PHYSICS REPORT

SUBMITTED BY :
SAMEER KHAN
PRN : 15070121380
DIVISION : E
 HYDROGEN AS A
AAVFA FUEL SOURCE
Introduction
Energy is vital for every part of our lives. Its the only way
anything gets done. What is energy though? By definition, Energy is
the capacity or power to do work by the application of force.So
basically energy is what allows stuff to happen. Mankind has
always had a love affair with energy. One of the goals of human
innovation has been to create an easier life for ourselves. Usually the
way life is made easier is by improving the efficiency of our actions.
For example the combine, or the rifle. These didnt evolve in one
night; instead they came about as one small advancement over
another, with the end goal to expend the least amount of energy to
accomplish the greatest amount of work. All the energy a farmer has
to expend in order to harvest a field is the energy to move his arms.
All the energy a hunter has to expend to kill his prey is the
contraction of a finger.
One of the greatest advancements made by man has been the
invention of fossil fuel powered energy plants. Thanks to this we are
able to live in almost any place on the planet. No matter how hot or
cold, no matter what the extremes are, as long as the energy is
supplied we can live in relative comfort. We are able to have all sorts
of time saving devices in our homes with the sole purpose of making
life easier. However we are reaching the end of this age. The fossil
fuels we use to supply our easy lives are not infinite, they will run
out someday. Until now the relative ease of acquiring fossil fuels has
stifled the development of other ways to provide us energy, but with
rising prices new alternatives are starting to gain attention. One of
the most often spoke of alternatives is the hydrogen fuel cell. It uses
the process of hydrogen and oxygen combining to produce electricity.
The problem with this method is obtaining the hydrogen gas which is
quite rare in its pure form in nature. Scientists are also having a
hard time finding an efficient way to produce hydrogen. I want to
share with you a new way of obtaining hydrogen through electrolysis,
inspired by photosynthesis, then connecting this with the hydrogen
fuel cell that might power for a whole new generation.
Electrolysis
Lets take a look at what exactly electrolysis is. Electrolysis is
The process by which electric current is passed through a substance
to effect a chemical change.The atoms in the substance are either
gaining or losing an electron. Any process of electrolysis is carried out
in an electrolytic cell. All this consists of is a positive and negative
electrode dipped into a solution containing positive and negative ions.
The object or substance to be transformed can be the electrode itself,
the solution, or some substance that has been dissolved into the
solution. When electricity is ran through the solution the positively
charged ions are attracted to the cathode and the negative ions move
towards the anode. The negative ions then gain an electron while the
positive ions are losing an electron. When this happens the ions
become neutral elements or molecules. The process of electrolysis is
used to do a great variety of things. For example, when auto
manufacturers make cars with metal bumpers, they dip the finished
bumper into a vat and run electricity through the system, which
would cause nickel to separate from the solution and bind to the
surface of the metal, creating a smooth and rust resistant finish.
Another example is the refining of gold ore. The ore is dissolved into
a solution which then has current run through it causing the gold
atoms to be attracted to one electrode and the impurities to be
attracted to the other.
The form of electrolysis that we are interested in is the
separation of water into hydrogen and oxygen. Water is made up of
two hydrogen and one oxygen atom. When it is a liquid there will
always be a small number of water atoms that are in ion form. When
they are in this state a water atom becomes one positively charged
hydrogen atom, and one negatively charge oxygen-hydrogen
molecule. The electrolysis process of water is unable to occur without
these ions. However water contains very few ions. Only one water
molecule out of every two billion ionizes. Therefore some other
compound has to be added to the water in order to increase the
number of ions. That substance is usually sulfuric acid.
H 2 O H + + OH -the ionization of water
 Once the sulfuric acid is added to the water a current is sent
through the solution. The ionized hydogen atoms are attracted to the
cathode, where they pick up an electron and combine together to
form a compound formed of two hydrogen atoms. This compound is in
the form of a gas and can be seen bubbling off the cathode when the
current is being supplied to the electrolytic cell. Bubbles also form on
the anode. These are the result of the negatively charged oxygen-
hydrogen ion losing an electron. When that happens the ion breaks
apart and forms into a compound composed of two oxygen atoms.
Basically the process of electrolysis in water results in electrons
being taken from the oxygen-hydrogen ion by the battery, and
electrons being given to the hydrogen ions by the battery.
2 H + + 2 e H 2 -Hydrogen formation
4 OH 4 e O 2 + 2 H 2 O oxygen formation
The idea behind the electrolysis of water is to provide an easy
and accessible way to produce hydrogen. Since 70% of the earth is
covered in water, if we can find an economically viable way to
produce hydrogen gas we could have a cheap and plentiful form of
energy. What is holding us back from starting up the hydrogen
manufacturing? Despite how easy it looks on paper it actually takes a
lot of work to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen. When an
impure form of water is used, there are competing reactions in the
solution. What this amounts to is extra energy having to be pumped
into the system to overcome the other reactions. When pure water is
used, it also takes a lot of extra energy in order to overcome its
inherent stability. What scientists are looking for now is a way to
improve the efficiency of converting water into hydrogen and oxygen.
 Fuel Cells as a New
Energy source
One of the biggest things that will have to be replaced once all the oil is
gone is the internal combustion engine. Engines are used in almost every place
that we want to get work done. From a weed eater in the garage to the generator
you use to provide power for the house when the electricity goes out. Even
though internal combustion engines are able to provide a lot of energy, they are
also very inefficient. The typical combustion engine only converts 20-25% of its
energy into movement. As of right now the best candidate for a replacement is
the electric motor. In comparison the average efficiency of an electric motor is
over 70%. The only problem is how to supply it with electricity. Batteries dont
have the necessary range or power to compete with gasoline. Instead I propose
that hydrogen will take over as the main fuel in the future. How can hydrogen
be used to power our electric engines? Then answer is fuel cells.
What is so great about fuel cells? They can be used in an even larger
range of devices than the internal combustion engine can. The main drawback
to a combustion engine is the byproducts. An engine produces carbon monoxide
and other pollutants which can kill us. They are also noisy and inefficient. If
they were to be replaced by fuel cells however, the rewards would be great. The
only waste a hydrogen fuel cell produces is pure water. Besides being used in
cars, they can also be used to provide power to homes, eliminating the need to
rely on an external power grid, which fees have to be paid in order to receive.
How does a fuel cell work? The most basic explanation is that inside a hydrogen
fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen are combined, forming water and electricity. It
is similar to a battery except that it doesnt run down, because the fuel is being
constantly supplied. Its only by product is pure water so it doesnt pollute like
our current gasoline engines, and since it doesnt combust the hydrogen, doesnt
run into the thermal bottleneck that combustion powered devices do.
How exactly does a hydrogen fuel cell work though? There are several
different types of fuel cells but Ill focus on what is considered to be the most
promising type. It is called the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cell. A PEM
fuel cell is set up similar to a sandwich. There is an anode and cathode separated
by the PEM. The PEM functions to only allow positively charged ions to pass
through it. Hydrogen is directed into the cell and must first pass through a
porous electrode coated in platinum. For the hydrogen, when it is forced
through the platinum coated anode it is forced to split in two resulting in two
positively charged hydrogen atoms and two free electrons. The hydrogen ions
are then pushed through into the PEM. However, not all of the hydrogen
ionizes. At this point the unused hydrogen is cycled back around and put back
into the porous platinum. That way no hydrogen is wasted. Since the PEM only
allows the positive ions through they are attracted to the Cathode, while the free
electrons have to travel around an external circuit. The electrons passing
through the external circuit is what generates the electricity that can be
harnessed for our own use. Meanwhile, oxygen is being supplied at the cathode,
where it is separated into oxygen ions. When they both reach the cathode the
electron and hydrogen ions combine with oxygen to form water which flows out
of the cell.
From the combination of hydrogen and oxygen we have found a new way to
produce electricity that results in no pollutants. In a perfect system the fuel
energy that is converted into electrical energy would be able to obtain a
theoretical efficiency of 83% though the realistic efficiency would be less, this
is still much greater than any type of combustion engine we could use. So why
dont we start using hydrogen fuel cells now? There are some drawbacks. First
off, fuel cells dont produce as much energy as fossil fuels. To counter this
multiple fuel cells have to be stacked together much in the same way batteries
are stack in an RC car. The only limit on the power generated is the number and
size of the individual fuel stacks, and the surface area of the PEM. (How They
Work:) However, this results in very large fuel cells, but with the benefit being
zero emission free energy this is a reasonable trade off for now. Though the
technology is very promising, problems in producing hydrogen in a way that is
sustainable, as well as limitations in fuel cells have kept this technology from
taking over internal combustion engines. However, the exciting part about this
area is that these hurdles could be overcome at any time.
Electrolysis Inspired by
Photosynthesis
As we can see electrolysis is not easy, in fact it takes a lot of energy to
do. What is the point of making a zero emissions fuel, if we have to make it
using energy from coal firing plants or other polluting energy sources? That is
why hydrogen fuel based systems arent the answer in their current form. They
put a larger demand on the electrical grid which causes more pollutants to be
created at the electric plants. Also if we are able to find a viable way to create
hydrogen, there is still the problem of making a fuel cell that is able to provide
enough power to be practical. At any moment scientists who are working on
these problems could make a breakthrough that would open the gates for a giant
leap forward in alternative energy.
One such place that this has occurred is in the production of hydrogen
through electrolysis. As we all know, the process of electrolysis is energy
consuming and inefficient. One scientist, named Daniel G. Nocera has been
working on this problem. He is the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT,
and has been trying to find new ways to produce green energy. Specifically he
and his team have been working on ways to improve the efficiency of
electrolysis. However, they are trying to do it in a way will not lead to greater
pollution from other sources. The entire worlds ecosystem runs on only one
source of energy, the sun. What Nocera and his team are trying to do is to find a
way to produce hydrogen through electrolysis using only the sun as an energy
source. Up until now the only way people could utilize solar power was when
the sun is shining during the day because of inefficiency of trying to store it.
However, if sunlight could be used for electrolysis then we could produce
hydrogen which could be used when the sun isnt shining. This could provide
constant energy for people, as well as give us plentiful amounts of hydrogen to
replace fossil fuels as our primary energy source.
Energy consumption is predicted to increase form 12.8 TW to 35TW by
2050. (Nocera) According to Nocera the simplest way to summarize the
research of the group is by the equation:
solar light + H2O = fuel
The idea is for a photon to be captured by a photovoltaic cell. The energy
produced can then be used to act on water and rearrange its bonds to produce
hydrogen and oxygen. Nocera admits that this cycle is challenging to produce
because, it relies on chemical transformations that are not understood at the
most basic level. (Nocera) There is a lot of potential however if these hurdles
can be overcome. If this process can be perfected, then all we would need is
sunlight to create a fuel that can be stored, shipped, and used at anytime. Instead
of having to rely on sunny days, we could store the hydrogen and use it
whenever it is needed.
Recently Nocera and his team have finally found a way. They used a cobalt
metal phosphate catalyst and an electrode which when placed in water produces
oxygen gas. When combined with another catalyst such as platinum that can
produce hydrogen gas the system can duplicate the water splitting system found
in photosynthesis. The process can occur at room temperature with neutral
water. What is unique about Noceras process is that it requires nothing except
abundant non toxic materials. This system can also be adapted to run of wind
turbines, or any other power generating device
Conclusion
We are entering a turning point in the way we use resources and
energy. The human race has slowly been made into slaves of fossil fuels, which
have allowed us great advances, but also hurt our planet. Faced with the end of
our once unlimited supplies, we are being forced to find new things which to
keep our society turning. Nocera hopes that within 10 years homeowners will be
able through daylight using photovoltaic cells while excess energy can be used
to produce hydrogen which can then be sued to power their homes at night. As a
result of this, every home could produce its own energy. In the future we will
talk about power lines and massive power plants the way our grandparents
talked about steam trains and horses. Instead of humongous oil and coal plants
putting out greenhouse gases and pollutants there would be massive hydrogen
generating facilities where no pollutants would be produced. These plants
would likely make hydrogen for vehicle use, as every home would have their
own means to make hydrogen using the new methods being developed today.
The question is what will replace the fossil fuel age? One very likely possibility
is the Hydrogen age. Where our power is supplied by the renewable sources.
Where the fuel cell replaces the electric generator and the internal combustion
engine. The important thing is to keep looking for new and unique solutions to
our problems.