Welcome!

Dear visitors,

Welcome to the archive of my random collections and discussions about energy technologies and issues of interest to the research and scientific community.

In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about both "energy" and "sustainability". Though there still remain different debates, it is visible that human activities, especially burning of conventional fossil fuels, are responsible for global warming and climate change. Moreover, the reserve of fossil fuels itself is depleting in an unprecedented rate, making the issue of energy security more severe. Thus, move for alternatives to the conventional fossil fuels is indispensable.

A variety of alternative fuels have been proposed so far. They range from primary energy sources like biofuels to the secondary ones like electricity and hydrogen. As an energy carrier, hydrogen has received special attention because of its potential environmental and energy-supply benefits. Though almost all hydrogen currently being produced is from the fossil sources, hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources (like solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal) is expected to ultimately satisfy the needs of modern civilization.

Though hydrogen can also be used as a fuel in internal combustion (IC) engines and conventional combustion turbines, the preferable long-term approach is to employ hydrogen to run fuel cells. Fuel cells are electrochemical energy conversion devices that generate electricity by using hydrogen (or a hydrogen-rich fuel) and oxygen. Various advantages of fuel cells over conventional power systems can be listed as follows:

• Because there is no intermediate conversion of chemical energy into thermal energy and mechanical work, fuel is converted to electricity more efficiently than any other existing electricity generating technology.
• As combustion is avoided, fuel cells produce power with zero or very low emissions, depending on the fuel used.
• Fuel cells have minimum moving parts and thus require minimal maintenance, reducing life cycle costs for energy production. Moreover, their operation is quieter.
• Fuel cells operate efficiently at partial load. This also suggests their suitability for application in motor vehicles, which are usually operated at partial load, e.g. during urban driving.
• Fuel cells are modular in design, offering flexibility in size and efficiencies in manufacturing.
• Fuel cells can be utilized for combined heat and power (CHP) applications, further increasing the efficiency of energy conversion.
• Unlike batteries that must be disposed of once their chemicals are used up, fuel cells provide continuous electricity as their reactions do not degrade over time (at least theoretically!).

Well, this is just an overview of the subject matter I will be covering in my future posts.

Please keep visiting and yes, don't forget to leave your invaluable comments/suggestions.

Cheers!!