Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle

PROJECT REFERENCE NO.: 39S_B_BE_082

COLLEGE : T. JOHN GROUP OF TECHNOLOGY, BANGALORE BRANCH : MECHANICAL ENGINEERING GUIDES : DR. SUJITH PRASAD E. STUDENTS : MR. VIVEKANANDA M. MR. ABHISHEK G. SHETTY MR. HARSHA S. MR. MAHANTESH MADIWALAR

INTRODUCTION:

Hydrogen is going to be the fuel for future. It is the most lightest and most abundant element in the universe. Pure hydrogen gas can extracted from various sources like hydrocarbons,fossil fuels,water etc. The best suitable source to produce hydrogen gas is water which is abundantly available on the earth. Hydrogen from water can be produced by a process called electrolysis which uses electrochemical reaction to separate H2 and O2 molecule from water.

In 1839, the Welsh scientist Sir William Robert Grove took the familiar electrochemical process of electrolysis which uses electricity to produce hydrogen from water and reversed it generating electricity and water from hydrogen. He called his invention a gas voltaic battery but today we know it as a hydrogen fuel cell. Much later in the middle of the 20th century the technology was further developed by the inventor Francis Bacon. The technology that these two inventors devised is essential to the operation of a hydrogen car.

What makes a hydrogen car possible is a device called a fuel cell which converts hydrogen to electricity giving off only heat and water and water vapour as byproducts. Because it is non-polluting, hydrogen seems to be the ideal fuel for the 21st century. Several hygrogen cars are now in existence which include Cheverolet Equinox, the BMW745h, the Honda FCX, the recently released Toyota Mirai.

OBJECTIVES:

 To produce an eco-friendly driving car.  To make use of freely available resources.  To find an alternate fuel for automobiles.  To manufacture it at a lower costs.

Methodology:

ELECTROLYSIS: Hydrogen gas can be produced by downward displacement reaction through electrolysis of water using electrolyzer with electrodes acting as cathode and anode. Battery can be used as electric source and tap water is used for electrolysis. The hydrogen gas produced is collected and allowed to pass into the fuel cell. H2O(l)→H2(g)+1/2O2(g) HYDROGEN FUEL CELL (HFC): The stored hydrogen gas is made to pass through the HFC at a certain pressure. The Fuel Cell consists of two catalyst coated electrodes. Graphite nanoparticles edged with iodine acts as anode and graphite nanoparticles edged with silver acts as cathode. These two electrodes are separated by a photon exchange membrane. This membrane is prepared by treating cotton sheets with KOH solution and allowing them to dry in acetone. In between these electrodes an electrode separator known as pvc (polyvenilechloride) sheets are provided to prevent direct contact between the electrodes. This fuel cell stack I covered with a scrap metal casing providing two inlet ports for passing hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. The hydrogen gas is passed through the anode which gets oxidized into H+ ions and these ions passes through PEM and gets reacted with O- ions which produced by passing oxygen through cathode. These ions gets reacted through an electro chemical reaction to form water and electricity is obtained. The electricity generated is stored in a battery.

This power generated is not sufficient to run a vehicle but can be shown on a voltmeter to prove the working concept of the fuel cell. By passing proper amount of hydrogen gas and oxygen gas at suitable pressure and by using gaskets and still more technological advancements we can run a vehicle.

At anode H2 (g) → 2H+ + 2e-

At cathode 1/2O2 + 2e- + 2H+ → H2O

Net cell reaction H2(g) + 1/2O2(g) → H2O(l)

Expected Outcome of the project:

Drastic pollution minimization by using eco friendly Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle (HFCV)

Application of the project: automobile industries.

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