Abstract
Yoake, City of Light, consists of three artificial islands off the west coast of Japan. Built in 2110 by Japan’s Center for the Future, it replaces densely populated coastline lost to flooding spawned by global warming and serves as a model for other cities requiring relocation to safer ground. Yoake’s main island houses its residential and commercial zones; the second is a natural ecosystem of terrestrial flora and fauna; and the third is an agricultural zone for aquafarming and growing fruits, vegetables, grains, and livestock.
Because of its environmental mindset, Yoake has emerged as a global epicenter for researching fragile marine ecosystems threatened by climate changes and fresh water runoff. Its prestigious Fritz School of Science lies on the cutting edge of genetic and agricultural engineering, serving Yoake and the world. In its quest to help flora and fauna adapt to a new climate, the FSS maintains underwater research facilities on Yoake’s artificial reefs, oversees a sanctuary to preserve endangered wildlife, and conducts extensive research in genetically engineered seaweed, Yoake’s principal export.
A multilayered transportation system serves Yoake’s residents. On the surface, citizens travel canals on watershoes, waterbikes, and PEM (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane)-powered watercraft. Beneath the surface, mass transit and commercial vehicles move quietly and quickly, making pedestrian transportation safe and enjoyable. An underground maglev system and TransAir, a building-to-building skyway connection, complete the transportation infrastructure on land. In the water, Torps, supercavitating vessels named for their torpedo-like shape, transport passengers and cargo.
HIMPISes (Highly Intelligent Multi-Purpose Interchangeable Servicers) are used in the residential and commercial sectors to perform tasks requiring complex motor skills, such as maintaining marifarms, repairing canals, and monitoring home safety. Unlike their robotic ancestors, HIMPISes use interchangeable parts and strong AI to transform into any form their program requires, reducing labor and costs.
Yoake powers such services through sustainable practices utilizing available renewable resources, including wind farms, wave turbines, and biomass fuel from seaweed fermentation. In the residential zone, TransAirs and high-rise apartment buildings utilize a system of active solar building skins integrated with PEM fuel cells powered by hydrogen derived from biogas.
Citizens communicate through the LINK, a three-dimensional holographic network connected to a variety of devices and incorporating holographic memory technology. Data is transmitted to the GLOBAL LINK satellite and redirected to target locations via its solar/fusion-powered quantum switch.
In the commercial sector, sustainable marifarming provides Yoake with food, fertilizer, power, and pharmaceuticals critical to the world’s health, including improved strains of Porphyra, red seaweed engineered to contain higher levels of carotenoids, proven antioxidant and anticancer agents. Yoake’s agricultural zones also produce and export eco-friendly bio-plastics and bamboo for construction and textiles. Finally, in its high tech sector, Yoake has become a leader in cell farming, using photo-bioreactors for large-scale production of algae and bio-insecticides.
Add to these impressive features its excellent health care and education systems, ample recreational facilities, and emphasis on a sustainable future, and one can see why Yoake truly is a City of Light.
Essay
When Yoake’s founders envisioned their City of Light, they decided that fuel cells would play key roles. Engineers built transportation systems relying partially on PEM fuel cells, industrial sectors powered by microbial and solid oxide fuel cells, and commercial zones utilizing PEM-powered robots. They knew that fuel cells remain one of the most environmentally friendly technologies available. Although advancements have been made since their introduction in the 1800’s, the basic system remains the same: fuel cells are electrochemical energy conversion devices containing a cathode and an anode. An electrolyte carries charged particles from one electrode to the other. Hydrogen and oxygen, both renewable, are used in the operation of a fuel cell, the only byproducts being heat and water.
Yoake’s residential zone benefits most from this energy source. Here, in many homes, PEM (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane) fuel cells provide power using hydrogen as fuel. Hydrogen reacts over tiny catalyst particles to form protons and electrons. The proton exchange membrane allows the protons, but not the electrons, to pass through. The hydrogen ions flow directly through to the cathode while the electrons flow through a circuit to produce an electric current. Once they reach the cathode, the electrons and the hydrogen ions unite with oxygen to form water.
Although all residents of Yoake do not rely on fuel cells – wind, tidal, and solar power are alternative sources -- at the Fritz School of Science, dorm residents find themselves in the middle of an experiment to use PEM fuel cell (PEMFC) systems in an innovative way. Here, ten dorms are powered by a PEMFC system integrated with active solar building skins. These two systems act in tandem, the PEMFC systems producing power primarily at night and on cloudy days, and the solar skins providing power during the day.
To determine the energy needs of this population, engineers calculated the following:
Residential Population On Campus |
Average Power Demand (kW) |
Total Electrical Energy Required for Total Campus Population |
Average Number of Students Per Residential Building |
Number of Fuel Cells Needed @ 1 per Building |
Power Rating for Each Fuel Cell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10,214 |
0.5-1.25 kW per person, assuming average demand for home of four is 2-5 kW |
12-30 kWH of energy per person per day |
1021 students per building |
10 units |
500 kW- 1500 kW |
One PEM fuel cell stack serves as part of the dorm’s central technical core to control all its electrical functions, including security, HVAC, and communication via onsite distribution. All dorms within one city block are interlinked for localized sharing of excess power. High-speed computers control the network, monitoring use and sending extra power to back-up battery systems.
Biogas supplies the necessary hydrogen. Seaweed bioengineered to produce purer methane is harvested robotically and transported to a fermentation plant to produce methane gas. The methane gas is piped to the reformer adjacent to the fuel cells. This biogas is reformed to produce hydrogen and the byproducts carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Carbon monoxide conversion and elimination are integrated into the fuel processor. The product gas stream is sent through purification columns to separate the hydrogen fuel from CO2.
A 500-1500 kW fuel cell will be required to power each building. This fuel cell has an efficiency of 50%, but with heat recovery the efficiency can increase to 85%. Residents utilize the byproducts, heat and water, for heating their homes and as drinking water. Another advantage of this hydrogen-powered fuel cell system is that PEMFC’s are scalable and can be stacked until the desired output is reached; therefore, if additions are added to the residence, power needs can easily be met. Although one disadvantage of any hydrogen-powered system is the energy consumed to convert methane into hydrogen, engineers have reduced the amount significantly. They have also reduced the temperature of the reforming reaction to better match the operating requirements of the fuel cell.
Clearly, Yoake’s state-of-the-art PEMFC system meets the needs of its citizens in an environmentally friendly, efficient manner. By acting in tandem with the solar skins and harnessing the available energy from seaweed, an abundant renewable resource, Yoake’s fuel cell systems guarantee a cleaner, brighter tomorrow.
Bibliography
Correspondence:
Harris, Aaron, Field Service Engineer, Nuvera Fuel Cells. Emails to the KMS Future City
Team. October 5 - October 20, 2006.
Hoffman, Casey, Research Assistant, Rennsalear Polytechnic Institute. Emails and Phone Calls to the KMS Future City Team. December 20, 2006.
Hwu, Henry H. Research Scientist. Air Products and Chemicals. Emails and Phone Calls to the KMS Future City Team. December 20, 2006- January 3, 2007.
Listemann, Mark, Lead Research Chemist, Air Products and Chemicals. Emails and phone calls to the KMS Future City Team. October 17 – December 20, 2006.
Logan, Bruce, Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering, Penn State University. Emails to the KMS Future City Team. October 17 - October 20, 2006.
Mench, Matthew, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of Fuel Cell Dynamics and Diagnostics Laboratory, Penn State University. Emails to the KMS Future City Team. October 17 - October 20. 2006.
Smith, Kevin. Emails to the Future City Team. October 10 - November 13, 2006.
Field Trips Taken by the KMS Future City Team:
East Penn Manufacturing, Lyons, PA. Tour of PEM Fuel Cell Laboratory. November 17, 2006.
Pennsylvania Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Festival, Kempton, PA. Introduction to Fuel Cell Specialists. September 22, 2006.
Films:
Building the Future: Cities and Pollution. Chip Taylor Communications. 2002.
Power for the People. Landmark Media. 2004.
Transportation: Traffic, Fuel Consumption and Air Pollution. Disney Educational Productions. 2005.
Mench, Matthew, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of Fuel Cell Dynamics and Diagnostics Laboratory, Penn State University. Interview with the KMS Future City Team. October 20. 2006.
Smith, Kevin. Technical Director at East Penn Manufacturing. Presentation to the Future City Team. November 13, 2006.
Web Articles:
“Common Types of Fuel Cells,” Minnesota Office of Enviromental Assistance.http://www.moea.state.mn.us/p2/fuelcells-types.cfm.
“Conversion/Fuel Cells,” Hydrogen Program.
http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/fuel_cells.html.
“Fuel Cells,” Fuel Cell World.
http://fuelcellworld.org/article_flat.fcm?subsite=1172&articleid=13.
“Fuel Cells,” Shatz Energy Research Center. http://www.humboldt.edu/~sere/fc.html.
“Fuel Cell Vehicles,” Fuel Economy. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fuelcell.shtml.
“How Fuel Cells Work,” How Stuff Works. http://www.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell.htm.
“Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program,” U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. October 23, 2006. http://www.1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/.
“Integrated Microbial-based Biofuel Cells Producing Electrochemically Active Metabolites in the Anodic Compartment of Biofuel Cells,” Biofuel Cells-Review. http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/~eugeniik/biofuel/biofuel_cells2_2.html.
“Ipro 301: Solar Hydrogen Hybrid System Development,” Ipro 301. http://www.iit.edu/solarsign.
Logan, B. E. “Microbial Fuel Cell Research,” Penn State. November 20, 2006. http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/ENVE/mfc-Logan_files/mfc-Logan.htm.
“Microbial-Based Biofuel Cells,” Biofuel Cells – Review.http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/~biofuel/biofuel_cells2.html
“Microbial-Based Biofuel Cells Operating in the Presence of Artificial Electron Relays,” Biofuel Cells-Review. http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/~eugeniik/biofuel/biofuel_cells2_3.html.
“Microbial Bioreactors Producing H2 for Conventional Fuel Cells,” Biofuel Cells – Review. http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/~eugeniik/biofuel/biofuel_cells2_1.html.
“Microbial Fuel Cell,” Wikipedia. 19 October 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_Fuel_Cell.
“Molten-carbonate fuel cells,” Wikipedia. 22 September 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten-
carbonate_fuel_cellshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten-carbonate_fuel_cells.
“New World Record Achieved in Solar Cell Technology,” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061206123954.
Norton, Patrick. “Microbial Fuel Cell Turns Waste Into Hydrogen,” ExtremeTech. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1637,1789934,00.asp.
“Power Generation,” Intelligent Energy. http://www.intelligent-energy.com/
index_article.asp?secID=12&secondlevel=795
“The Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Animation,” Shatz Energy Research Center.http://www.humboldt.edu/~serc/animation.html.
“Solar-Powered Regenerative PEM Electrolyzer/Fuel Cell System,” Science Direct. November, 2005. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?
“Types of Fuel Cells,” Fuel Cell Works. http://fuelcellsworks.com/Typesoffuelcells.html.
U.S. Department of Energy. “Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program,” Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. http://www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/fuelcells/.
“What Is a Fuel Cell,” Fuel Cells 2000. http://www.fuelcells.org/.
