Reserve power battery

Two types of aluminium/air batteries are being developed oriented toward different applications alkaline batteries for electric vehicles, due to favourable specific energy, and saline batteries for special applications, such as, emergency lighting, reserve power, marine objects and so on. 

Lead—acid batteries are used in three main applications automotive (starting, lighting and ignition, SLI), for motive power and for standby (reserve) power. A fourth type of lead—acid batteries is trying to gain a market segment, too, i.e. batteries for hybrid eleetric vehicle applications. In view of the partieular battery funetion and the speeifieity of the operation mode in the above four applications, the amounts of the three expander eomponents should differ for the different battery types, depending on their effeet on the proeesses that oeeur in the battery. Boden [39] proposes typical expander formulations for the different battery applications as summarised in Table 7.3. 

Thomas Alva Edison invented the alkaline nickel-iron battery early in the 20 century. Iron is the negative pole of the battery, nickel oxide the positive. The cell has a terminal voltage of 1.15 V. In industrial applications and for local reserve power stations many cells are connected in series. The service lifetime for this battery type is re-... 

The use of rechargeable batteries has changed dramatically in recent years. Power is required for a lot of portable products, such as telephones, computers and household appHances, as web as for stationary reserve power stations. The answer has been... 

NiCd batteries. In our modern sodety this battery type still provides a large fraction of the actual power, in spite of environmental problems with cadmium. However, for small portable appliances, but not for the big reserve power stations, alternatives have been found. In fact the annual cadmium use is increasing for these applications. 

The manufacturing process can be done using modified paper-making machines, at quite low cost. Such electrodes are not just used in fuel cells but are also used in metal/air batteries, for which the cathode reaction is much the same as for an alkali fuel cell. For example, the same electrode can be used as the cathode in a zinc air battery (e.g. for hearing aids), an aluminium/air battery (e.g. for telecommunications reserve power), and an alkaline electrolyte fuel cell. The carbon-supported catalyst is of the same structure as that shown in Figure 4.6 in the previous chapter. However, the catalyst will not always be platinum. For example, manganese can be used for the cathode in metal air batteries and fuel cells. 

Industrial Applications. Larger-sized batteries, usually rechargeable, are used in these applications. In many of these applications, the batteries are used as back-up power in the event of an AC power failure. In some instances, such as with munitions, navigation aids and satellites, primary or reserve type batteries are used where an electrical source is not available for recharging. This is another area that is expanding rapidly to meet the demands for uninterrupted power sources (UPS) for computer and other sophisticated systems which require 24/7 operation with extremely high reliability. 

Lead-acid batteries also are used in other types of applications, such as in submarine service, for reserve power in marine applications, and in areas where engine-generators cannot be used, such as indoors and in mining equipment. New applications, to take advantage of the cost effectiveness of this battery, include load leveling for utilities and solar photovoltaic systems. These applications will require improvements in the energy and power density of the lead-acid battery. 

A field of application offering a vast potential market is the use of lead-acid batteries as energy storage systems by electrical utility companies (for load levelling and reserve power supply) and their customers (for... 

The use of lead-acid battery systems as standby or reserve power sources is also growing in importance. They are being increasingly used to provide emergency electricity supply in hospitals and for telephone and telecommunication systems to act as a back-up to normal supplies. In some inaccessible areas where conventional forms of electricity supply are imprac-... 

Reserve batteries have been developed for appHcations that require a long inactive shelf period foUowed by intense discharge during which high energy and power, and sometimes operation at low ambient temperature, are required. These batteries are usually classified by the mechanism of activation which is employed. There are water-activated batteries that utilize fresh or seawater electrolyte-activated batteries, some using the complete electrolyte, some only the solvent gas-activated batteries where the gas is used as either an active cathode material or part of the electrolyte and heat-activated or thermal batteries which use a soHd salt electrolyte activated by melting on appHcation of heat. 

Another issue with metals is availability. For example, cobalt is not produced in the United States, but it used extensively in a wide variety of alloys and in the production of one of the most common types of lithium batteries. The availability of cobalt is crucial to several segments of American industry. For example, batteries being developed for use in automobiles powered by alternate energy sources are currently envisioned to use a lithium ion battery that also contains cobalt. However, cobalt is not the only strategic metal, and there is concern about the availability of several metals that are vital to industries in the United States, China, and Japan. There will be competition and stockpiling of strategic metals as the reserves become less accessible. 

Electronic Time Fuze. Development of an electronic time fuze which would be substantially more accurate than exisitng time fuzes is described in the report of Texas Instruments, Inc (Ref). A programmable digital circuit is driven by. an oscillator based on a Picatinny Arsenal design. As power source, two types of battery, a silver-zinc primary battery and a reserve battery which uses ammonia as the electrolyte, were tried. A detailed manufacturing plan is included as an appendix... 

Zn and Cd find application as fuels in primary and secondary electrochemical energy sources. Primary batteries provide power for short periods and can serve as reserve sources of energy. Typical is the Ag oxide—Zn battery which has a specific energy of 350Wh/kg. A special form is the Ag peroxide-Zn system ... 

Zinc-silver oxide reserve batteries have application as power sources for various systems in manned and unmanned space vehicles. 

---