Presenters: Steven Ragsdale ; Kayla Buhler ; Isaac Tolman
Authors: Kayla Buhler, Isaac Tolman, Tyler Young, Steven Ragsdale
Faculty Advisor: Steven Ragsdale
Institution: Southern Utah University
A fuel cell is described with greater energy density than other fuel cell or battery technologies. The core technology has no moving parts and is designed to operate without any ancillary balance-of-plant components that are typically required in fuel cells to optimize system performance. The aim was to develop a “passive” fuel cell that uses “chemistry” to optimize system performance and eliminate ancillary components, complexity, and cost. Selective layer elements control mass transport in situ, eliminating the need for external pumps, controllers, and sensors. The fuel cell technology uses an alkaline anion-exchange membrane (AAEM) as the solid polymer electrolyte. Using an AAEM allows the use concentrated alcohol solutions, >50% fuel concentration for polyhydric alcohols, like glycerol, without adverse effects. A fuel cell powered by glycerol is an efficient way to generate electricity by harvesting more energy from the production of biodiesel fuel. Biodiesel is made by transesterification of oils and fats, which yields crude glycerol as a byproduct. A renewable source of fuel reduces the need for traditional, fossil-fuel based power generation, and decreases greenhouse emissions and reduces foreign oil dependency. This project has demonstrated the enormous potential of a fuel cell technology to do “double-duty” for our environment. Using the byproduct of a renewable fuel in a fuel cell boosts the 3.2 renewable to fossil fuel ratio for biodiesel production to a score of 4.2. Further, since complete oxidation of glycerol to CO2 is not observed, this increase is essentially tantamount to a negative carbon footprint.