Research Article| August 01 2009 Producing drinking water from hydrogen fuel cells Kiril D. Hristovski; Kiril D. Hristovski 1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Arizona State University, Box 5306, Tempe AZ, 85287-5306, USA Tel.: +1 480 727 1291 Fax: +1 480 965 0557 E-mail: kiril.hristovski@asu.edu Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Brindha Dhanasekaran; Brindha Dhanasekaran 1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Arizona State University, Box 5306, Tempe AZ, 85287-5306, USA Tel.: +1 480 727 1291 Fax: +1 480 965 0557 E-mail: kiril.hristovski@asu.edu Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Juan E. Tibaquirá; Juan E. Tibaquirá 2Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Colombia3Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State University, Box 876106, Tempe AZ, 85287-6106, USA Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Jonathan D. Posner; Jonathan D. Posner 4Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State University, Box 876106, Tempe AZ, 85287-6106, USA Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Paul K. Westerhoff Paul K. Westerhoff 1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Arizona State University, Box 5306, Tempe AZ, 85287-5306, USA Tel.: +1 480 727 1291 Fax: +1 480 965 0557 E-mail: kiril.hristovski@asu.edu Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua (2009) 58 (5): 327–335. https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2009.103 Article history Received: January 23 2009 Accepted: May 13 2009 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Permissions Search Site Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsThis Journal Search Advanced Search Citation Kiril D. Hristovski, Brindha Dhanasekaran, Juan E. Tibaquirá, Jonathan D. Posner, Paul K. Westerhoff; Producing drinking water from hydrogen fuel cells. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua 1 August 2009; 58 (5): 327–335. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2009.103 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex In a future hydrogen economy, harvesting water from H2 fuel cells and other devices should be considered as a by-product of their operation. We hypothesize that the water quality produced by modern fuel cells is higher than typical tap waters and complies with US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) regulations. Water samples were collected from six different fuel cells (FCs) operated at research centers across the US, and their constituents were measured. The water quality parameters were below the maximum contaminant levels except for zinc, lead and antimony, which may be related to plumbing or FC material leaching. To investigate the yield of water from FCs, water to energy production ratios were modeled. With 85% capture of exhaust water, an FC operating to meet daily energy consumption needs of a typical US household would produce ∼16 L of water. This is nearly the volume of internal human consumption of water, but far less than the ∼410 L/capita/d of total potable water demand which accounts for all uses of water. In a nationwide hydrogen economy, where all energy consumed comes from hydrogen, over 4.9 billion m3 of high quality water per year would be produced as by-products of hydrogen usage. fuel cell, hydrogen economy, potable water, water quality © IWA Publishing 2009 Supplementary data SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION- pdf file You do not currently have access to this content.