Methanol Fuel Cell

Methanol Fuel CellMost mobile devices which have become more and more popular in recent years, will run on liquid fuel. They will remain electric, only battery contents will undergo dramatic changes. Methanol fuel cells are cutting-edge batteries for mobile devices on the current stage of technical development. The principle of operation is quite simple - electricity is generated through the reaction between methanol and ambient oxygen. The only byproducts are a small amount of water vapor and carbon dioxide. Therefore methanol fuel cells are more ecologically-friendly than conventional lithium-ion batteries. These types of batteries have already long been in use but due to their reduced size they found application as chargers for mobile devices. The important benefit of methanol fuel cells is the low cost of methanol which is similar to ethanol. The Japanese corporation Toshiba was one of the first companies that developed the first cell based on methanol. The speakers for the Japanese company claim that a regular cell phone can run up to 300 hours without a recharge, a music player up to 20 hours, a laptop up to 8 hours, using the same fuel cartridge. A battery can be refilled in seconds. i.e. by changing a methanol tank, or with an injection of methanol solution into an empty tank. This new fuel cell is another step towards technological progress.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• battery
• electricity