Engineering Masterclasses
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Transcript of Engineering Masterclasses
This presentation is extracted from a resource created for theRoyal Institution / Royal Academy of Engineering ‘Engineering Masterclass’ programme.
FEATURING IMAGES FROM ‘FUEL CELL PROJECTS FOR THE EVIL GENIUS’ AND ‘RUN YOUR DIESEL VEHICLE ON BIOFUELS’
An Introduction toFuel Cell Technologyand the Hydrogen EconomyBy Gavin D. J. Harper
What do we use energy for?
Where do we get our energy from today?
What is ‘renewable’ energy and how is it different from ‘non‐renewable’ energy?
Hydrogen & Fuel Cells : Brief Introduction
First demonstrated by Welsh scientist
Sir William Robert Grove in February 1839.
Remember!Catalysts are not used or consumed in a reaction – a catalyst increases the
rate of a chemical reaction.
Image Take From New Scientist Magazine
Image Courtesy: PURE Energy Centre
Image Courtesy: PURE Energy Centre
Image Courtesy: PURE Energy Centre
Image Courtesy: PURE Energy Centre
•Burn liquid hydrocarbons•Diesel•Petrol
•Produce range of pollutants•Produce “local” pollution •Contribute to “climate change”•Reliant on steady supply of oil
•Peak Oil•Geopolitical Tensions
•Potentially clean energy source (if the hydrogen they use is clean!!!)•“Zero Emissions” at point of use
•Still some challenges:•Storage of Hydrogen•Cost of Catalysts•Mass Production•Lack of Infrastructure
Shetland, Unst: The Energy Island
Image Courtesy: PURE Energy Centre
•Grid Independent Houses•Hydrogen from Renewables•Fuel Cell provides CombinedHeat and Power
Image Courtesy: PURE Energy Centre
Woking Park Leisure Centre Uses a Fuel Cell
To ProvideHeat & Power
In ‘traditional’ power station, the heat produced as a by‐
product of electricity production would be
wasted!
Fuel Cell CHP‘Bolted on to existingmulti‐storey car‐park’
Supplies heat and power to neighbouring hotel. Savings in ‘plant room’ allowed them to add a number of additional
rooms.
• Using the process called electrolysis, what can we split water into?
• How can we produce Hydrogen?
• What does a fuel cell produce?
•Paperback: 196 pages •Publisher:McGraw‐Hill/TAB Electronics •Language: English •ISBN‐10: 0071496599 •ISBN‐13: 978‐0071496599 You can find more experiments with Fuel Cells, information about cleanenergy and information about how to take the learning in today’smasterclass forward in ‘Fuel Cells Projects for the Evil Genius’.