Fuel Cell Technology

A fuel cell is like a battery that creates a current to power, for example, a flashlight bulb. But a typical household battery has the fuel built in and all you need to do is connect a light to the battery to release the current and illuminate the bulb. A fuel cell needs a fuel to produce the current and, in this case, the fuel comes from the oxidation of carbon based chemicals called alcohols. There are many different alcohols and all can react to some degree in a fuel cell including iso-propyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), methyl alcohol (wood alcohol), and ethyl alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is the alcohol people drink in beer, wine and hard liquor; usually ethyl alcohol is simply called alcohol.