Today, millions of people depend
on the automobile as their main source of transportation. Automobiles are the
most efficient and convenient way to travel compared to walking or running.
Unfortunately, most of the automobiles use fossil fuels such as petrol, diesel.
The harmful gases released by combustion of gases like carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxides, hydrogen carbons, and carbon dioxide. Cause air pollution and
deplete the ozone layer. In addition to these disastrous effects to the environment,
gasoline is a finite energy source. Therefore, another efficient and cheap
energy source needs to be found quickly. Ideally, this energy source should be
unlimited in its supply and friendly to the environment.
Many alternatives have been considered
like the use of batteries and solar power to power cars. However, since
batteries operate on a stored amount of energy, it has a limited range
typically around 100 miles. The batteries are also very large since it consumes
over 17 times as much space and 45 times as much weight as gasoline tanks.
Solar powered cars are limited to its use on sunny days. On cloudy days and at
night, the car operates on batteries. Therefore, solar powered cars have a
driving range of approximately 135 miles. As a result, the best alternative to
gasoline is the Fuel Cell
The paper presents an approach to
the use of Fuel cell as an alternative to conventional fuels. It gives a bird eye view of working of fuel
cell and its types, weighs the merits and demerits of one over the other. It also explores the application of fuel
cells in the diversified fields of transportation, Industrial, Residential
Power and aerospace.
The answer to the present energy
crisis and the future of the human race seems to lie in the Fuel Cells. Though
affordable, research should be made to further bring down the cost of fuel
cells and penetrate it in all walks of our lives.
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