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Fuel Cell Projects for the Evil Genius Evil Genius Series Bionics for the Evil Genius: 25 Build-it-Yourself MORE Electronic Gadgets for the Evil Genius: Projects 40 NEW Build-it-Yourself Projects Electronic Circuits for the Evil Genius: 57 Lessons 101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius with Projects 101 Outer Space Projects for the Evil Genius Electronic Gadgets for the Evil Genius: 123 PIC® Microcontroller Experiments for the Evil 28 Build-it-Yourself Projects Genius Electronic Games for the Evil Genius 123 Robotics Experiments for the Evil Genius Electronic Sensors for the Evil Genius: PC Mods for the Evil Genius: 25 Custom Builds to 54 Electrifying Projects Turbocharge Your Computer 50 Awesome Auto Projects for the Evil Genius Programming Video Games for the Evil Genius 50 Model Rocket Projects for the Evil Genius Solar Energy Projects for the Evil Genius 51 High-Tech Practical Jokes for the Evil Genius 22 Radio and Receiver Projects for the Evil Genius Fuel Cell Projects for the Evil Genius 25 Home Automation Projects for the Evil Genius Mechatronics for the Evil Genius: 25 Build-it-Yourself Projects Fuel Cell Projects for the Evil Genius Gavin D. J. Harper New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 0-07-159576-7 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: 0-07-149659-9. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps. 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Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise. DOI: 10.1036/0071496599 About the Author Gavin D.J. Harper is the Technology from the Open University, UK. author of 50 Awesome Auto He went on to study toward a Master of Projects for the Evil Science in Architecture with Advanced Genius, Build Your Own Environmental & Energy Studies with the Car PC, 50 Model Rocket University of East London at the Centre for Projects for the Evil Alternative Technology. He also holds the Genius, and Solar Energy Diploma of Vilnius University, Lithuania. He has Projects for the Evil Genius undertaken further study with the Open University (all from McGraw-Hill), and with Loughborough University’s Centre for and has had work mentioned in the journal Renewable Energy Systems Technology. He is Science. currently reading for his Ph.D. into the impacts of Gavin holds a Diploma in Design & Innovation alternative vehicles and fuels at Cardiff and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree in University, Wales. v Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. To John, Helen and baby Ella Maeve, The Bullas Clan vi For more information about this title, click here Contents Foreword ix 6 Alkaline Fuel Cells 57 Project 14: Making Electricity Acknowledgments x with Alkaline Fuel Cells 59 1 History of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells 1 Project 15: Plotting the IV 2 The Hydrogen Economy 9 Characteristics of an AFC 63 3 Producing Hydrogen 23 Project 1: Testing for Hydrogen 24 Project 16: Plotting the Power Curve of an AFC 66 Project 2: Testing for Oxygen 26 Project 17: Comparing the Project 3: Investigating Acid–Metal Performance of Different Reactions 27 Alkaline Electrolytes 67 Project 4: Investigating the Activity of Project 18: Comparing the Metals When Producing Performance of Different Hydrogen 29 “Hydrogen Carriers” 68 Project 5: Investigating Water Project 19: Investigating How Electrolysis 31 Temperature Affects Alkaline Project 6: Making Fuel from Water Fuel Cell Performance 68 with a Hoffman Apparatus 33 Project 20: Investigating AFC 4 Hydrogen Storage 37 Poisoning 70 Project 7: Using Hydrogen Storage Project 21: Investigating the Tanks with Desktop AFC’s Need for Oxygen 71 Fuel Cells 37 Project 22: Investigating Different Project 8: Boyle’s Law and Gases at the Anode 71 Compressed Project 23: Investigating the Rate of Hydrogen Storage 38 Reaction (Oxygen Project 9: Exploring Charles’ Law 39 Consumption) of an AFC 72 Project 10: Making Your Own “Carbon 7 PEM Fuel Cells 77 Nanotube” 40 Project 24: Disassembling a Project 11: Generating Hydrogen Fuel Cell 84 Using the H-Gen 46 Project 25: Changing MEA Platinum Project 12: Changing the H-Gen Rate Loading 88 of Reaction 47 Project 26: Experimenting with 5 Platinum Fuel Cells 51 Oxygen and Air 89 Project 13: Build Your Own Project 27: Building Your Own Platinum Fuel Cell 51 Mini Fuel Cell 90 vii 8 Direct Methanol Fuel Cells 95 Project 38: Air Travel with Project 28: Getting to Grips with the Hydrogen! Building a Methanol Fuel Cell 98 Hydrogen-Fueled Airship 166 Project 29: Decommissioning and Project 39: Building a Recommissioning a Radio-Controlled Methanol Fuel Cell 99 Airship 167 Project 30: Building a Band-Aid® 14 More Fun with Hydrogen! 169 Fuel Cell 100 Project 40: Powering a Radio 9 Microbial Fuel Cells 107 Using Hydrogen 169 Project 31: Building Your Own Project 41: Hydrogen-Fueling Microbial Fuel Cell 108 Your iPod 171 Project 42: Making Hydrogen 10 High-Temperature Fuel Cells 115 Bubbles 172 11 Scratch-Built Fuel Cells 121 Project 43: Exploding Some Project 32: Making Your Own MEAs 126 Hydrogen Balloons 173 12 Hydrogen Safety 135 Project 44: Having a Hydrogen Barbecue 174 13 Hydrogen Transport 141 Project 33: Building a Simple 15 Fuel Cell Competitions 177 Fuel Cell Car 145 Appendix A: Everything You Wanted Project 34: Building an “Intelligent” to Know About Hydrogen . Fuel Cell Car 152 and Then Some 185 Project 35: Building a Hydride-Powered Appendix B: Fuel Cell Acronym Buster 187 Fuel Cell Vehicle 156 Project 36: Building a Appendix C: Fuel Cell Associations 189 Radio-Controlled Fuel Cell Epilogue 193 Vehicle 157 Index 195 Project 37: Space Travel with Hydrogen! Building a Hydrogen Rocket 164 Contents viii Foreword Global warming, depleting oil supplies, and energy for students in the classroom, for hobbyists, and independence are all topics of discussion at dinner for the everyday person sitting at the kitchen table. tables around the world. Politicians argue about It was clear that Gavin Harper was just the person how quickly we need to move to renewable energy, to write this book. I invited him to come and what the interim steps might be, and how we will work in our small laboratory in our back offices in fund the necessary new technology. Hydrogen is Boulder, Colorado where he would have access the most abundant, efficient energy storage device to more equipment and some technical in the universe. Converting that stored energy to assistance. electricity will be one of the ways we will Once there, Gavin greeted us daily, showing his overcome some parts of the looming energy crisis. cheery disposition and with frequent exclamations However, few people have an understanding of of joy as he found another unique way to work how fuel cells actually work.