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Fuel Cell Environmental Benefits
High Fuel Efficiencies
By converting fuel directly into energy through an electrochemical reaction, fuel cells extract more power out of the same quantity of fuel when compared to traditional combustion. This direct process results in a reduced amount of fuel being consumed and greater efficiencies, 30% to 90%, depending on the fuel cell system and if the surplus heat is utilized. Combustion-based energy generation first converts the fuel into heat, limited by Carnot's Law of Thermodynamics, and then into mechanical energy, which provides motion or drives a turbine to produce energy. The additional steps involved in combustion generation allow energy to escape as heat, friction and conversion losses, resulting in lower overall efficiencies.
Low Emissions
When hydrogen is the fuel; water, heat and electricity are the by-products of the electrochemical reaction in a fuel cell generating electricity, instead of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides,......

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Approximate Word Count: 811
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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