2014 Volume 12 Issue 2 Pages 1687-1691
The purpose of this study is to develop a microcompact fuel-cell vehicle equipped with a hydrogen generation system. Hydrogen is generated by the reaction between water and activated aluminum particles without carbon dioxide emission. The activated aluminum is made of aluminum cutting waste through activation treatments such as compression crushing and freezing dry. One gram of the activated aluminum particles can generate about 1.1 liters of pure hydrogen. The developed hydrogen generator is consists of a water tank, an electrical pump, a reaction container, a condensate return tank, sensors and a one-chip microcomputer. It generated about 1-4 [l/min] of hydrogen over one hour. A microcompact vehicle was manufactured experimentally based on a delta trike. The front wheel was driven by a brushless motor of 100 [W]. The developed hydrogen generator and a fuel-cell of 100 [W] were equipped on the microcompact vehicle. It was confirmed that the vehicle drive at about 11 [km/h] over 90 minutes.
