Editing Fuel cell (section)

=== Phosphoric acid fuel cell ===
{{Main|Phosphoric acid fuel cell}}
Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs) were first designed and introduced in 1961 by [[G. V. Elmore]] and [[H. A. Tanner]]. In these cells, phosphoric acid is used as a non-conductive electrolyte to pass protons from the anode to the cathode and to force electrons to travel from anode to cathode through an external electrical circuit. These cells commonly work in temperatures of 150 to 200&nbsp;°C. This high temperature will cause heat and energy loss if the heat is not removed and used properly. This heat can be used to produce steam for air conditioning systems or any other thermal energy-consuming system.<ref name="americanhistory.si.edu">{{Cite web|url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/phos/pafcmain.htm|title=Collecting the History of Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells|website=americanhistory.si.edu}}</ref> Using this heat in [[cogeneration]] can enhance the efficiency of phosphoric acid fuel cells from 40 to 50% to about 80%.<ref name="americanhistory.si.edu"/> Since the proton production rate on the anode is small, platinum is used as a catalyst to increase this ionization rate. A key disadvantage of these cells is the use of an acidic electrolyte. This increases the corrosion or oxidation of components exposed to phosphoric acid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://scopewe.com/phosphoric-acid-fuel-cells|title=Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells|website=scopeWe - a Virtual Engineer|access-date=28 June 2013|archive-date=10 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110071945/http://scopewe.com/phosphoric-acid-fuel-cells/|url-status=usurped}}</ref>