How Fuel Cells Work

[TheBr0ws3r]

This is my project ...

[fzeeshan]

Can't find Hydrogen? are you serious. Ever heard of HHO generator? what a load of BS.

[EpicSpaceNinja]

@fzeeshan He's a leading scientist in that field...I THINK he'll have thought of that.

But synthesizing Hydrogen takes more energy than it's used for and you'll have to use fossil fuels to get that energy so therefore it's just useless.

[Jesus45U]

@fzeeshan

He means you cannot find it in a natural form.

I'm quite certain he knows about HHO generators.

[rufffendzz]

i have a question for all of the participant bloggers on this video, please can any one have the efficiency and cost comparison of feul cell and the more tradition HHO generator. My opinion is that feul cell is a much inefficient in terms of cost , it requires installing new hydroden filling station , the tech is proprioty and is controlled by few big companies and we have to put energy into water or hygrocarbons(methane) to generate hydrogen.

[spectrospirit]

Hydrogen is EVERYWHERE dammit!

Water man, water and electrical current is all it takes!

Lol, do your homework man... seriously...

[Jesus45U]

@spectrospirit

And where does the electrical current come from ? nowhere ?

Besides, Water is jolly expensive.

[DrTurf83]

@spectrospirit @fzeeshan

H2 gas is not everywhere. Electrolysis generates H2, but the reactions are not very efficient. Nocera’s catalysts, currently the best known, was recently reported as being ~60% efficient (according to his 2011 Science article). For every J of energy put in, only 0.6 J is stored as H2 fuel. This is far better than ANY HHO (an offensively incorrect “molecule”) device you will find online. His catalyst is very sophisticated compared to stainless steel.

[dumibgd]

si cand ma gandesc ca am de facut un Fuel Cell la facultate :))) sa-mi bag pl in el

[spacebrdcst]

god damn this advertisement, every time I come back to check something I have to watch it...

[alienmeetworld]

Hydrogen from oil ?! WTF... this guy seems to be unaware of simple water splitting with electricity from renewable energy sources (see Daniel G. Nocera of MIT for example). And the fuel cell cars I've seen need less internal space compared to the internal combustion engine and transmission of a oil driven car. Terrible representation of hydrogen fuel cells ! Interview somebody with a clue !

[Jesus45U]

@alienmeetworld

The very first fuel cell was actually run on Methanol, all the way back in 1839, the main waste products from a hydrocarbon fuel and a fuel cell is water and CO2. And he knows about splitting water, I'm sure, but splitting water costs a lot of electricity, and once you scale it up we simply don't produce enough energy from renewable sources to make it useful.

Also keep in mind, that the latest fuel cells we have seen, wasn't around when this video was made.

Things change.

[DrTurf83]

@alienmeetworld

Hydrogen from fossil fuels (i.e., oil) is done by a process called steam reforming, usually coupled with the water gas shift reaction to reduce the carbon monoxide content. EVERY electrochemist knows about electrolysis. Nocera’s catalyst was first published in July 2008, which was after the making of this video.

The guy is a professor working on fuel cells… do you think he has no idea about what he is talking about?

[data213383]

@Ammpexx

you can also split water with wind, solar, or hydroelectric power then bypassing the oil/hydrocarbon problem

[PsycCentauri]

lol wut hydrogen isnt available? isnt it the most abuntant element in the universe? And isnt it also very easy to artificially construct?

[aidler2]

@PsycCentauri Nitrogen makes up for 73% of the Earth's atmosphere.

[Ammpexx]

@PsycCentauri

yeah it's quite abundand, but on earth it's abundand in the form of water and you have to use energy to split the water into oxygen and hydrogen to then recombine them... and to use oil to provide this energy is quite the opposite of what fuel-cells were thought to do

[DamianiWins]

methanol!!!! 

[heartlessvietboy]

Hydrogen is attained by just using tiny sparks of electricity in water to get Hydrogen bubbles. Its not even wattage but electrons travelling. Add a little salt to enhance the process. Be careful though, its the amount of wattage you apply to the water.

[killerdogd1]

mmmmm juice

[VerbalizedPhrases]

He's talking about changing fuel into hydrogen to "burn" it in fuel cells.

Of course that isn't useful.

But microalgae produces hydrogen just next to producing oil. So it would provide both: Oil to be burned and hydrogen to be transformed into energy by Fuel Cells! =)

Also Algae could be used to get CO2 out of the air directly after having produced it while burning the oil....

If that last bit wouldn't be efficient, there would still be less emmissions than with fossile oil...

[cole909cole]

@VerbalizedPhrases dont they also use micro algae to create plastics

[VerbalizedPhrases]

@cole909cole Plastics are close to only made from crude oil nowadays [Earlier when they were not yet 'full' plastics', other stuff was used. Nothing current]. Meaning oil as the base for them, for different kinds of characteristics there are chemical substances that are given to the production [rubber,...].

Algae can either be made to oil or used to get hydrogen from it. In the first case it can take any of the duties of minderal oil, also the production of plastics, yes.

Future looks fine =)

[spectrospirit]

@VerbalizedPhrases How about fiberglass? It's only melted sand and alchohol ;)

[chickensandw1tch]

we can already get free enviromental energy but the patrol companies won't allow it

[kreinz21]

Great things take time but hydrogen will be our future fuel rather used in ICE's or fuel cells!

[burdsall100]

i have no idea wat any of this stuff means i thout it was were u put gas in

[blaykep]

why not with a hydrogen car use brown gas which seperates the o2 and the hydrogen out of water? We could fill our cars up once with water and never have to pay for fuel again

[johngorgis]

@prop23FAIL fuck you i want st20det

[GraysonKIDD]

dugm94 is gay.

like.

[Dugm94]

Well this is a fun science lesson :) Like :)

[walter0bz]

future transport = push-bikes.

[walter0bz]

hydrogen is not a naturally occuring fuel source like hydrocarbons were.

Not enough people understand this when they hear "hydrogen is the future!!"

its just a fancy type of rechargable battery.

[soundslave]

The 'cost factor' is such a poor excuse. Oil companies have more money than any other. They easily have the funds and resources to develop a cheap fuel cell. But prefer to dump more and more money into drilling for oil.

[matolegin2]

Sorry but this is opposite process. You give hydrogen to one side and air to other side. And you have electric power. This is not HHO, not electrolyse, but opposite process. From hydrogen you produce electric power and water :-0

[ProsperityGlobal]

The current oil spill of the coast of florida should convince people that the billions spent on oil should instead be spent on developing alternative energy such as hydrogen.

[walter0bz]

@ProsperityGlobal - Hydrogen is not alternative energy!

its just a type of battery, the energy needs to come from somewhere else.

[getsafe1212]

@walter0bz What about fuel cells that use utilize hydrocarbons? What's wrong with storing energy using hydrogen? Hydrogen is a cheap way to store large amounts of energy

[walter0bz]

@getsafe1212 -

storing energy is not issue.

our problem is, getting the energy TO store.

all the electric tech was developped at a similar time to the internal combustion engine (& infact early ICE experiments *used* hydrogen..)

we use hydrocarbons/internal-combusti­on because nothing matches their convinience, and the boost society had from digging up *existing* stored energy.

This is a *huge* qualitative difference between Hydrocarbons & any supposed savior tech.

[more]

[walter0bz]

@getsafe1212 -

If PV cells can match hydrocarbons, do PV manufacturing plants themselves use PV cells? solar electricity is 'expensive' compared to hydrocarbons as in it is Less Abundant.

ie.. when hydrocarbons run out, energy will be Less Abundant. That is the main point we all have to plan for, and its a serious problem because we've (stupidly) used hydrocarbons to multiply human population beyond what sunlight can sustain.

[getsafe1212]

@walter0bz I think we've been over this. There is plenty of incident sunlight to maintain our energy uses without hydrocarbons. We're beginning to see large (500MW+) solar power plants (theyre not PV, thermal). You're so goddamn stupid we have to go round and round.

[walter0bz]

@getsafe1212 -

there's little sunlight where I live

there are so many people that we need energy to make rainwater

the countries with lots of sunlight are also full of starving people

i'm aware solar-thermal is more promising than PV but even then - i'll only beleive solar can fix things when I see a solar powered plant that makes solar stations (actually nature already invented it, its called a "Tree" and it even makes food specifically for primates.)

[getsafe1212]

@walter0bz Then high power lines or a hydrogen pipeline could supply your area. Yes the world faces many problems, but your pessimism which results in dismissing all forms of green energy is just stupid. Do you really think we should just give up? Just say fuck it, let the world go to chaos and everyone kills each other? To me you sound like an enemy of society

[walter0bz]

@getsafe1212 -

we should be researching green energy yes,

but we should be realistic about the population reduction required for green energy to work :)

(machines will be competing with humans for the same sunlight )

chaos (or highly organized culling) is inevitable without global one child policy

[getsafe1212]

@walter0bz Alright, now we're on the same page. There's a lot of sustainable living research going on right now. And while America, Europe, Japan, etc. will be hard to ween off of high energy demands per capita, we can at least try and help developing countries not become as energy hungry. And throw them some condoms or depo while we're at it. Unfortunately that's not top of the list in politics, at least in America

[kreinz21]

Fuel cells are about 50-75% more efficient, but the government just wants more money to spend on usless things and lining their pockets with it! I wish I was president, I would make our primary resource hydrogen!

[superbungabunga]

@kreinz21 then run for president legalize weed and i would deffinately vote

[ProsperityGlobal]

@superbungabunga legalise HEMP, HEMP can be used in over 25,000 products.

[subing4miler]

@kreinz21 you're an idiot...you don't even know how much it would literally cost for consumers to take this route. Right now gas is 100 times cheaper than this technology. If you were president we would impeach you for being stupid.

[ndyt]

@kreinz21, it takes 5 times more energy to make hydrogen from water then you get back out of it with a fuel cell. It would be far more efficient to use an EV instead. Also, FCV cost about 1 million each to build and that cost isn't coming down anytime soon.

[kreinz21]

Wooooooo go hydrogen!!!

[Tohellwithoursouls]

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe yet the suits want to CONvince us we need to pay as much to extract it as we currently do for hydrocarbons. Lets face it if water is split into hydrogen & oxygen then remixed & burnt the energy created will easily exceed that required for the initial splitting process leaving surplus free energy this is called over unity. How would they CONtrol us if free energy was dumped onto world markets? They can't cope with us having free information.

[subing4miler]

@Tohellwithoursouls it costs more to extract hydrogen from gas than it does just to process gas.

[vygag]

@subing4miler correction : you get hydrogen not from gas... you get it from water just by passing electricity through water...

[ndyt]

@vygag, it takes 5 times more energy to make hydrogen from water then you get back out of it with a fuel cell. It would be far more efficient to use an EV instead. It is far more efficient to make hydrogen from natural gas, that is how hydrogen is made on an industrial scale. The video is correct.

[Omega3chimp]

They shoulod be building this stuff more.

[norb1937]

why not?

[Omega3chimp]

Because the govenrment wonts to make money off of oil,it would be great in communist country green energy and electric cars but they have no money.

[unsforlife]

I believe that 30% statistic refers to the percent of energy from combustion of gasoline in internal combustion engines (like we use in cars) into mechanical energy. It's totally low. I think turbine engines are more efficient?

[seopeter22]

why would this be more efficient if it uses hydrocarbons just like any other engines?

[quisquilllious]

in fuel cells theres a direct energy transfer from chemical to electrical because of the redox reactiosn, whereas burning fuels in oxygen means that most energy is transformed to heat .. i think the efficiency of the latter is only about 30%..but dont quote me

[seopeter22]

o i c.

[playerofrock04]

what does that stand for.....

[seopeter22]

i meant "oh i see"

[playerofrock04]

yeah I know.... It's just that I've watched The Big Bang Theory and.... well..... never mind

[seopeter22]

uh, sry i dint get it.

[playerofrock04]

no.... you haven't watched the series have you?

[seopeter22]

what series?

[playerofrock04]

The big bang theory

[seopeter22]

no. is it on youtube?

[playerofrock04]

no It's on CBS.... or you can download it

[seopeter22]

ah screw it. was it supposed to be funny?

[playerofrock04]

yes

[Bulgdoom]

@seopeter22 because hydrocarbons are yummy! Plants and animals burn hydrocarbon sugars to create energy (ATP). Dont listen to people about their bullshit and global warming from "CO2".

[zeinbrug]

woulhdn,t di-elcetron hydrogen fuel they produce a lot more enrgey with a smaller amount of hyrgyogen gas.

[amoringis]

I agree that this guy is a joke. Why will you get the hydrogen from oil when it is easier and cheaper to get it from water (H2O) duhh! Plain stupidity.

[millgiass]

Exactly right.

[32deej]

but that would clean the earth, who wants to do that... appearntly no one since we still live like nothing is going to happen while using fossil fuels. just like this faggot scientist who extracts hydrogen from oil...

[GiveItOrLoseIt]

Um.....Just to let you know, it takes the same amount of energy to get hydrogen out of water from the energy you can use from hydrogen....Hydrogen is ONLY a storage of energy. That is it. We can only get hydrogen in LARGE amount with coal and oil....Solar, geothermal and wind are only a small percentage for now. So it is not stupidity completely.

[DeltaNC]

You are overlooking nuclear power.

[Balmungx101]

nuclear power is unstable and to dangerous to be putting into cars and shit.

[librexpresion]

Also nuclear fuel is not inexhaustible, indeed.

[DeltaNC]

Depends on what you mean by nuclear. Fusion offers possibility of cheap and near limitless electricity production.

[librexpresion]

Well, fusion is still science fiction -I mean producing more energy than the one used-. It may work someday, or may not work at all...

[amoringis]

You must be an employee of big oil or an Arab. You have skewed perspective of facts.

[librexpresion]

That's inaccurate. Actually it takes MORE energy to obtain hydrogen from watter than the one you'll get from it.

[Balmungx101]

they dont have the technology to break down water in cars.

[alexjonesretard]

Tom fuller is a joke . this would go against everything the car makers are trying to avoid running your car on water they know its only time but now they brainwashing you to make it so.watch wall-e

[alexjonesretard]

that guy was a joke!!!

[redhotcustoms]

Well, I learned more about how they work, but this guy is kind of a dumbass. Hydrogen is easy as hell to get. Go grab a cup, a 9 volt batter, and some wires. Fill the cup with water, connect wires to battery, and put into water. Viola, you have hydrogen gas as well as oxygen gas.

[jcbiddulph]

but what is the point of using electricity to make hydrogen, only to turn it into electricity again? the way your doing it is, chemecal energy in the battery is changed into electrical energy, turned back into chemical energy (hydrogen) and then convert that to electricity?

[redhotcustoms]

You don't have to use the Hydrogen to make energy. You can use it for other things. But, I was just saying how easy it is to get a hold of. Hell, you can use solar to get it if you want.

[FARCRY1978]

Well said :)

Anyway I think that the problem here is how to store the the hidrogen and oxygen, both extremelly flammable gases.

[redhotcustoms]

Well, they have been storing both for years, so I really don't see how it's such a big issue really. Of course, now they would have more in a smaller space, which of course is more dangerous, but containment really shouldn't be an issue.

[FARCRY1978]

yes , safetly stored , but in industrial facilities , this are cars and in case of an accident I wouldn´t like to have oxygen tubes in the vehicle. even the smallest gas leak in the high pressure tubes or the conecting pipes to the fuel cell can be an issue in a crash.

See how GNC cars burn when the tubes break.

I think that the best option would be electrical cars. and leave this option for truks or bigger machinery.

[redhotcustoms]

Ah, see I was thinking at a filling facility. They were talking that since Hydrogen is lighter than air, that in a accident it would actually rise above the car. Now, if the car was on fire, then you'd be screwed. I know there is a working Hydrogen fuel cell car in production now (the Honda FCX Clarity. The only Honda i'd buy), so they must have figured it out.

[Balmungx101]

do you realize how much hydrogen you would need to flit a 2 ton object?

[librexpresion]

Nowadays there are a lot of more or less experimental hidrogen cars. BMW has been testing their wants for years and hundreds of thousands of kilometers. They use special tanks with double shell than has been tested to not be broken enough to have a leak even in very hard accidents. In the same way, they've developed special pumps and filling systems.

[dannystaple1]

To be honest, think about how standard ICE cars burn - petroleum will stick to you and your clothes and burn. Hydrogen will form a flame jet or simply disperse. The flame jet is pretty bad - but petrol fumes can do the same. I have not yet been convinced that hydrogen is more dangerous to handle than petrol vapour.

[DeltaNC]

Umm... what? Are you under the impression that hydrogen bursts into flames as soon as it comes into contact with air? If so you are incorrect.

The Hindenburg exploded because the hydrogen within it was ignited by ether flame or static discharge. Not because the contents came into contact with air.

[librexpresion]

You're right and I was wrong on that. I've seen that about BMW hidrogen cars years ago, but obviously I must misinterpret what I read. Thanks for correcting me. :-)

[DeltaNC]

No problem :)

[DeltaNC]

Farcry, fuel cell cars are electrical, the fuel cell simply generates the electricity on board and so cuts out charging and wasteful batteries.

As mentioned by someone else, hydrogen will rise away if it leaks, petrol pools and sticks. Hydrogen is no more dangerous than petrol.

[DeltaNC]

I'm not sure I follow you here. Petrol evaporates very easily and is highly flammable. Anything which would trigger a hydrogen leak to ignite would do the same to petrol. The difference here is that hydrogen will dilute and rise in air, where as petrol will pool and fall.

While hydrogen is a more flammable substance, the risk of fire in accident is not really any higher than that of petrol.

[traxdata11]

Since when oxygen is flammable? I never heard that. Oxygen is needed so that thing can burn, but itself is not flammable at all. You only have hidrogen stored in FCHEV. Oxygen you get from air. Hidrogen tank in cars are very strong so they can whitstand high pressure (5000 or 10 000 PSI). They can even save your life in crash.

[beboybo]

oxygen isnt flamable its combustible

[tangjla]

oxygen is flamable... try opening an oxygen tank to full and put a match over it and see what happens...

[ICommentonVideo]

i read about this car in this magizine that gets 110 miles to the gallon now that 1 car that you wont be refueling for a awile

[garyomglol]

Excellent comment; I agree, you can get free hydrogen from pure water using electrolysis. Just 12 Volt car battery power/ or 110 AC current. Search Stanley Meyer at Youtube. And this guy..? supposed to be some kinda scientist? lmao. Using oil to get hydrogen?..wow nice idea, perhaps he can wipe his ass, THEN take a dunk. What a moron.

[librexpresion]

Dunning-Kruger effect.

[j4k3g4l3]

a what now?

[clementckw]

how do u get hydrogen? just curious. like where is the source? and is it renewable? if it is so then shouldnt it be like the most researched on thing right now to save the earth?

[Murmedon]

There's a ton of ways to get hydrogen. One example is from electrolysis, which is basically shocking the water to seperate the hydrogen from the oxygen. And it is renewable, since when the hydrogen is recombined with the oxygen at the end of the fuel cell, it makes water again.

[roxxas5]

That guys profession is going to be my minor in college.

[NicholasSta]

I love all of your videos.

[totalnerd747]

Perhaps you should do one on Electric Cars

[YEE941]

I got one of those

[jackster137]

Yay first comment , also nice vid :D