Crosstalk

Politics today is quite the hot button issue.

GOT FUEL CELL FUEL?

In your May/June 2017 issue (on page 40) there was an interesting report on the EFOY Fuel Cell. While there was much discussion of the cell’s output capabilities, there was zero discussion of what input (i.e. fuel) the fuel cell requires? 

Dave Calvert

Dave,

Our apologies for overlooking this important detail. To explain: Fuel cells, in general, derive energy through a chemical reaction, using an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte. The EFOY fuel cell is called a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell, which uses a mixture of methanol and water to create the necessary chemical reaction. The fuel is introduced on the anode side of the cell, with ambient oxygen from the air being introduced on the cathode side of the cell; a chemical reaction is then created. The reaction leads to positively charged hydrogen atoms being transferred across the cell and harvested as energy. The by-product of the fuel cell is water and carbon dioxide, making it an environmentally friendly method of producing power.