All About Fuel Cells & Alternative Fuel Vehicles

The history of the fuel cell can be traced back to the 19th century. Since then the development and usage of fuel cells in a variety of applications have come a long way. Fuel cells hold great promise for fueling alternative fuel vehicles. Here is some of the history of the development of fuel cells:

* William Grove invented the fuel cell in 1839.

* General Electric invented proton exchange membrane fuel cells in the 1950s

* Francis Bacon demonstrated a 5kW alkaline fuel cell in 1959.

* NASA's use of fuel cells during the Apollo space missions in the 1960s was the first commercial use of fuel cells.

* Alkaline fuel cells have flown over 100 missions and operated for more than 80,000 hours in spacecrafts operated by NASA.

* The US Navy has been using fuel cells in submarines since the 1980s

* Fuel cell buses are running in several cities around the world, the largest being the European Union backed CUTE project (Clean Urban Transport for Europe).

* All major automakers have prototypes of alternative fuel vehicles using fuel cells on the road-some have already been leased to customers.

* Iceland has plans to convert its fishing fleet from diesel engines to hydrogen fuel cells as part of a national project to create a fossil fuel free economy

* Several car manufacturers are hoping to produce their first semi-commercial models of fuel cell cars by 2005, yet they will most probably not be mass produced until 2010.

* Numerous fuel cell products will be coming to market-portable direct methanol fuel cells will power mobile phones, laptops and cameras in the near future

* A fuel cell is around 60% efficient at converting fuel to power, double the efficiency of an internal combustion gas engine-which makes it perfect for alternative fuel vehicles.

Fuel cells have several advantages over conventional power sources like internal combustion gas engines or batteries. Additionally, there are disadvantages facing manufacturers hoping to commercialize fuel cells. See how they stack up as the next best fuel for alternative fuel vehicles.

Advantages

* Fuel cells reduce pollution that is caused by the burning of fossil fuels-their only by-product is water

* If the hydrogen used in the fuel cell comes from the electrolysis of water, then using fuel cells will eliminate greenhouse gases

* Because fuel cells don't need conventional fuels like oil or gas, they eliminate economic dependence on politically unstable countries

* Since hydrogen can be manufactured anywhere there is water and electricity, production of potential fuel can be allocated in various areas

* Fuel cells operate at a higher efficiency than diesel or gas engines which makes them an ideal source of efficient power for alternative fuel vehicles

* Most fuel cells operate silently, while internal combustion engines do not

* Fuel cells can operate for longer times than batteries, therefore to double the operating time, only the fuel needs to be doubled and not the capacity of the unit itself
Tip! Not being one of the major alternative fuel sources for cars, solar power is actually a very useful one and what's more it will always be available for us to use. The main application of solar power is in our houses where with a few solar panels we can provide all the heating and the hot water we will need.

* The maintenance of fuel cells is relatively straightforward since there are few moving parts in the system

Disadvantages

* Energizing fuel cells continues to be a major problem while production, transportation, distribution and storage of hydrogen remains difficult

* Reforming hydrocarbons via a reformer to produce hydrogen is technically challenging and not actually environmentally friendly

* The refuelling and the starting time of fuel cell vehicles are longer, while the driving range is shorter than in a conventional vehicle

* Fuel cells are normally somewhat larger than comparable batteries or engines, however, the size of the units continues to decrease with research and testing

* Fuel cells are currently expensive to produce, since most units are hand-made and some use expensive materials

* The technology is not yet fully developed, therefore few products are readily available
Tip! Finding solutions to the transportation element in our daily lives is very important. There's much confidence that with the attention level rather high that a better solution(s) with soon be found regarding alternative fuel.

Although hydrogen fuel cells appear to be the most promising source of alternative fuel, other sources are being researched and tested. Alternative transportation fuels provide economic advantages while also offering significant environmental benefits. They offer air quality advantages through reduced emissions and some fuels produce less greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline. There's significant research being conducted worldwide. Canada, for example, is recognized as a world leader in the development and use of alternative transportation fuels with more than 170,000 alternative fuel vehicles in use across Canada. Some of the most promising alternative fuel sources being suggested for future use in motor vehicles are:
Tip! At this point, it's anyone's guess what the future holds for alternative fuel vehicles.

* Ethanol * Propane * Natural gas * Biodiesel * Electricity * Hydrogen

At this point, it's anyone's guess what the future holds for alternative fuel vehicles.

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Biodeisel Fuel As An Alternative Fuel Source

Biodiesel fuel as an alternative fuel source, is produced mainly from vegetable oils. Making biodiesel fuel from home using biodiesel kit is gaining popularity for motorists because it is readily available even online. To give a very brief idea how it is produced, the recycled vegetable oil goes through a biodiesel processor and within hours, you will have home made biodiesel fuel for your diesel engine vehicle. Biodiesel fuel is so flexible because it can be produced from pure vegetable oils, waste vegetable oils or byproducts from animal fats like lard and tallow. But the commercial preference is towards waste vegetable oil. Waste oil vegetable is the preferred choice of the majority because it is most economical and best source to recycle, to produce biodiesel fuel.

Biodiesel fuel is produced chemically by altering the vegetable oil through a "thinning" process. What this process does is it "thins" down or dilutes the oil to a level where it can be used in any diesel engine that is unmodified. And since it has passed all of the safety requirements set by the EPA, Biodiesel fuel can be used right away in almost every car without any special modifications. Compared to other alternative fuels which require special modifications to the car's engine, biodiesel does not need any specialized gadget. It can be used right away
Tip! At this point, it's anyone's guess what the future holds for alternative fuel vehicles.

In actual fact, biodiesel fuel is nothing new. It is old news. The recent revival is largely due to the surge in crude oil prices and motorists have been feeling the pinch in their pockets as they have to pay more for regular gasoline. The days of pre $30 or even pre $40 crude oil price may never materialize again because the demand for oil on a global scale is increasing each day, unlike 10 years ago. Currently, crude oil is trending at $60 level. Experts are predicting that oil well may dry up in the near future if no new oil wells are discovered. If this is the scenario, there will be an oil crisis. Whether this is propaganda or fact, gasoline at current price is still too expensive

The next logical solution is alternative energy fuel like ethanol E85 or biodiesel fuel. Besides being cheaper to regular gasoline, biodiesel fuel is a clean burning fuel and research has shown that it does reduce the carbon dioxide emissions significantly compared to gasoline vehicles. Biodiesel fuel is biodegradable non-toxic renewable, essentially free of sulfur and it environmentally friendly.
Tip! Ethanol is blended with gasoline to create E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. E85 and blends with even higher concentrations of ethanol qualify as alternative fuels under the Energy Policy Act.

Making Biodiesel fuel can be done at home. It is cheaper than regular gasoline and does not need any modification to your car. It is biodegradable non-toxic and environmentally friendly