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Biodiesel A New Way of Turning Plants into Fuel
Biodiesel An Alternative Fuel Available Now
Biodiesel An Industry Poised for Growth
Biodiesel Facts For Kids
Biodiesel For Diesel Fuel Use
Biodiesel Keeps Home Fire Burning
Biodiesel Plan Spans Border
Biodiesel Refinery In Romania
Biofuel Cells To Replace Rechargeable Batteries
Biofuels As A Source Of Energy
Biofuels Fill Your Tank With Natures Goodness
Biofuels For Transport
Biological Ways Of Producing Ethanol
Cool Fuel Cells
Ethanol
Ethanol Based Biodiesel
Fill Er Up Full Of Beans
From Fuel To Pure Water
Fuel Alcohol From Pea Starch
Fuel Cell Benefits
Fuel Cell Cars
Fuel Cell Challenges
Fuel Cell Efficiency
Fuel Cell History
Fuel Cell Vehicle Benefits
Fuel Cell Vehicles General Information
Grass Hailed As Potential Source Of Clean Energy
How They Work Hydrogen Sources
Hybrid Electric And Fuel Cell Vehicles
Hydrogen Challenges
Hydrogen Delivery
Hydrogen Overview
Investigating The Greenness Of Biobased Products
Is There A Green Car in Your Future
Making Biodiesel Fuel at Home
RP To Mass Produce Sugar Sorghum For Bio Fuel
Running On Vegetables
Some Alcohol Fuels Facts
The Alcohols Ethanol And Methanol
Veggie Fuels Feed Bottom Line
What Is A Fuel Cell

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Fuel Cell Benefits

Fuel Cell Benefits

Environmental Acceptability

The environmental benefits of fuel cells are some of the main motivating forces in their development. These benefits include the zero- or near-zero-emission of criteria pollutants (NOx, SOx, CO, and hydrocarbons) and very low noise emissions.

Environmentally friendly fuel cell properties could eliminate consumer contempt for power generation close to their houses and businesses. While most consumers probably would prefer to have conventional electricity generated at a location far from their homes due to the noise and pollution, the benign nature of fuel cells makes them non-offensive even if placed in residential communities.

High Efficiencies

Depending upon fuel cell type and design, fuel-to-electricity efficiency ranges from 30 to 60 percent (LHV). For hybrid fuel cell/gas turbine systems, electrical conversion efficiencies are expected to achieve over 70 percent (LHV). When byproduct heat is utilized, the total energy efficiency of fuel cell systems approaches 85 percent.

Stand-alone fuel cell systems have the capability of reaching efficiencies greater than 50 percent, even at relatively small sizes (e.g., 10 kW). Hence, fuel cell systems could reduce the impact of electricity production on global climate change by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere per kilowatt-hour of power. They would also reduce resource depletion and dependence on fossil fuels by allowing more power to be harnessed from an same amount of fuel.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or Combined Cooling, Heat and Power (CCHP) Capability

High-quality heat is available for co-generation, heating, and cooling. Fuel cell exhaust heat is suitable for use in residential, commercial, and industrial co-generation applications.

The heat from a fuel cell can be used for a variety of purposes:

* Boilers: Two thermal loads for a boiler plant are make-up water and return water. If a boiler distribution system is maintained properly, make-up water requirements will likely be low. For high make-up water requirements, pre-heating boiler make-up water represents a good application for a fuel cell power plant. Load characteristics will depend on the loads on its thermal loop, time of year, and site specific factors.

* Domestic Hot Water (DHW) is used for a variety of purposes including showers, laundry, kitchen loads, etc. In dormitories or hotels, thermal loads typically peak in the morning and evening periods with little or no demand in the middle of the day and night.

* Space Heating Loops. Hot water space heating loops generally operate at temperatures that require the high-grade heat exchanger. Thermal utilization is limited to the months where space heating is required.

* Swimming pools have both make-up water requirements (due to evaporation and spillage) and pool reheat requirements. The thermal load demand will vary depending on whether the pool is indoors or outdoors, the ambient temperature and humidity, the wind velocity, whether the pool is covered or not, the pool size and other site specific variables.

* Absorption Cooling Thermal Loads: Using a high-grade heat exchanger option, the fuel cell power plant can provide heat to an absorption chiller to provide cooling to a building. Absorption chillers create a thermal load for a fuel cell when no other loads are available. If electric rates are high in the cooling season, then displaced cooling using an absorption chiller can be cost-effective. Sites with longer cooling seasons or requiring continuous cooling (hospitals, etc.) are the best candidate sites for this technology.