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THE ALKALINE FUEL CELL
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The earliest modern applied fuel cell technology, the alkaline fuel cell, uses a strongly alkaline potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte. As the potassium hydroxide will react with carbon dioxide to form solid potassium carbonate, the alkaline fuel cell absolutely must have a source of pure hydrogen to operate.
The alkaline fuel cell operates at relatively low temperatures, in the range of 80 to 95 degrees Celsius (175 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit). It uses platinum catalyst to increase the reverse electrolysis reaction rate.
The alkaline fuel cell has a number of attractive features. It requires less platinum catalyst than an acidic fuel cell, and has a high power to weight ratio. Improvements in the design have resulted in reducing the electrolyte's susceptibility to carbon dioxide poisoning.
However, the alkaline fuel cell has to be supplied with pure hydrogen, since any carbon dioxide contaminants will react with the potassium hydroxide electrolyte to form solid potassium carbonate. It remains useful for aerospace applications, where its light weight is valuable and the requirement for pure hydrogen not too difficult to meet, but is not generally regarded as useful for terrestial applications.
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