麻豆淫院

(麻豆淫院Org.com) -- The slow evolution of clean-energy solutions is about to kick into high gear, if Sossina M. Haile has anything to say about it. As a fuel cell researcher at the California Institute of Technology and a founding member of the company Superprotonic Inc., she hopes to make this 鈥渢echnology of the future鈥� practical for today鈥檚 applications.

Current fuel cell technology is hamstrung by impracticality. The most efficient and powerful fuel cells need large amounts of heat and space, whereas those suitable for smaller scale operation require lots of precious, expensive platinum. 鈥淚f we converted every car in the U.S. to fuel cells, we鈥檇 need more platinum than there is in the proven reserves,鈥� Haile says.

Haile鈥檚 research, which initially began several years ago with fuel cell researchers at JPL, has led to breakthroughs in more 鈥渃onsumer-ready鈥� fuel cell technology. She鈥檚 developed fuel cell systems that strike a balance between power and manageability 鈥�- perfect, she says, for standalone residential generators. Her team has worked hard to reduce the amount of platinum needed for each system.

Haile's team has also taken on one of the biggest roadblocks to widespread fuel cell use -- their reliance on hydrogen as a primary fuel. Hydrogen requires lots of energy to extract and it鈥檚 difficult to store and distribute.

In fact, Haile thinks that the verdict is still out on whether hydrogen 鈥渕akes sense鈥� as the fuel of the future. 鈥淲hen most people hear 鈥榝uel cells,鈥� they think hydrogen,鈥� says Haile. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a common misperception -- fuel cells aren鈥檛 necessarily restricted to hydrogen.鈥�

Haile's team has focused on developing fuel cells that can run on more traditional fuels, like ethanol or biomass, while also solving many of the problems of conventional hydrogen fuel cells.

Fuel cells that use carbon-based fuels still produce carbon emissions, but at a much lower rate than their internal-combustion counterparts. Because fuel cells extract energy from electrochemical reactions instead of burning their fuel, they are much more efficient and environmentally friendly. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a unique middle ground,鈥� explains Haile -- one she believes will speed the integration of these new technologies into the current energy infrastructure.

For Haile, the incentive to design practical, unconventional fuel cells is simple: 鈥淪cience should be in the service of society.鈥� She thinks that fuel cells that can use renewable energy resources like biomass will help end what she calls she calls 鈥渄rawing from the bank鈥� -- using fossil fuels as a source of energy.

鈥淭here鈥檚 scientific proof that CO2 concentrations have been rising for decades to levels not felt on the Earth in millenia,鈥� Haile says. 鈥淲e need to have a diverse approach to solving the problem before it鈥檚 too late.鈥�

Provided by Global Climate Change