Power Your Mobile with Fuel Cell

Japanese mobile giant KDDI displays a prototype of a Hitachi mobile powered by a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC).

The technology — which draws energy from the chemical reaction when hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water — is more commonly seen in futuristic cars with tanks of hydrogen instead of gasoline, whose combustion is a key culprit in pollution and global warming.

Developers say fuel cells for homes produce one-third less of the pollution that causes global warming than conventional electricity generation does.

The oxygen that the fuel cell uses comes from the air. The hydrogen is extracted from natural gas by a device called a reformer in the same box as the fuel cell.

But a byproduct of that process is poisonous carbon monoxide. So another machine in the grey box adds oxygen to the carbon monoxide to create carbon dioxide, which — though it contributes to global warming — is not poisonous.

Developments:

East Japan Railway Company has researched and developed a fuel cell system for railcars as an independent type motive power system that reduces the burden on the global environment and can also overcome the problem of exhaustion of fossil fuels. The company is developing of the world’s first fuel cell hybrid railcar. Development of railcar system technology that uses fuel cells is also being promoted to utilize future breakthroughs in fuel cell technology.

How Fuel Cell Works:
Hydrogen stored in a tank aboard the train is supplied to the fuel cells, where it reacts with oxygen to produce electricity. Unused electricity and electricity generated during braking is stored in a secondary battery, which is used as an auxiliary power source. In addition to being energy-efficient, hydrogen fuel cells emit no carbon dioxide, only water.

From BBC

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