Last modified: 2017-10-12
Abstract
The major consumption of hydrogen is for synthesis of ammonia and methanol and its significant portion is used in refineries for upgrading crude oil and to produce cleaner fuels to meet stringent environmental regulations. Hydrogen has potential to play a pivotal role in all strategies to lower CO2 emissions, improve the air quality of urbanized areas and increase the possibilities of covering the energy demand with energy sources other than petroleum.
One of the key technologies for the deployment of hydrogen is fuel cells. These electrochemical energy conversion devices convert their fuel into electrical energy with efficiencies higher than the incumbent technologies. . A fuel cell uses an external supply of chemical energy and can run indefinitely, as long as it is supplied with a source of hydrogen and oxygen (usually air). The source of hydrogen is generally referred to as the fuel and this gives the fuel cell its name.
Hydrogen and fuel cells are important part of the energy technology strategy of many industrialized countries and developing countries should plan progress in this area.
In this paper different methods of hydrogen production from exhaustible and renewable sources are discussed along with different types of fuel cells, typically PEMFC for vehicles for clean environment in cities.