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Lecture

Electrolyzers and Fuel Cells

In course

ChE-430: Nanomaterials for chemical engineering application

This course provides an overview on nanoparticle synthesis and their use in different energy-related applications. The first part of the course is more fundamental and chemistry oriented. The second part is more applied and chemical engineering oriented. T ...

Description

This lecture covers the colloidal synthesis of nanoparticles and their energy applications, focusing on electrolyzers and fuel cells. It discusses the motivation behind energy storage in chemical bonds, the role of solar energy, and the challenges faced by the electricity market. Various topics include water electrolyzers, CO2 electrolyzers, fuel cells, energy storage technologies, and the principles of pumped-storage power plants.

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Instructor

Raffaella Buonsanti

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Energy engineering

Fuel power: Hydrogen fuel

Environmental science

Environmental policy: Topics in environmental policy

Related concepts (32)

Electrolysis of water

Electrolysis of water is using electricity to split water into oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2) gas by electrolysis. Hydrogen gas released in this way can be used as hydrogen fuel, but must be kept apart from the oxygen as the mixture would be extremely explosive. Separately pressurised into convenient 'tanks' or 'gas bottles', hydrogen can be used for oxyhydrogen welding and other applications, as the hydrogen / oxygen flame can reach circa 2,800°C. Water electrolysis requires a minimum potential difference of 1.

Solid oxide electrolyzer cell

A solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) is a solid oxide fuel cell that runs in regenerative mode to achieve the electrolysis of water (and/or carbon dioxide) by using a solid oxide, or ceramic, electrolyte to produce hydrogen gas (and/or carbon monoxide) and oxygen. The production of pure hydrogen is compelling because it is a clean fuel that can be stored, making it a potential alternative to batteries, methane, and other energy sources (see hydrogen economy).

Energy storage

Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator or battery. Energy comes in multiple forms including radiation, chemical, gravitational potential, electrical potential, electricity, elevated temperature, latent heat and kinetic. Energy storage involves converting energy from forms that are difficult to store to more conveniently or economically storable forms.

Fuel cell

A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requiring a continuous source of fuel and oxygen (usually from air) to sustain the chemical reaction, whereas in a battery the chemical energy usually comes from substances that are already present in the battery. Fuel cells can produce electricity continuously for as long as fuel and oxygen are supplied.

Grid energy storage

Grid energy storage (also called large-scale energy storage) is a collection of methods used for energy storage on a large scale within an electrical power grid. Electrical energy is stored during times when electricity is plentiful and inexpensive (especially from intermittent power sources such as renewable electricity from wind power, tidal power and solar power) or when demand is low, and later returned to the grid when demand is high, and electricity prices tend to be higher.

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