Although microbial fuel cells (MFCs) generate much lower power densities than hydrogen fuel cells, the characteristics of the cathode can also substantially affect electricity generation. Cathodes used for MFCs are often either Pt-coated carbon electrodes immersed in water that use dissolved oxygen as the electron acceptor or they are plain carbon electrodes in a ferricyanide solution. The char...

This paper studies power management in a grid-tied hybrid energy system consisting of photovoltaic array, wind turbine, fuel cell, electrolyzer, hydrogen storage tank and a combinational heating system to supply the thermal and electrical demand of a building. Moreover, the hybrid system is capable of exchanging power with local grid. Thus, variable daily buying and selling tariffs are also tak...

The CO preferential oxidation (PrOx) is one of the critical steps in hydrogen production and purification for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). This reaction was investigated in the presence of excess hydrogen over Cu/CeO2, Pt/CeO2 and Cu-Pt/CeO2 catalysts. The ceria supports was prepared via precipitation method and Cu-Pt/CeO2 catalyst was synthesized by sequential impregnation o...

Fueled by concerns about urban air pollution, energy security, and climate change, the notion of a “hydrogen economy” is moving beyond the realm of scientists and engineers and into the lexicon of political and business leaders. Interest in hydrogen, the simplest and most abundant element in the universe, is also rising due to technical advances in fuel cells — the potential successors to batte...

Steam reforming of methanol is one of the promising processes for on-board hydrogen production used in fuel cell applications. Due to the time and energy consuming issues associated with conventional synthesis methods, in this paper a quick, facile, and effective microwave-assisted solution combustion method was applied for fabrication of copper-based nanocatalysts to convert methanol to hydrog...

The goal of this project was to develop a high-density hydrogen storage system based on ammonia borane (AB) complex. Due to their high hydrogen capacity, AB hydrides have been employed as disposable hydrogen (H2) sources for fuel cell applications. The objectives of this project were to 1) identify viable amine-borane (AB) complexes for hydrogen storage at ambient conditions, and 2) develop a c...

The present invention provides a cost-effective method of producing pure hydrogen gas from hydride-based solid materials. The hydride-based solid material is mechanically processed in the presence of a catalyst to obtain pure gaseous hydrogen. Unlike previous methods, hydrogen may be obtained from the solid material without heating, and without the addition of a solvent during processing. The d...

Fuel cell is an emerging technology in the field of renewable energy sources which has the capacity to replace conventional energy generation sources. Fuel cell utilizes hydrogen energy to produce electricity. The electricity generated by the fuel cell can’t be directly used for a specific application as it needs proper power conditioning. Moreover, the output power fluctuates with different op...