Energy Content of Fuels

Non-rechargeable cell

A cell that can be recharged

An electrical-chemical device that converts fuel, such as hydrogen, into an electrical current.

a cell that generates electricity from a controlled reaction between hydrogen and oxygen

This type of fuel cell using methanol as a fuel for storage and transport, but it is then reformed into hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide before being used in a hydrogen fuel cell.

Converts methanol directly into electricity in a fuel cell.

energy such as solar energy, wind energy, and hydroelectric energy derived from essentially inexhaustible sources

fossil fuels as coal, oil and natural gas as well as nuclear fuels - limited supply will run out and have negative environmental impacts

the ratio of the energy released from the fuel to the mass of the fuel consumed

a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants.

a number that represents the relative contribution of a molecule of the atmospheric gas to global warming

Gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and ozone in the atmos- phere which are involved in the greenhouse effect.

A diesel substitute produced through the transesterification of vegetable oil using alcohols such as methanol or ethanol.

energy released from fuels per volume of fuel consumed