THE PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE FUEL CELL




Abstract

The fuel cell is a direct energy conversion device that takes a fuel (in this case hydrogen) and reacts it with an oxidizer (air or oxygen) to generate electricity and waste heat. No heat/work cycle is involved in this reaction. These devices are of technical interest as local power and heat sources with the fuel delivered through gas pipelines, as energy sources for transportation, and in space applications. This experiment will explore the performance of a small proton exchange membrane cell and evaluate its potential as either a stationary or mobile energy source.