chairman of the US advisory board of the Clean Fuels Foundation, told the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders last week that the cost of establishing an infrastructure of refuelling stations was too expensive to make hydrogen a viable option. Hydrogen fuel is looked at as being decades away from being able to effectively ready to replace gasoline combustion cars. Currently hydrogen fuel is too expensive to replace gasoline fuel. Hydrogen is also extremely reactive and will seep through any container it is placed in. So while it may be small amounts, but you will constantly be losing some hydrogen fuel. ** If it doesn't make up much of the world's fuel/energy supply explain why. ** Hydrogen currently is too expensive to produce, and as a result needs to become cheaper before it can efficiently be used to replace gasoline. More hydrogen refueling stations are needed across the country as well. As of right now, California is the only state where a hydrogen powered car driver will have a decent shot of finding a place to refill ** Explain how it could help solve some of the problems or contributes to those problems. **  Honda UK environment manager John Kingston calls hydrogen the “Holy Grail from an environmental perspective” and “We feel that hydrogen-powered fuel cell technology is the ultimate environmental solution because it delivers zero harmful emission driving.” The more cars that are powered by hydrogen and not by gasoline, the less carbon dioxide that will be emitted into the atmosphere. Thus reducing the overall amount of dangerous greenhouse gasses in the air ** Explalin what it would take to do your thing better or in a larger scale. ** There needs to be a lot more research for this technology to work. The price of producing hydrogen needs to be drastically reduced so that the common consumer can afford it. Even though it has so much benefit to the environment, if the price to refuel these hydrogen cars is drastically more expensive than the price to power gasoline cars, it will be a tough product to by. Even the people who dedicate their lives to saving the environment will have a tough time purchasing these vehicles if there is a large price increase over their traditional gas powered cars. Once the price comes to an affordable state, hydrogen refueling stations need to be placed in highly populated areas to start. There is no benefit to purchasing a car if there is no place to refuel them.

** Explain who uses that technology and why. If it isn't used very much explain that instead. **  This hydrogen technology has been used by BMW in the latest 7 series of their cars. BMW is offering versions that run on hydrogen fuel. Honda is another car make that has issued a limited number of hydrogen powered cars, namely the Honda FCX. Also California has a series of hydrogen refueling stations throughout their state. There are 58 hydrogen refueling stations throughout the nation. However these only use hydrogen fuel, not pure hydrogen. This is as a result of pure hydrogen being too expensive to power cars at this time. NASA has also used hydrogen power to launch their shuttles into space, as I have previously discussed above. Currently hydrogen fuel is too expensive to replace gasoline fuel. Hydrogen is also extremely reactive and will seep through any container it is placed in. So while it may be small amounts, but you will constantly be losing some hydrogen fuel.

** After learning about it what would you do next to change how its used? why? ** All that I would do is place a lot of time and money into research of how to efficiently and cheaply produce hydrogen gas. Until the cost of production comes down, this great technology can never be effectively used. Hydrogen appears to be a very good system once it is produced, it is highly efficient and reduces very little to none carbon dioxide. Currently through are only a couple hundred hydrogen powered cars. And these cars are using hydrogen fuel, not pure hydrogen. Hydrogen is currently too expensive and this is the biggest setback with this technology being mass produced.

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