FUEL CELL
WHAT IS FUEL CELL ?
A Fuel cell is a device which transforms chemical energy into electricity through a chemical reaction of positively charged hydrogen ions with oxygen. The main reaction within a fuel cell is the combination of hydrogen and oxygen to produce water.
As illustrated in the top figure the fuel cell device is placed within the building area facing the parking lot. Alternative fuel cell installation locations suggested by the manufacturer are in the basement or on the roof. However designing the building to these specifications would be expensive, negatively affect the support of the building and makes it unmanageable in the event of a malfunction. As shown in image of the right hand corner the specified locations are occupied by the rainwater harvesting system, solar panels, and green roof. With this in mind, the fuel cell's current position was what was decided upon to be the most advantageous.
HOW DOES A FUEL CELL WORK?
The device has two different parts fuel reformer and fuel cell. The specific input is natural gas (methane) and the outputs are electricity and hot water. The output is not only enough to serve the Golisano institute of sustainability building but some of the surrounding facility as well. The fuel cell produce 400 kilo watt (KW) of electricity. In 2014 the fuel cell produced 3,300 megawatt hour (MWH) electricity which is enough to power 313 homes for one year. In addition the C02 emissions is equal to 8 million miles driven by an average car. On the left the figure shows the fuel cell operation cost for 2014 as compared to what we would have paid had we used the traditional method of purchasing electricity and natural gas from the grid. Therefore if the essential cost of the fuel cell can be overcome then, as shown, power costs can be drastically reduced
WHY SHOULD I CARE ?
Combustion free
Provide electricity
Saves money
It will increase the efficney upto 80%.
It can tolerate CO2 and CO concetration of about 1.5%.
TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE OF SUSTAINABILITY
ENVIRONMENT
Benefits
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Minimal air pollution
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Mitigate global warming
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Energy efficencey upto 90%
Tradeoffs
still requires fossil fuels
needs a precious metals to run
still omits co2
Benefits
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Safe and Reliable
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low noise operation
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Grid independent
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no particulate emissions
Tradeoffs
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requires large outside area
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money could have been used for other purposes
SOCIAL
ECONOMIC
Benefits
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low fuel cost
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low life time mantaninace cost
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Collective advantage of heat and power
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Tradeoff
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high capital investment
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any system malfunction can be costly