UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr.

Saibal Manna

KOE-074 RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES 3L:0T:0P 3 Credits

Unit Topics Lectures

Geothermal Energy: Resources of geothermal energy, thermodynamics
of geo- thermal energy conversion-electrical conversion, non-electrical
conversion, environmental considerations. Magneto-hydrodynamics
III 8
(MHD): Principle of working of MHD Power plant, performance and
limitations. Cells: Principle of working of various types of fuel cells and
their working, performance, and limitations.

Introduction
Geothermal energy is the heat that originates from the core of the earth, where temperatures
are about 4000 ̊ C.
The main advantages of geothermal energy are:
i. It is a reliable and cheap source of energy
ii. It is available 24 hours per day.
iii. Its availability is independent of weather.
iv. It has inherent storage feature so no extra storage facility is required.
v. Geothermal plants require little land area.
The major disadvantages are:
i. It is site specific-there are not many places where you can build a geothermal power
station.
ii. Generally, energy is available as low-grade heat
iii. Continuous extraction of heated ground water may lead to subsidence (settling or
slumping) of land.
iv. Geothermal fluid also brings with it dissolved gases and solute which leads to air
and land pollution.
v. Drilling operation leads to noise pollution.
vi. The available thermal energy cannot be distributed easily over long distances
vii. Corrosive and abrasive geothermal fluid reduces the life of the plant.

TYPES OF GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES [AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18,

2021-22]
There are four types of geothermal resources: (A) Hydrothermal (B) Geopressured (C) Hot dry
rock (HDR) (D) Magma
At present Hydrothermal resources are the only commercially used resources. Other resources
are going through a development phase and have not become commercial so far.

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 UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

A. HYDROTHERMAL RESOURCES [AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18, 2021-22]

Ø Hydrothermal resources occur when underground water has access to high temperature porous
rocks, capped by a layer of solid impervious rock.
Ø Thus, water is tapped in the underground reservoir (aquifers) and is heated by surrounding
rocks.
Ø Heat is supplied by magma by upward conduction through solid rocks below the reservoir.
Ø Thus, it forms a giant underground boiler.
Ø Under high pressure, the temperature can reach as high as 350 ̊ C.
Ø The hot water often escapes through fissures in the rock, thus forming hot springs or geysers.
Ø Sometimes steam escapes through cracks in the surface. These are called fumaroles.
Ø In order to utilise the hydrothermal energy, wells are drilled either to intercept a fissure or more
commonly, into the hydrothermal reservoir as shown in Fig.1.

Fig. 1. General simplified structure of hydrothermal resource

For practical purpose, hydrothermal resources are further subdivided into
(A.1) Vapour dominated (dry steam fields) : Vapour-dominated fields deliver steam with little
or no water.
(A.2) Liquid-dominated (wet steam fields) : Liquid-dominated fields produce a mixture of
steam and hot water or hot water only.
(A.3) Hot-water resources

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

A.1. Vapour Dominated (Dry Steam) System [AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18, 2021-22]
Dry steam fields occur when the pressure is not much above the atmospheric pressure and the
temperature is high. Water boils underground and generates steam at temperatures of about
165 ̊ C and a pressure of about 7 atm.
The most important known dry steam fields is “The Geysers region in California, which may
be the largest”
Working:
Ø Steam is extracted from the well, cleaned in a centrifugal separator to remove solid matter
and then piped directly to a turbine.
Ø The exhaust steam of the turbine is condensed in a direct contact condenser, in which the
steam is condensed by direct contact with cooling water.
Ø The resulting warm water is circulated and cooled in a cooling water and returned to the
condenser.
Ø The condensation of steam continuously increases the volume of cooling water.
Ø Excess water is reinjected at some distance deep into the ground for disposal.
Ø The non-condensable gases are removed from the condenser by steam jet ejection.

Fig.2. Dry-steam hydrothermal system

A.2. Liquid Dominated (Wet Steam) System [AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18, 2021-22]
Steam plants offer the most cost effective technology when the resource temperature is above
about 175 ̊ C. Therefore, liquid-dominated or wet steam fields are further subdivided into
A.2.1. High temperature (above 175 ̊ C) fields, where steam plants can be used
A.2.2. Low temperature (below 175 ̊ C) fields where other technologies are used.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

A.2.1. Liquid Dominated – High Temperature System

q In a high temperature, liquid-dominated reservoir, the water temperature is above 175 ̊ C.
q However, it is under high pressure and remains in liquid state.
q The most developed such system is found at the wairakei fields in New Zealand, where the
reservoir temperature and pressures are 230 ̊ C and 40 atm respectively, and depth are 600
m to 1400 m.
q When water is brought to the surface and pressure is reduced, rapid boiling occurs and it
flashes into steam and hot water.
q The steam is separated and used to generate electrical power in the usual manner.
q The remaining highly saline hot water can be used for direct heat and then reinjected into
the ground.

Fig. 3. Wet steam-high temperature hydrothermal system (single flash steam system)
A.2.2. Liquid Dominated – Low Temperature System
Ø These resources are available at moderate temperature ranges of 90 ̊ C-175 ̊ C.
Ø This temperature is not enough for efficient flash steam production.
Ø A binary-fluid system is employed, where the heat of geothermal fluid is used to vaporize
a volatile organic fluid, such as isobutene (BP = 10 ̊ C), under pressure in a primary heat
exchanger.
Ø The geothermal fluid is reinjected after extraction of heat.
Ø This vaporized fluid serves as a working fluid for the turbine.
Ø The exhaust vapour from the turbine is cooled in the regenerative heat exchanger and then
condensed in a condenser.
Ø The condensed liquid isobutene is returned to the primary heat exchanger by way of the
regenerative heat exchanger.
Ø This system is shown in Fig.4.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

Fig.4. Binary fluid hydrothermal system

Advantages of Binary System:
i. They almost avoid corrosion, scaling, and environmental problems as the geothermal
fluid circulates through a closed-cycle and all the fluid is reinjected.
ii. In many cases, they are capable of higher conversion efficiencies than flash steam
plants.

A.3. Hot Water System [AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18, 2021-22]

q Hydrothermal reservoirs of low to moderate temperatures (20 ̊ C-150 ̊ C) can be used to
provide direct heat for residential and industrial uses.
q The hot water is brought to the surface where a heat-exchanger system transfers its heat to
another fluid (liquid or air); although the resource can be used directly if the salt and solid
content is low.
q The geothermal fluid is reinjected into the ground after the extraction of heat.
q The heated fluid transports heat to the place of use.

B. Geopressured Resources [AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18, 2021-22]

Ø While drilling for oil and gas, hot sail-water reservoirs, at moderately high temperature (90 ̊
C-100 ̊ C) and under great pressure are found at a depth of 3 to 6 km.
Ø Because of the very high pressure of the water, up to 1350 atm in the deepest layer, these
reservoirs are referred as geopressured.
Ø A special feature of geopressured water is that it also contains a significant amount of
dissolved methane gas.
Ø The solubility of methane in water at normal pressure is quite low but it increases with
pressure.
Ø When the water is brought to the surface and its pressure reduced, the methane gas is
released from the solution.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

This resource is potentially very promising because three types of energy can be extracted from
the wells:
• Thermal energy from the heated fluids
• Mechanical (hydraulic) energy from the high pressure involved
• Chemical energy from the burning of methane gas.

C. Hot Dry Rock Resources [AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18, 2021-22]

o There are regions underground at temperature exceeding 200 ̊ C, with little or no water.
o The rocks are impermeable and or there is no surface water in the vicinity.
o Such resources up to a depth of 5 km are estimated to be significant and worthy of
development as a source of energy.
o Hot dry rocks are much more common than hydrothermal reservoirs and more accessible.
So, their potential is quite high.
The recovery of heat from HDR involves forming a man-made reservoir by drilling deep into
the hot rocks and then cracking it to form cavity or fractures. Such system is known as an
Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) or Engineered Geothermal Systems. This can be achieved
by (i) detonating high explosives at the bottom of the well (ii) Nuclear explosion (iii) hydraulic
fracturing
(i) Hydraulic Fracturing:

q To recover heat, water is pumped into the cracks from the surface and withdrawn by another
well at a distance.
q Injection and production wells are joined to form a circulating loop through this man-made
reservoir to achieve a steady flow of high temperature water.
q Electricity can be generated by a binary fluid system as shown in Fig.5.
q When heat is extracted, the rock cools down and new cracks are developed sue to
temperature gradient. Thus, the resource keeps on expanding.
q Freon (R-114) was used as the working fluid for a turbine in a binary system.
q Only 5% of water introduced was lost on the ground and a small proportion of make-up
water was required.

D. Magma Resources [AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18, 2021-22]

v At some places, molten or partially molten rock (magma chamber), at temperatures of 650 ̊
C-1200 ̊ C occurs at depth of 5km to 10km.
v Very large temperature and large volume make magma a huge potential energy source, the
largest of all geothermal resources.
v However successful magma drilling technology has not been established yet.
v Magma technology will require special drilling technology to deal with the interaction of
the drill bit with molten rock, the effects of dissolved gases, and mechanisms of heat
transport in molten magma.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

Fig.5. Hot dry rock-binary fluid system

EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF GEOTHERMAL

RESOURCES [AKTU 2015-16]
q The development of a hydrothermal resource begins with exploration, to locate and confirm
the existence of a reservoir with economically exploitable temperature, volume and
accessibility.
q Most known reservoirs were discovered from surface manifestations such as hot springs.
q However, in some geothermal fields, the surface indications provide misleading
information as to reservoir capacity.
q Because of the high cost of drilling, something needs to be known about energy potential
of the reservoir before drilling is undertaken.
q Efforts are on to develop procedures for forecasting geothermal reservoir performance.
q The procedures under study include (i) rate of upward heat flow in the ground (ii) chemical
composition of surface and ground water (iii) electrical resistivity of the ground at varying
depths (iv) seismic measurements
q Exploratory drilling and production testing is then used to establish reservoir properties.
q Deep drilling surveys wells commonly reach depth of 6km and the technology is available
to drill to 15 km.
q Geothermal drilling is however, more difficult and expensive.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

q Temperature of up to 350 ̊ C encountered in geothermal drilling, are higher than those in

oil or gas well drilling and usually hard volcanic rock needs to be penetrated.
q The drilling mud used to lubricate and cool the drill bit deteriorates rapidly at temperature
above about 175 ̊ C.
q Geothermal fields generally lend themselves to staged development.
q To begin with, a modestly sized plant can be installed at an early stage of field assessment
based on the available information.
q The operation of this plant would provide more information about the reservoir, which can
lead to the installation of future stages.
q Continuous long-term use of geothermal energy would require the periodic construction of
new plants at new sites while previously used reservoirs recover.
q The recovery period of the geothermal resource depends on how it is used.
q Recent surveys indicate a recovery period of 100-200 years for district heating and several
hundred years for electricity generations.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION [AKTU 2015-16]

Ø Hydrothermal (dry steam) resources contain some non-condensable gases, mainly CO2 and
small amounts of H2S, ammonia methane, etc., which appear in turbine exhaust.
Ø The emission of CO2 is significantly less than that from any fossil-fuel plant with the same
output.
Ø Geothermal steam may also contain boron, arsenic, mercury and other potentially
poisonous elements, which are found in condensate.
Ø This can contaminate the ground water and poison fish and other aquatic life, if not disposed
of safely.
Ø The reinjection of excess condensate deep into the ground solves the problem of its safe
disposal.
Ø In wet steam fields, the mineral and salt content of the hot water can be as high as 20-30%
dissolved solids.
Ø This poses liquid-waste disposal problems. Also, withdrawal of large amounts of steam or
water from hydrothermal resources may result in surface subsidence.
Ø These problems can also be dealt with by reinjection of used water deep into the ground.
Ø Steam-electric plants of any type discharge much of the heat present in the turbine exhaust
to the atmosphere.
Ø Because of the low thermal efficiency in case of hydrothermal plants, a much larger
proportion of heat supplied is discharged to the atmosphere as compared to fossil fuels or
nuclear plants.
Ø Vaporisation of water in the cooling tower also results in increased amount of moisture in
the atmosphere.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN INDIA

ü After various resource assessment studies or surveys, nearly 350 potential hot springs,
distributed in seven geothermal provinces, have been identified throughout the country.
ü Most of them are low-temperature hot water resources and can best be utilised for direct
thermal applications.
ü Only some of them can be considered suitable for electrical power generation.
ü The potential for power generation at these sites has been estimated as about 10000MW.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

Table 1: Geothermal fields in India

S. N. Geothermal Main Locations Heat flow Thermal gradient
provinces (mW/m2) ( ̊ C/km)
1 Himalayas Puga Valley (J &K), 468 234
Manikaran (HP)
2 Sohana 76-96
3 West coast Unai (Maharashtra) 129 59
4 Cambay Tuwa (Gujrat) 93 70
5 Son-Narmada- Jalgaon (Maharashtra), 120-260 60-90
Tapi (SONATA) Tattapani (Chattisgarh),
Bakreswar (Bihar)
6 Godavari 104 60
7 Mahanadi 200 90

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT AND

THERMAL POWER PLANT [AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18]

Thermal Power Plant Geothermal Power Plant

1 Uses Coal as fuel. Uses underground hot water
2 Causes Pollution Does not cause pollution.
3 Will not last long and exhaust as soon as Will last for very long time.
the stores fuel exhausts.

4 Temperature and Pressure in such plant are Very high temperature and pressure
much less (165 ̊ C and about 7 atm). (540 ̊ C and about 160 atm)
5 Efficiency is low about 15%. Efficiency is high about 35-40%.
6. There is no problem regarding These power plants in some dangerous
earthquakes. cases can cause earthquakes.
7 Industrial set up. Naturally occurring in the sea
8 Conventional energy source Non-conventional energy source.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

MAGNETO HYDRODYNAMIC (MHD) POWER CONVERSION

Ø A magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) power generator is a device which converts the kinetic
energy of the conducting (electrically) material, flowing in the presence of magnetic field
directly into electrical energy.
Ø In a practical MHD generator, the energy of motion of the conducting fluid is derived from
heat obtained by burning of fossil fuel. Thus, heat is converted directly into electrical
energy.

Basic Principle [AKTU 2015-16]

Let a conducting gas, having a conductivity of 𝜎 mho/m, moving a speed 𝑢 across the magnetic
field 𝐵. The speed 𝑢 and magnetic field 𝐵 are held mutually perpendicular along the x-axis and
y-axis respectively. The electrodes, having area 𝐴, are held at a distance, 𝑑 along the z axis,
thus perpendicular to both 𝑢 and 𝐵, as shown in Fig. 6.

Fig.6. Basic principle of MHD generator and equivalent circuit

The magnitude of a force acting on a charged particle having charge 𝑞 is given by 𝑞. 𝑢. 𝐵. This
force, as per right hand rule, will be acting in the upward direction (on a positively charged
particle). The positively charged particles will be collected by the upper electrode and the
negatively charged particles by the lower electrode, causing a potential difference V across
them. The resulting electric field between the plates is given by:
𝑉
𝐸=−
𝑑

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

(1)

(2)
From Eq. 1:

(3)

(4)

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

MHD GENERATOR [AKTU 2017-18, 2016-17]

Ø An MHD generator is a divergent channel or duct made of a heat-resistant alloy (e.g.
Inconel) as shown in Fig. 7.
Ø A magnetic field is applied at right angles to the channel length and electrodes are
provided at right angles to both the magnetic field and flow of gas.
Ø A conducting fluid (ionized gas) is forced into the MHD channel at high speed and high
temperature through a nozzle.

Fig. 7. MHD generation or channel or duct

Ø It expands as it moves forward and leaves the duct at lower temperature and pressure.
Ø In this respect, an MHD converter system is a heat engine, which receives heat at high
temperature, converts a part of it into useful work (electricity in this case) and rejects the
remaining heat at a lower temperature.
Ø The efficiency of an MHD converter alone is about 20-25%.
Ø In practice, however, an MHD converter is never made to operate alone.
Ø The exhaust of an MHD system is used to raise steam for a conventional steam plant.
Ø Thus, by using MHD as a topping cycle for the conventional steam system, an overall
efficiency of 50-60% should be possible.

Ø MHD generation looks more promising for direct thermal to electrical power conversion in
large-scale central power stations.
Ø Several economical and physical factors have led to design outputs of the order of 1000MW
or so.
Ø As seen in Eq. 4., the output power per unit volume of the duct is proportional to the
conductivity of the working fluid.
Ø A practical MHD generator requires minimum conductivity of 10mho/m.
Ø The working fluid a gas, itself is a non-conductor at ordinary temperature.
Ø It is rendered conducting in two ways:

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

(i) By Inducing Ionization in the Working Fluid

Ø Ionization by thermal means alone would require a temperature of several tens of thousands
of degrees Celsius.
Ø A more practical way is to inject solid seed material up to about 1% of the total flow rate.
Ø The seed material contains an element, commonly potassium or cesium, which ionizes
relatively easily when heated.

(ii) By Incorporating a Liquid Metal into Flowing Carrier Gas

o The power output of an MHD generator is also proportional to squares of magnetic flux
density and gas speed.
o Due to limitations of enhancing conductivity beyond a certain limit, a strong magnetic field
and high gas velocities are required for large outputs.
o Conventional electromagnets are not practical in the range of required flux density of above
2 Tesla.
o Consequently, superconducting magnets are being proposed for such applications.
o The required gas velocities for large outputs are in the range of around 1000 m/s.

Advantages

1. Conversion efficiency of MHD-steam hybrid plant may be as high as around 50-60%. The
fuel is better utilised.
2. MHD generation uses no moving parts and therefore, all problems/limitations associated
with it are also absent.
3. MHD unit is capable of rapid starting and taking up peak loads in an interconnected system.
4. An MHD plant is compact and requires comparatively less space.

Disadvantages

1. Very high operating temperature restricts the choice of material for various equipments.
2. Life of equipments is short due to high temperature stresses.
3. The output power is available as DC. Inversion is required for integrating it into a grid.
4. There are technical limitations on enhancing the fluid conductivity and the strength of
magnetic field.

MHD SYSTEMS [AKTU 2018-19]

There are two types of MHD generating systems (A) Open cycle (B) Closed cycle. In an open-
cycle system, the working fluid is used on once-through basis, whereas in closed cycle system,
the working fluid is continuously recirculated.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

A. Open-cycle System

The main features of an open-loop system are shown in Fig. 8.

q Hot flue gases at about 2300-2700 ̊ C, obtained from burning of coal (or other fuel) in a
combustor are used as working fluid, after mixing with seed material.
q Aqueous potassium carbonate is generally sprayed for the purpose of seeding.
q To attain such a high temperature, compressed air is preheated at least up to 1100 ̊ C before
supplying the combustor.
q The working fluid enters the MHD channel through a nozzle and produces DC output.
q An inverter is used to obtain 50 Hz AC output for supply to consumers.
q The exhaust of an MHD channel is first used to preheat the air intake for combustor and
then to raise the steam in a waste-heat steam generator.
q The steam so produced is used to generate additional power through a conventional turbine-
generator system.
q The flue gases are released to the atmosphere through a chimney after seed recovery and
removal of pollutants.
q The recovered seed material is recycled after mixing the additional quantity to make up for
the loss of seed.
q Seed recovery is important for prevention of atmospheric pollution and for economic
reasons.

Fig.8. Open-cycle MHD generating system

B. Closed-cycle System [AKTU 2021-22, 2016-17]

The closed cycle works on Brayton cycle with inert carrier gas (argon or helium). Two general
types of closed-loop systems are discussed here.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

I. Seeded Inert-gas Carrier System

Ø The complete system has three loops (i) combustion loop (open) (ii) argon loop (closed)
and (iii) steam loop (closed), as shown in Fig.9.

Ø In the first loop, coal is gasified and burnt in a combustor.

Ø The flue gases are passed through primary heat exchanger (HX1), air preheater, and air
purifier and then discharged to the atmosphere.

Ø In an argon loop or MHD loop, a seeded inert gas (argon or helium) is compressed and
then heated in a primary heat exchanger.
Ø A small quantity of seed material is then added to make up for the loss of seed through
leakage.
Ø The seed, cesium metal, is more expensive than potassium but attains adequate
conductivity at a relatively lower temperature of 1900 ̊ C.
Ø As little makeup seed is required due to closed-loop operation, an expensive but better
seed material may be advisable.
Ø The lower temperature operation also permits wider choice of material for various
equipment’s.
Ø However, operation at lower temperature also reduces the thermal efficiency of the cycle.
Ø The DC output available from the MHD generator is inverted to original grid quantity
AC.
Ø The residual heat of a used organ is utilized to generate additional power through a waste
heat boiler (secondary heat exchanger, HX2), turbine and generator.
Ø A part of the steam produced is also used to power the argon cycle compressor through a
steam turbine.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

Fig. 9. Seeded inert gas carrier, closed cycle MHD generating system

II. Liquid Metal-inert Gas Carrier System

v In this system, instead of seeding, a liquid metal (such as Na, K or Li) is incorporated in
the inert carrier gas for conductivity requirement.
v These metals are excellent electrical conductors in the liquid state but their vapours are
poor conductors.
v Therefore, these are used in the working fluid in the liquid state only.

q A liquid sodium-based closed loop MHD generating system with coal as input energy is
shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 10. Liquid metal-inert gas carrier, closed cycle MHD generating system

q The carrier gas is pressurized and heated by a passage through primary heat exchanger with
the combustor.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

q The hot gas is then incorporated into the liquid metal (usually sodium) to form the working
fluid.
q The working fluid thus consists of gas bubbles uniformly dispersed in an approximately
equal volume of liquid sodium metal.
q After passing through the MHD duct, the liquid metal is separated from the carrier gas.
q The residual heat in the gas is utilized in the same way as explained above for the case of
seeded inert gas carrier system.

FUEL CELL [AKTU 2018-19]

• A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device that continuously converts

chemical energy of a fuel directly into electrical energy.

• Fuel cells require a continuous input of fuel and an oxidizing agent (generally oxygen) in
order to sustain the reactions that generate the electricity. Therefore, these cells can
constantly generate electricity until the supply of fuel and oxygen is cut off.

Working Principle of Fuel Cell [AKTU 2018-19]

Ø A fuel cell consists of two electrodes, one anode and the other cathode, which is separated
by an electrolyte.
Ø The organic fuel that can be used in a fuel cell to produce electricity, such as hydrogen.
Ø An electrolyte material is present between both electrodes.
Ø Fuel is supplied to both the electrodes individually.
Ø In a fuel cell, the hydrogen is fed to the anode, while air is fed to the cathode.
Ø Here, the catalyst present at the anode side of the cell tends to break the hydrogen molecules
into smaller particles, i.e., protons and electrons.
Ø Both the elements try to move towards the cathode by different paths.
Ø The electrons reach the cathode and produce the current, while the protons travel through
the electrolyte membrane and reach the cathode to combine with oxygen molecules and
electrons to produce water and heat as by-products.

Advantages [AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18, 2018-19]

1. It is quiet in operation as it is a static device.

2. It is less pollutant
3. Its conversion efficiency is more due to direct single-stage energy conversion.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

Fig.11. Working of fuel cell

4. Fuel cell can be installed neat the point of use, thus transmission and distribution losses
are avoided.
5. No cooling water is needed as required in the condenser of a conventional steam plant.
6. Because of modular nature, any voltage/current level can be realised and the capacity can
be added later on as the demand grows.
7. Fuel-cell plants are compact and require less space.
8. Availability of choice from large number of possible fuels.
9. Can be used efficiently at part load from 50 to 100%.
10. No charging is required.

Disadvantages [AKTU 2015-16, 2017-18, 2018-19]

1. Fuel cells are expensive in nature.

2. Fuel cells are difficult to store as the fuel used in the cells require a particular temperature
and pressure level to be maintained.
3. Fuel cells are comparatively less durable.
4. The average lifespan of fuel cells is not quite high.

Applications [AKTU 2018-19]

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FUEL CELL AND BATTERY

Battery Cell Fuel Cell

1 They store energy in the form of chemical They cannot store energy. Fuel cell
energy converts chemical energy to electrical
energy.
2 Reactants are inside the cell itself. Reactants for chemical reactions are
supplied continuously.
3 Chemical reaction products remain inside Chemical reaction products are removed
the cell itself from the cell
4 Rechargeable Not rechargeable
5 Less efficiency High efficiency
6 Supply energy for a limited period of time Supply energy for a long period of time
7 Less expensive They are expensive
8 Example : lithium ion batteries Example : hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

CLASSIFICATION OF FUEL CELLS

Based on the type of Electrolyte

A. Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC)

B. Alkaline Fuel Cell (AFC)
C. Polymer Electrolytic Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) or Solid Polymer Fuel Cell
(SPFC) or Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC)
D. Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC)
E. Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)

A. Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC) [AKTU 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19]

Ø The basic phosphoric acid fuel cell is shown in Fig. 12.

Ø It consists of two electrodes of porous conducting material (commonly nickel) to collect
charge, with concentrated phosphoric acid filled between them to work as an electrolyte.
Ø Pure hydrogen or a hydrogen-rich gas is supplied at the negative electrode and oxygen or
air is supplied at the positive electrode.
Ø The pores provide an opportunity for the gas, electrolyte and electrode to come into contact
for electrochemical reaction.
Ø This reaction is normally very slow and a catalyst is required in the electrode to accelerate
the reaction.
Ø At the negative electrode, hydrogen gas is converted to hydrogen ions (𝐻! ) and an equal
number of electrons (𝑒 " ). Thus
𝐻# → 2𝐻! + 2𝑒 "

Ø The electrons originating at the negative electrode flow through the external load to the
positive electrode.
Ø Also, 𝐻! ions migrate from the negative electrode towards the positive electrode.
Ø On reaching the positive electrode, they interact with 𝑂# to produce water. Thus
1
𝑂 + 2𝐻! + 2𝑒 " → 𝐻# 𝑂
2 #
Ø Combining the above equations indicated that the fuel cell combines 𝐻# and 𝑂# to produce
water (plus electrical energy).
Ø The overall reaction is, therefore,
1
𝐻# + 𝑂# → 𝐻# 𝑂
2

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

Fig.12. Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell

o This is true for any type of hydrogen-oxygen cell.

o The operating temperature of PAFC is 150 -200 ̊ C.
o At atmospheric pressure, it produces an ideal EMF of 1.23 V at 25 ̊ C, which reduces to
1.15 V at 200 ̊ C.
o The actual value is always less than this and decreases with current. Normally, at rated
values of current the voltage lies between 0.7 V to 0.8 V.

B. Alkaline Fuel Cell (AFC) [AKTU 2021-22]

q An alkaline fuel cell, the oldest of all fuel cells, uses 40% aqueous KOH as an electrolyte.
q The operating temperature is about 90 ̊ C.
q Like PAFC, it works with 𝐻# and 𝑂# active materials, and the same level of EMF is
produced.
q The operation and movements of charge carriers are shown in Fig. 13.
q At the positive electrode, oxygen, water (from electrolyte), and returning electrons from
the external load combine to produce 𝑂𝐻" ions:

1
𝑂 + 𝐻# 𝑂 + 2𝑒 " → 2𝑂𝐻"
2 #
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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

q There 𝑂𝐻" ions migrate from the positive to the negative electrode through the electrolyte.
q On reaching the positive electrode, these 𝑂𝐻" ions combine with 𝐻# to produce water.
q An equivalent number of electrodes are liberated that flow through the external load
towards positive electrodes. Thus,

𝐻# + 2𝑂𝐻" → 2𝐻# 𝑂 + 2𝑒 "

q The overall reaction is same as that with PAFC. That is,

1
𝐻# + 𝑂# → 𝐻# 𝑂
2

Fig. 13. Alkaline Fuel Cell

C. Polymer Electrolytic Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) or Solid Polymer Fuel Cell
(SPFC) or Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC)

Ø A solid membrane of organic material (such as polystyrene sulphonic acid) that allows 𝐻!
ions to pass through it, is used as an electrolyte.
Ø The basic components of the cell are shown in Fig. 14.
Ø A thin layer of the membrane is used to keep the internal resistance of the cell as low as
possible.
Ø Finely divided platinum deposited on each surface of the membrane serves as the
electrochemical catalyst and current collector.
Ø Hydrogen enters a closed compartment, interacts with negative electrode and gets
converted in 𝐻! ions and equal number of electrons (𝑒 " ).

𝐻# → 2𝐻! + 2𝑒 "

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

Ø The 𝐻! ions are transported to a positive electrode through the membrane and electrons
return to a positive electrode through external resistance.
Ø At positive electrode, the ions, electrons and oxygen () interact to produce water.

1
𝑂 + 2𝐻! + 2𝑒 " → 2𝐻# 𝑂
2 #
Ø Thus the overall reaction is

1
𝐻# + 𝑂# → 𝐻# 𝑂
2
Ø The cell operates at 40-60 ̊ C. The ideal EMF produced is 1.23V at 25 ̊ C.

Fig.14. Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell

In a modified version of this fuel cell, methanol is used directly without reforming instead of
pure hydrogen. This is known as Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC).

o The complicated catalytic reforming process is not required.

o Storage of methanol is much easier than that of hydrogen because it does not need to be
done at high pressure or low pressure.
o The liquid methanol (CH3OH) is oxidized in the presence of water at the anode, generating
CO2, hydrogen ions and electrons.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

o The hydrogen ions travel through the electrolyte and react with oxygen from the air and the
electrons from the external circuit to form water at the anode completing the circuit.
o The excess water and CO2 are discharged as exhaust.

Anode Reaction 𝐶𝐻$ 𝑂𝐻 + 𝐻# 𝑂 → 𝐶𝑂# + 6𝐻! + 6𝑒 "

Cathode Reaction 3
𝑂 + 6𝐻! + 6𝑒 " → 3𝐻# 𝑂
2 #
Overall Cell Reaction 3
𝐶𝐻$ 𝑂𝐻 + 𝑂# → 𝐶𝑂# + 2𝐻# 𝑂
2

D. Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) [AKTU 2021-2022]

q In MCFC, carbonate of alkali metal (Na, K, or Li) in molten (liquid) phase is used as
electrolyte.
q This requires the cell operation at a temperature above melting points (600-700 ̊ C) of the
respective carbonates.
q Because of high temperature of operation, a catalyst is not necessary.
q Porous nickel is used for electrodes and the electrolyte is held in sponge-like ceramic
matrix.
q A special feature of these cells is that during operation they oxidize hydrogen to water and
carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide.
q Hence gaseous mixtures of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which are relatively
inexpensive to manufacture can also be used.
q This feature offers the prospects for use of a variety of fossil fuels including Coal.
q These fuels are first converted to get 𝐻# and CO and desulphurized to prevent poisoning
of the electrodes.
q The theoretical value of EMF at no load is approximately 1V at 700 ̊ C.
q However, actual voltage at load is somewhat lower (about 0.8 V)

Operation of MCFC

v The operation of MCFC is explained with the help of a diagram shown in Fig. 15.
v At the fuel electrode 𝐻# and CO react with 𝐶𝑂$"" ions present in the electrolyte and release
two electrons each to the electrode as given below:

𝐻# + 𝐶𝑂$"" → 𝐻# 𝑂 + 𝐶𝑂# + 2𝑒 "

𝐶𝑂 + 𝐶𝑂$"" → 2𝐶𝑂# + 2𝑒 "

v These electrons circulate through external resistance, forming load current and reach the
oxidant electrode.
v The 𝐶𝑂# produced at the fuel electrode is circulated through an external path to the oxidant
electrode, where it combines with 𝑂# and the returning electron through the external path
to produce 𝐶𝑂$"" :

𝑂# + 2𝐶𝑂# + 4𝑒 " → 𝐶𝑂$""

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

v The 𝐶𝑂$"" ions thus produced are responsible for transportation of charge from positive to
negative electrode within the electrolyte.
v The overall reaction may be written as:

𝐻# + 𝐶𝑂 + 𝑂# → 𝐻# 𝑂 + 𝐶𝑂#

Fig.15. Molten Oxide Acid Fuel Cell

E. Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)

o Certain solid oxides (ceramics) at high temperature can be used as electrolyte.

o For example, zirconium oxide containing a small amount of other oxide to stabilise the
crystal structure has been used as an electrolyte.
o The material is able to conduct 𝑂"" ions at high temperature.
o The negative electrode is made of porous nickel and the positive electrode employs a
metal oxide, e.g., indium oxide.
o The operating temperature is in the range of 600-1000 ̊ C.
o Due to high temperature operation, a catalyst is not required.
o These cells could utilise the same fuels as used in MCFC.
o At the fuel electrode 𝐻# and CO react with 𝑂"" ions present in the electrolyte to produce
𝐻# 𝑂 and 𝐶𝑂# .
o The two electrons released (per ion) flow through external path to constitute load current.

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UNIT – III (KOE 074) Renewable Energy Resources Faculty Name: Dr. Saibal Manna

o Like MCFC, the heat of discharge can be utilised as process heat or for additional power
generation using steam plant.
o The output voltage at full load is about 0.63 V.
o A tubular construction of SOFC is shown in Fig. 16.
o The reactions at the electrodes are

Anode Reaction 𝐻# + 𝑂"" → 𝐻# 𝑂 + 2𝑒 "

And
𝐶𝑂 + 𝑂"" → 𝐶𝑂# + 2𝑒 "
Cathode Reaction 𝑂# + 4𝑒 " → 2𝑂""

Overall Cell Reaction 𝐻# + 𝐶𝑂 + 𝑂# → 𝐶𝑂# + 𝐻# 𝑂

Fig. 16. Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

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