STATIONARY APPLICATION OF FUEL CELL

M ROSHINI

13PN02

Fuel Cell

• Fuel Cell defines stationary fuel cells, provide electricity (or

heat) but are not designed to be moved.

• These include

Combined heat and power (CHP)

Uninterruptible power systems (UPS)

Primary power units

• For individuals and businesses, these power outages are

temporary inconvenience.

Need of fuel cell??

• Critical facilities in public and private sector includes:

Telecommunications Towers

Hospitals

Airports

Emergency Dispatch

Banks And Data Centers

• Basic infrastructure includes:

Water And Sewage Pumps

Traffic Signals

Refrigeration

• Brief outages represent a risk to public safety and potentially significant

societal and economic costs.

TYPES OF FACILITIES

• Two types of back-up power:

Banks Of Valve-regulated Lead-acid (VRLA)

Batteries

Diesel Generators

• These technologies are low cost, each has shortcomings.

VRLA Battery Systems

It is designed to provide power 15 minutes -full power

It gives enough time to complete an orderly shutdown of equipment.

Constant supply of power,even temporary (1 min) power outages or

surges do not disrupt computer equipment.

DISADVANTAGES:

Batteries are sensitive to extreme heat and cold, making them

imperfect for outdoor applications

They need to be replaced every few years due to declining

performance.

Diesel Generators

• Primary source -backup power

DISADVANTAGES:

Inefficient

Emissions from fuel combustion

Periodic maintenance

Not suitable for urban locations,since noise, fuel storage, and pollution are

unwelcome

Air quality regulations

In extreme disasters and prolonged power outages, diesel generators are

reliant upon the delivery of fuel.

How fuel cell works???

Basic Principle

The basic design and electrochemical principle behind fuel cells is straightforward

A fuel cell stack requires hydrogen (or a similar energy carrier), oxygen, and an electrolytic solution

Hydrogen and ambient air flow into the fuel cell, which contains an anode and a cathode

At the anode, the hydrogen separates into a proton and an electron.

The proton migrates to the cathode, where it reacts with the oxygento form water.

The electrons, cannot pass through membrane, flow from the cell to provide electrical power.

Advantages of fuel cells

• Fuel cells have no moving parts, and produce no particulate

emissions

• It is maintenance free and both tested and operated remotely

• It can be configured for any size power

Few kilowatts -Telecommunications tower

Megawatt-scale -hospitals and airports

• Hydrogen is safely stored on-site or produced within the fuel

cell itself

Applications Of Fuel Cells

In Critical Facilities

Telecommunications

The telecommunications industry relies on a network of cell phone towers

and field facilities to transmit phone calls and data.

To operate effectively, towers and field facilities requires a constant

electrical power supply.

The primary source of backup power for communications towers is lead-

acid batteries, but of limited duration

Telecommunications towers require battery banks –challenging, where fuel

cells used

The fuel cell and hydrogen tank can be operated automatically and

remotely.

Hospitals

Hospitals,law to have a secure, resilient power supply to

continue to operate critical equipment during power

outages.

Fuel cell operates in a combined heat and power

application

It produces to 200 kW of baseload electricity and preheats

boiler feed water with the heat recovered from the fuel

cell.

The fuel cell system provides secure power in grid failure.

Airports

• Power blackouts airports -infrequent but extremely costly for air traffic

control, airlines, airport security and passengers

• Airports have redundant power supplies including back-up generators,

these can and do fail

• Several airports are testing fuel-cell operated ground handling equipment.

• Airports, replacement of diesel generators with fuel cells for back-up power

• To amortize the costs, airports consider installation of fuel cells provide

primary power for the entire facility

Emergency Centers

• Extreme national disaster, schools provide a safe haven for 25 to 50 million

citizens

• Grid power down, facilities have partial power to conduct emergency

management operations and meet community needs

• Example

• South Windsor High School and Middleton High School in Connecticut are

home to fuel cell systems that provide primary power used as emergency

shelters

Wastewater Treatment

• Wastewater treatment is public infrastructure that needs to

keep operating in the event of power loss.

• The biogas in treatment process provides renewable fuel to

power fuel cell ,avoids release of methane.

• To reduce air pollution and reliance on power grid, Wastewater

Treatment implement reliable distributed power resource.

• Capture methane from the wastewater treatment, stationary

fuel cells provide high-quality, cost savings.