What is Fuel Cell ?
You may amaze to know the smart technology of this innovative world and fuel cells are one of them. A fuel cell is an innovative invention that certainly works on electrochemical theories and principles of chemistry. A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy of Hydrogen and Oxygen without and complicated industrial process. Fuels cells are highly efficient than our traditional Thermal power plants and other combustions equipment producing electricity for us.
Actually not only Hydrogen can be used as fuels in a Fuel cell but also other chemicals like Methanol, Phosphoric acid Salt carbonates and even more than that can be used to generate electricity with the same fundamentals principles of fuel cells. The working principles of Fuel cells are even simpler than fabricating wirelessly controlled drones, but it requires a lot of security materials to establish a reliable Power backup with fuel cells. Fuel cells are efficient and even more than that it is compact and so now they are being used for powering automobiles, which fits perfectly in the 21st Century's technology and also according to environmental conditions of major countries of the globe.
The major advantage of fuel cells over present combustion engines and thermal power generation system is due to its high efficiency up to 82.8% which goes doubles the number of present thermal technologies of production of electricity and power with fossils. The other major advantage of fuel cells is that they have negligible emission of pollutants because mostly we use Hydrogen and oxygen which is not going to produce side products other than water after the Redox reaction which fuel cell use to produce electricity. In precise, The fuel cell plays a vital role in this innovative world with its high efficiency, low pollution emission, and low noise levels if Hydrogen is projected as the main energy source.
WORKING OF FUEL CELLS
The working of fuel cells is simple and with some simple equipment a fuel cell can produce electricity with Hydrogen and in the modern period the reverse process is also included in the same device so that anyone can produce Fuel i. e Hydrogen by supplying electricity and water.
This technology is perfectly used in Germany and other wind power generating countries where the power coming from wind fluctuates due to the environmental changes and produces excess power during some low load and high wind speed durations. They use to generate Hydrogen by the wind power with electrolyzers and further, they generate electricity with that hydrogen whenever they feel shortage to wind power.
The fuel cell works on something we know from our basic chemistry the redox reactions between Hydrogen and Oxygen but, here the setup of the experiment changes. Proton exchange membrane is used to restrict direct equilibrium of the redox reaction and the function of Proton exchange membrane is here to restrict the flow of electrons directly and so the electrons are forced to take another route that we want and we make electrons to pass through the external circuit and then through load and this is how electricity is produced in a fuel cell. Certainly, this is not the exact process but, I tried to explain the theories in the best possible way so that any person even with little knowledge in this field can understand what is a fuel cell, How it works, and where it can be used.
CURRENT FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY
Today the demand for fuel cell technology is increasing exponentially due to its feasible advantages. This technology is now being used to power fuel cell vehicles. These days fuel cells are also being used as the power backup in many big firms and organizations. A German company HYDROGENICS, which manufacture Hydrogen based fuel cells and electrolyzers to sells it worldwide with the agreement of the Government of respective countries. To know more about the Hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzers you may like to visit the official website of hydrogenics. The company was just Started by a Chemical Engineer, "Daryl Wilson" now who is the CEO of that company which generates nearly 290 Crore Indian rupees per year as revenue. In India, this Step has been also taken but it is required to revolutionize this technology.