AMMONIA AS A FEEDSTOCK FOR A HYDROGEN FUEL-CELL - REFORMER AND FUEL-CELL BEHAVIOR

In this paper, an indirect ammonia fuel cell system is proposed which circumvents the problem of hydrogen storage. System analysis shows that the specific energy density (kWh/kg or kWh/m3) of such a system is very attractive compared with that of a direct hydrogen fuel cell system. The fuel cell stocks have an important impact on these figures. However, both the indirect ammonia and the direct hydrogen systems use the same type of fuel cells, and improvement in fuel cell characteristics will improve the specific power and energy densities of both systems. Earlier work also showed that ammonia is a more attractive fuel than methanol for an indirect fuel cell. Ammonia therefore merits more attention as a fuel cell feedstock.