Producing drinking water from hydrogen fuel cells

In a future hydrogen economy, harvesting water from H sub(2) fuel cells and other devices should be considered as a by-product of their operation. We hypothesize that the water quality produced by modern fuel cells is higher than typical tap waters and complies with US Environmental Protection Agenc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aqua (London) 2009-08, Vol.58 (5), p.327-335
Main Authors: Hristovski, K D, Dhanasekaran, B, Tibaquira, JE, Posner, J D, Westerhoff, P K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antimony
By-products
Byproducts
Consumption
Contaminants
Drinking water
Economics
Energy
Energy consumption
Environmental protection
Fuel cells
Fuel technology
Hydrogen
Hydrogen fuels
Hydrogen-based energy
Leaching
Plumbing
Ratios
Research facilities
Water analysis
Water consumption
Water demand
Water harvesting
Water quality
Water quality measurements
Water sampling
Zinc
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Summary:In a future hydrogen economy, harvesting water from H sub(2) fuel cells and other devices should be considered as a by-product of their operation. We hypothesize that the water quality produced by modern fuel cells is higher than typical tap waters and complies with US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) regulations. Water samples were collected from six different fuel cells (FCs) operated at research centers across the US, and their constituents were measured. The water quality parameters were below the maximum contaminant levels except for zinc, lead and antimony, which may be related to plumbing or FC material leaching. To investigate the yield of water from FCs, water to energy production ratios were modeled. With 85% capture of exhaust water, an FC operating to meet daily energy consumption needs of a typical US household would produce 616L of water. This is nearly the volume of internal human consumption of water, but far less than the 6410L/capita/d of total potable water demand which accounts for all uses of water. In a nationwide hydrogen economy, where all energy consumed comes from hydrogen, over 4.9 billion m super(3) of high quality water per year would be produced as by-products of hydrogen usage.
ISSN:0003-7214
1606-9935
1605-3974
1365-2087
DOI:10.2166/aqua.2009.103