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Posts Tagged chemistry

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Experimentation

Mar 17

Posted by brett in academic | 4 Comments

I got around to assembling the hydrocar that I posted last week.  All worked as expected.

The Hydrocar, model: FCJJ-20, ISBN: 537 1924 0102 01, manufactured by Horizon, comes with:

  • Reversible Fuel Cell
  • Kit Chassis & Wheels
  • Electric Motor
  • Flashing LED Lights
  • Water Vessels
  • Gas Collectors
  • Connector Cables
  • Syringe
  • Battery Pack
  • User Manual
  • Solar Panel

Assembly is fairly straight-forward.  Four cuts of a supplied pastic tubing, and its pretty much plug & play from there.

Electrolysis of Water:

  • The Fuel Cell electrolyzes the water, splitting the water (H2O) molecule into hydrogen and oxygen molecules.
  • Hydrogen (H2) and Oxygen (O2) molecules are stored in separate collectors, which are located in the water vessels for this car.
  • The Fuel Cell generated Hydrogen at a rate of about 9.2mL / minute, and Oxygen at a rate of about 4.6mL / minute (notice exactly half the rate)
  • Hydrogen is generated at exactly double the rate of Oxygen because there are two Hydrogen atoms and only one oxygen atom in every water molecule.

Once the gas collectors were full, electricity measurements were taken:

  • Maximum Voltage Output from Fuel Cell: 1.428v
  • Maximum Current (Shorted): 2.38A
  • While the motor and electronics of the hydrocar were running, they pulled anywhere from .30A to .70A, with an average of about .50A.

Pics Below:

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Hydrocar Science Kit

Mar 11

Posted by brett in academic | No Comments

So I got quite the bargain last week, picked up twelve “Hydrocar” science kits for under $20 total ($85 each at HorizonFuelCell’s store)!

Check out what they look like here:
http://www.horizonfuelcell.com/store/hydrocar.htm

It includes a plastic chassis for the car, a reversible fuel cell (also used for electrolysis), solar panel, battery pack, gas containers, and plastic tubing used for connecting everything.  Each fuel cell outputs about 0.9V, and powers the small electric motor inside the car.

I plan to further investigate the efficiency of these fuel cells, attempt to find out what type of catalyst is used, and find some other applications (diy) for the fuel cells.

Hydrocar Manual

UPDATE: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Experimentation


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Hydrogen Economy

Mar 11

Posted by brett in academic | No Comments

As wikipedia defines it: “The hydrogen economy is a proposal for the distribution energy by using hydrogen. Hydrogen (H2) gives off energy when it is combined with oxygen, but the hydrogen itself has to first be produced, which requires more energy than is released when it is used as a fuel.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_economy

Hydrogen fuel cells and the chemistry behind them is quite intersting to me.. the electrolysis of water to create hydrogen and oxygen molecules – can be basically used as a fuel, just like a battery.  I’ll be continuing my research on Hydrogen Fuel Cells and related topics over the next few months, and see if I can come up with anything interesting to build / experiment with.

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