Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
However, this calculation allows the comparison of different types of power generation. The theoretical maximum efficiency of a fuel cell approaches 100%, [71] while the theoretical maximum efficiency of internal combustion engines is approximately 58%. [72]
Energy conversion efficiency (η) is the ratio between the useful output of an energy conversion machine and the input, in energy terms. The input, as well as the useful output may be chemical, electric power, mechanical work, light (radiation), or heat. The resulting value, η (eta), ranges between 0 and 1. [1][2][3]
A solid oxide fuel cell (or SOFC) is an electrochemical conversion device that produces electricity directly from oxidizing a fuel. Fuel cells are characterized by their electrolyte material; the SOFC has a solid oxide or ceramic electrolyte. Advantages of this class of fuel cells include high combined heat and power efficiency, long-term ...
In contrast to indirect methanol fuel cells, where methanol is reacted to hydrogen by steam reforming, DMFCs use a methanol solution (usually around 1M, i.e. about 3% in mass) to carry the reactant into the cell; common operating temperatures are in the range 50 to 120 °C (122 to 248 °F), where high temperatures are usually pressurized.
A proton exchange membrane fuel cell transforms the chemical energy liberated during the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen to electrical energy, as opposed to the direct combustion of hydrogen and oxygen gases to produce thermal energy. A stream of hydrogen is delivered to the anode side of the MEA.
The alkaline fuel cell(AFC), also known as the Bacon fuel cellafter its British inventor, Francis Thomas Bacon, is one of the most developed fuel celltechnologies. Alkaline fuel cells consume hydrogen and pure oxygen, to produce potable water, heat, and electricity. They are among the most efficient fuel cells, having the potential to reach 70%.
In operating batteries and fuel cells, charge transfer coefficient is the parameter that signifies the fraction of overpotential that affects the current density. This parameter has had a mysterious significance in electrochemical kinetics for over three quarters of the previous century [citation needed].
Carnot's theorem, also called Carnot's rule, is a principle of thermodynamics developed by Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot in 1824 that specifies limits on the maximum efficiency that any heat engine can obtain. Carnot's theorem states that all heat engines operating between the same two thermal or heat reservoirs cannot have efficiencies greater ...