Battery container

Lead—Calcium-Tin Alloys. Tin additions to lead—calcium and lead—calcium—aluminum alloys enhances the mechanical (8) and electrochemical properties (12). Tin additions reduce the rate of aging compared to lead—calcium binary alloys. The positive grid alloys for maintenance-free lead—calcium batteries contain 0.3—1.2 wt % tin and also aluminum. 

Nickel—2iiic batteries containing a vibrating zinc anode lias been reported (83). In this system zinc oxide active material is added to the electrol 1 e as a slurry. During charge the anode substrates are vibrated and the zinc is electroplated onto the surface in a unifomi mamier. Tlie stationary positive electrodes (nickel) are encased in a thin, open plastic netting which constitutes the entire separator system. 

Fig. 1. Cutaway view of an automotive SLI lead—acid battery container and cell element.

Container. The battery container is made up of a cover, vent caps, lead bushings, and case. Cost and appHcation are the two primary factors used to select the materials of constmction for container components. The container must be fabricated from materials that can withstand the abusive environment the battery is subjected to in its appHcation. It must also be inert to the corrosive environment of the electrolyte and soHd active materials, and weather, vibration, shock, and thermal gradients while maintaining its Hquid seal. 

The case is the largest portion of the container. The case is divided into compartments which hold the cell elements. The cores normally have a mud-rest area used to collect shed soHds from the battery plates and supply support to the element. Typical materials of constmction for the battery container are polypropylene, polycarbonate, SAN, ABS, and to a much lesser extent, hard mbber. The material used in fabrication depends on the battery s appHcation. Typical material selections include a polypropylene—ethylene copolymer for SLI batteries polystyrene for stationary batteries polycarbonate for large, single ceU standby power batteries and ABS for certain sealed lead—acid batteries. 

Heating coil A heat exchange coil (battery) containing the primary heat trans fer fluid positioned in a run of ductwork where it passes its heat to the secondary fluid. 

A 6 volt lead storage battery contains 700 grams of pure HjSO/fJ dissolved in water. 

Nickel-metal hydride batteries contain a nickel electrode similar to that used in nickel-cadmium batteries as the positive... 

Table 2. Standard potentials for reactions of carbon materials in batteries containing aqueous electrolytes...

It is now well established that in lithium batteries (including lithium-ion batteries) containing either liquid or polymer electrolytes, the anode is always covered by a passivating layer called the SEI. However, the chemical and electrochemical formation reactions and properties of this layer are as yet not well understood. In this section we discuss the electrode surface and SEI characterizations, film formation reactions (chemical and electrochemical), and other phenomena taking place at the lithium or lithium-alloy anode, and at the Li. C6 anode/electrolyte interface in both liquid and polymer-electrolyte batteries. We focus on the lithium anode but the theoretical considerations are common to all alkali-metal anodes. We address also the initial electrochemical formation steps of the SEI, the role of the solvated-electron rate constant in the selection of SEI-building materials (precursors), and the correlation between SEI properties and battery quality and performance. 

The electrical current needed to start an automobile engine is provided by a lead storage battery. This battery contains aqueous sulfuric acid in contact with two electrodes. One electrode is metallic lead, and the other is solid Pb02. Each electrode becomes coated with solid PbSOq as the battery operates. Determine the balanced half-reactions, the overall redox reaction, and the anode and cathode in this galvanic cell. 

C19-0028. In one form of lithium battery, the spontaneous cell reaction is 4 Li -b FeS2 Fe -b 2 Li2 S Suppose that a lithium battery contains 250. mg each of Li and FeS2. ... 

Primary (single-discharge) batteries. A primary battery contains a finite quantity of the reactants participating in the reaction once this quantity is consumed (on completion of discharge), a primary battery cannot be used again ( throwaway batteries ). 

Electrochemical Processes The charged positive electrodes of these batteries contain NiOOH, an oxide hydroxide of trivalent nickel, and the negative electrodes contain metallic cadmium or iron (M). As a rule, KOH solution serves as the electrolyte. The main current-producing reactions on the electrodes and in the cell in general can be written as... 

In contact with aluminium, disulphur dichloride provokes the instantaneous ignition of the metal. Lithium batteries contain thionyl chloride. A large number of explosions of batteries have been explained by the violent interaction of lithium with the chloride, which was assumed to be reieased through the anode. Sodium combusts in contact with thionyl chloride vapour heated to a temperature of 300°C. Finally, sulphur dichloride gives rise to explosive mixtures on impact with sodium. 

Detonations of batteries containing silver, zinc and electrolytes have been reported. 

Because many batteries contain toxic constituents such as mercury and cadmium, they pose a potential threat to human health and the environment when improperly disposed. Although batteries generally make up only a tiny portion of MSW, <1%, they account for a disproportionate amount of the toxic heavy metals in MSW. For example, the U.S. EPA has reported that, as of 1995, nickel-cadmium batteries accounted for 75% of the cadmium found in MSW. When MSW is incinerated or disposed of in landfills, under certain improper management scenarios, these toxics can be released into the environment. 

Seventy million vehicle batteries are produced each year in the United States. About 80% of discarded lead-acid batteries are being collected and recycled. Lead-acid batteries contain about 15-20 lb of lead per battery and about 1-2 gallons of sulfuric acid. Vehicle batteries are banned from disposal in Nebraska landfills as of September 1, 1994. 

Being a cell, a battery contains two half-cells separated by an electrolyte. The electrodes are needed to connect the half-cells to an external circuit. Each electrode may act as part of a redox couple, but neither has to be. 

Batteries contain galvanic cells. The + mark labels tbe positive cathode. If there is a -mark, it labels tbe negative anode. 

A battery is defined as a set of galvanic cells connected in series. The negative electrode of one cell is connected to the positive electrode of the next cell in the set. The voltage of a set of cells connected in series is the sum of the voltages of the individual cells. Thus, a 9-V battery contains six 1.5-V dry cells connected in series. Often, the term battery is also used to describe a single cell. For example, a 1.5-V dry cell battery contains only a single cell. 

Many types of rechargeable batteries are much more portable than a car battery. For example, there is now a rechargeable version of the alkaline battery. Another example, shown in Figure 11.20, is the rechargeable nickel-cadmium (nicad) battery. Figure 11.21 shows a nickel-cadmium cell, which has a potential of about 1.4 V. A typical nicad battery contains three cells in series to produce a suitable voltage for electronic devices. When the cells in a nicad battery operate as galvanic cells, the half-reactions and the overall cell reaction are as follows. 

At this time the only commercially available all-solid-state cell is the lithium battery containing Lil as the electrolyte. Many types of solid lithium ion conductors including inorganic crystalline and glassy materials as well as polymer electrolytes have been proposed as separators in lithium batteries. These are described in the previous chapters. A suitable solid electrolyte for lithium batteries should have the properties... 

The need to use multiple extraction to achieve efficient extraction required the development of new types of continuously working extractors, especially mixer-settlers and pulsed columns, which were suitable for remotely controlled operations. These new extractors could be built for continuous flow and in multiple stages, allowing very efficient isolation of substances in high yield. A good example is the production of rare earth elements in >99.999% purity in ton amounts by mixer-settler batteries containing hundreds of stages. These topics will be further developed in Chapters 6 and 7. 

The iQ automotive battery incorporates a micro-chip which monitors and controls the electrochemical process of the lead-acid battery, as well as its physical environmental and operating conditions. The thermal insulation of the battery also plays an important role. Neopolen P, a thermoplastic particle foam from BASF which can be processed completely without blowing agents, was chosen for this application. The foamed battery container calls for a solid frame that can be mounted onto the car body, and this frame is configured as a solid PP injection-moulded article, and fused to the container. 

Chemistry affects every aspect of our daily lives. Even something as simple as frying sausages involves chemical processes And while it is well known that, say, car batteries contain acid, how often do we think of all the acids around us in the kitchen Yet a few simple tests will prove their presence, Obviously, far more complicated chemical processes are involved in the industrial manufacture of synthetic materials. But however they occur, naturally or otherwise, all chemical substances are made up of the basic elements, whose atomic structure is the key to their behavio r. 

A car battery contains sulfuric acid, a powerful corrosive. Even when battery acid is diluted, it will still be strong enough to rot fabric and clothing. But strangely, cold concentrated... 

Electrochemical processes occur all around us. We close this chapter by examining a few of these processes and relating them to the electrochemical principles previously introduced. Batteries are probably the most common example of electrochemical applications associated with everyday life. While batteries come in all sizes and shapes, all batteries contain the basic elements common to all electrochemical cells. What differentiates one battery from another are the materials used for cathode, anode, and electrolyte, and how these materials are arranged to make a battery. The standard dry cell battery or alkaline cell is shown in Figure 14.8. Batteries consist of... 

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