CAUTION!
The material in this e-book is for educational
and informational purposes only. The projects contained in this e-book are not suitable for children without knowledgeable adult supervision.
Fuel cells run on hydrogen and air, and hydrogen and oxygen. These gases are flammable and explosive when mixed.
Agreement and understanding
The reader of this e-book assumes complete personal responsibility for the use or misuse of the information contained in this e-book. The information in this e-book does not conform to any known safety standards and it is the reader’s responsibility to adjust this material to conform to all applicable safety standards after conferring with knowledgeable experts in regard to the application of any of the material given in this e-book. The publisher and author assume no liability for the use of the material in this e-book as it is for informational purposes only. If these terms are not acceptable to you, then don’t read this e-book.
Build Your Own Fuel Cells
by Phillip Hurley
copyright ©2002 Phillip Hurley all rights reserved
illustrations and e-book design copyright ©2002 Good Idea Creative Services all rights reserved
Wheelock Mountain Publications
is an imprint of
Good Idea Creative Services
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Caution ..........................................iFuel Cell BasicsSystems & ComponentsOverviewBuilding the K18 Hard Graphite ConvectionSingle Slice Fuel Cell
About this e-book ..........................ii
How to use the e-book ..................iii
A short history of the fuel cell ..........2
What exactly is a fuel cell? ..............5
Fuels for fuel cells ..........................6
Types of fuel cells ........................15
Photovoltaic fuel cell systems ........18
PEM fuel cell components ............29
K18 fuel cell – Tool list ................34
K18 fuel cell – Materials list ..........36
About the materials ......................38
Simple tools do the job ..................44
Table of ContentsPreparing the graphite ..................47
Preparing the other parts ..............61
Assembling the K18 fuel cell ..........71
Testing fuel cells ..........................73
ElectrolyzersHow electrolyzers work ..................82
Building the P38 electrolyzer ........88
Scrubber ....................................106
Making an electrolyte ..................111
Building the L78 Soft GraphiteConvection Single Slice Fuel CellTool and materials list ................119
Really simple tools do the job ......122
Designing Fuel CellsIdeas for designing fuel cells ......139
Building stacks ............................154
Table of Contents continued on the next page
Click on the section head or chapter page number to go to the section or chapter
About MEAs ................................163
MEA – Tool list ............................173
MEA – Materials list ....................177
Loading the catalyst – an experimental method ........179
Preparing the proton exchange membrane (PEM) ..................198
Hot-pressing the MEA ................205
Further experiments ....................210
ResourcesLinks ..........................................216
Books ..................................................221
Suppliers for buildingK18 fuel cells ........................222
Table of ContentsExperimental Methods for Making MEAs Suppliers for building L78 fuel cells ........................223
MSDS links ................................224
TemplatesHow to use the templates ............T-iiK18 single slice convection ..........A-1
P38 electrolyzer ..........................B-1
L78 single slice convection ..........C-1
K18 single slice oxygen hydrogenD-1
L78 single slice oxygen hydrogen E-1
K18 convection stack ..................F-1
K18 oxygen hydrogen stack ........G-1
Surround gasket with feed tunnels ..........................H-1
A short history of the fuel cell
The fuel cell is over one hundred and sixty years old.
In 1839 William Grove was experimenting with batteries and the electrolytic process when he came upon the idea of reversing the process to generate electricity. Electrolysis uses electricity to separate hydrogen atoms from oxygen atoms in water molecules. Grove’s idea was to instead combine oxygen and hydrogen to produce electricity, and water. With the use of a platinum catalyst electrode for this purpose, his efforts were successful. This research was fundamental to understanding the principles of the operation of a fuel cell.
Grove’s “gas battery”
Grove called his invention a “gas battery.” His fuel cell consisted of two platinum electrodes immersed in an electrolyte solution of sulfuric acid and water. This is the same type of electrolyte that is used in lead acid rechargeable batteries today.
Grove was also the first person to put the fuel cell to practical work. In 1842 he connected fifty of his fuel cells together to power an electric arc.
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