Lead-acid batteries automobile

Reaction I is used in fuel cells, II in the automobile lead-acid battery, and III in an experimental high-temperature battery for powering electric vehicles. The aim is to obtain as much work as possible from a cell, while keeping its weight to a minimum. 

For automobile lead-acid batteries, this coefficient usually has a value between 0.35 and 0.60. This parameter is normally used for efficiency evaluations. 

The ease with which materials can be identified and separated varies with the source of supply. Most automobile (lead-acid) batteries are made with PP casings. Since the metal in the batteries is reclaimed (97% reeovery in 1999), the casings represent a centralized and relatively homogeneous source of one polymer. In 1990 it was reported that almost 150 million pounds of PP were recovered annually in the United States, representing as much as 95% of all discarded batteries. About 40% of the recovered PP went into the next generation of batteries, with the balance going into other automotive products and miscellaneous consumer products [50]. Automobile tires, however, contain several different polymers in addition to the metal bead and fabric reinforcement. The reuse of tires by separating all the components is economically unsound. 

Automobile battery grids employ about 1—3 wt % antimony—lead alloys. Hybrid batteries use low (1.6—2.5 wt %) alloys for the positive grids and nonantimony alloys for the negative grids to give reduced or no water loss. The posts and straps of virtually all lead—acid batteries are made of alloys containing about 3 wt % antimony. 

Surface Coating of Metal Furniture Stationary Gas Turbines Lime Manufacturing Plants Lead-Acid Battery Manufacturing Plants Metallic Mineral Processing Plants Automobile and Light-Duty Truck Surface Coating Operations... 

Unlike the automobile-type battery that is quite portable, the stationaiy lead-acid batteries that provide uninterruptible power to hospitals and other important facilities are not. Some may weigh over several tons because of the much heavier grid structure and other features to extend life expectancy and improve deep discharge capabilities. 

The manufacture of fertilizers was discussed in Chapter 14. Phosphate rock is digested with sulfuric acid to convert CaC03 into a more soluble form that contains a higher percentage of phosphorus. Sulfuric acid is used as a catalyst in alkylation reactions, petroleum refining, manufacture of detergents, paints, dyes, and fibers, and other processes. It is also used as the electrolyte in the lead-acid battery that is used in automobiles. Sulfuric acid is an enormously important chemical commodity that it would be hard to do without. 

Cost The cost of the battery is determined by the materials used in its fabrication and the manufacturing process. The manufacturer must be able to make a profit on the sale to the customer. The selling price must be in keeping with its perceived value (tradeoff of the ability of the user to pay the price and the performance of the battery). Alkaline primary Zn—MnOz is perceived to be the best value in the United States. However, in Europe and Japan the zinc chloride battery still has a significant market share. In developing countries, the lower cost Leclanche carbon—zinc is preferred. Likewise, lead acid batteries are preferred for automobile SLI over Ni—Cd with superior low-temperature performance but with a 10 times higher cost. 

Lead is commonly obtained by roasting galena (PbS) with carbon in an oxygen-rich environment to convert sulfide ores to oxides and by then reducing the oxide to metallic lead. Sulfur dioxide gas is produced as a waste product. Large amounts of lead are also recovered by recycling lead products, such as automobile lead-acid electric storage batteries. About one-third of all lead used in the United States has been recycled. 

The lead/acid battery used in conventional gasoline-fueled automobiles consists of six 2.05 V cells connected in series (for a 12 V electrical system). The current collectors are lead grids filled, when in the charged condition, with powdered lead (anode) and a lead/lead(IV) oxide mixture (cathode), and the electrolyte is aqueous sulfuric acid. During discharge, the following reactions occur ... 

In the economics-insensitive niche market of the luxury automobile, the development of a high-output SOFC alternative to the lead-acid battery and engine-driven alternator is well advanced at BMI/Delphi Corp (Williams, 2002). BMW is a partner in the project, which uses a Global Thermoelectric planar SOFC stack. The gain would be air-conditioner operation independent of the vehicle engine. 

Another common storage battery is the lead-acid battery. The standard automobile battery is an example of a lead-acid battery. Most auto batteries of this type contain six cells that generate about 2 V each for a total output of 12 V. The anode of each cell consists of two or more grids of porous lead, and the cathode consists of lead grids filled with lead(IV) oxide. This type of battery probably should be called a lead-lead(IV) oxide battery, but the term lead-acid is commonly used because the battery s electrolyte is a solution of sulfuric acid. 

L.T. Lam, N.P. Haigh, C.G. Phyland, T.D. Huynh, D.A.J. Rand, ALABC Project C2.0, Novel technique to ensure battery reliability in 42-V PowerNets for new-generation automobiles. Extended report, January to April 2003, Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium, Research Triangle Park,... 

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