Hydropower As A Great Alternative to Fossil Fuels

The development of alternative power sources has long been championed by environmental activists for decades. Because much of the world’s economic, political and social balance relies heavily upon the burning of non-renewable fossil fuels, activists and environmental advocates have long been concerned upon the detrimental effects of fossil fuels on the environment and on natural resources.

Apart from being non-renewable and harmful to the environment, fossil fuels like coal and gas usually entail a long development process before it can be used as fuel, requiring great physical and chemical processes, together with the use of heavy and complex equipment. Alternative energy sources on the other hand are usually renewable and environment-friendly. One such example of alternative fuel sources is hydropower, which utilizes water gathered into dams which provide electricity at a lower coat and helps reduce carbon emissions which are harmful to the environment.

In fact, research has proven that the use of hydropower has emitted a total of 160 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States on 2004. Also, hydropower provides the cleanest and most inexpensive power sources in the Pacific Northwest, making it advisable for use in industrial and residential areas that are looking to save up on energy costs. Plus, if compared to the electricity generated by traditional fossil fuels, hydropower produces approximately 40% more energy, making it the more efficient power source.

When harnessed properly, who knows in the near future, direct tv, rice cookers, airconditioners and other appliances as well as gadgets will be powered by an alternative power source such as hydropower.

What is a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell?

In the field of electricity, there are so many concepts and objects that you need to get familiar to, and one of these is the solid oxide fuel cell, also known as SOFC. SOFC is basically a type of electrochemical device designed to produce electricity from fuel oxidation. It features a ceramic or solid oxide electrolyte. Long-term stability, high efficiency, fuel flexibility, low cost and low emissions are just some of the benefits that we can get from using solid oxide fuel cells. On the downside, SOFC has a high operating temperature that can lead to longer start-ups, chemical and even mechanical compatibility problems.

SOFCs are fuel cells that are characterized by using solid oxide as their electrolyte to handle negative oxygen ions from the cathode and transfer them to the anode. On the anode, electrochemical oxygen ions oxidation takes place with carbon monoxide or hydrogen. In the more recent years, proton-conducting SOFCs, also referred as PC-SOFC, are being developed in order to carry protons to the electrolyte in place of the oxygen ions. This was done to decrease the temperature as compared to using traditional SOFCs.

Solid oxide fuel cells work at extremely high temperatures ranging from 500 to 1000 degrees Celsius. SOFCs do not need platinum catalysts at these temperatures. The chances to incur sulfur poisoning is possible when using SOFCs , and so the sulfur content must be removed first before it enters the cell with the use of adsorbent beds or other materials.

Light hydrocarbon fuels like propane, butane and methane can be internally created within the anode at high temperatures. The SOFCs can be fueled as well by recreating heavier hydrocarbons like diesel, jet fuel, biofuel and gasoline. Mixtures of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, steam, methane and carbon dioxide are the reformates formed by the reaction of the hydrocarbon fuels with steam or air in the upstream device within the SOFC’s anode C. The power systems of the fuel cell can level up the efficiency with the use of heat from the exothermic electrochemical oxidation.

With these fuel cells, people can have a wide selection of applications from auxiliary power units in cars and other vehicles to power generation to create 100W to 2 MW output. Unlike other fuel cells, SOFCs have a number of geometries. These are the planar fuel cell (sandwich type geometry), tubular geometry and the modified planar fuel cell. These fuels cells feature good designs that serve the primary purpose of creating energy or electricity.