Contribution of fuel cell systems to CO_2 emission reduction in their application fields

摘要

Fuel cells (FCs) and their hybrid systems can play a key role in reducing carbon dioxide (CO_2) emissions. The present paper analyzes the contributions of the FC system to CO_2 emission reduction in three application fields.rnIn the mobile application field, the direct methanol FC system has little or no influence on CO_2 emission reduction.rnThe benefit of the FC in CO_2 emission reduction in the transportation field is directly dependant on the H_2 production method. Pre-combustion technology (with carbon capture) represents one of the best mid-term solutions for H_2 production. If FC vehicles (FCVs) use the H_2 produced by this process, the CO_2 emissions in this field could be decreased to 70-80% of the traditional CO_2 emissions.rnIn the stationary application field, the FC system can be effectively operated as the distributed generation (DC) in terms of CO_2 emission reduction. Among the various types of FC or FC hybrid system used for DG, the solid oxide FC (SOFC) hybrid system with a CO_2 capture unit is the best option as it doubled the electricity efficiency compared to the traditional combustion cycle and decreases the CO_2 emission to 13.4% of the traditional CO_2 emission.rnHowever, the FC and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies need to be fully developed before the FC can contribute to reducing CO_2 emissions.