Onlookers! Aluminum air battery may exceed lithium battery!

In today's society, the rapid development of technology, new products continue to emerge ... ...

The development and application of new energy and new materials have always promoted the development of science and technology and thus promoted the progress of human society. The popularity of electronic products and electric vehicles has led to the emergence of various types of batteries. Recently, an aluminum air battery news caught the eye.

From the latest news from Ningbo Institute of Materials Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a kilowatt-class aluminum air battery power generation system based on a graphene air cathode. Their use of graphene composite manganese-based oxide catalysts and new graphene-based high-efficiency air cathodes have increased the power density of single cells by 25%, significantly improving the overall performance of metal-air batteries. The battery system has an energy density of 510 Wh/kg, a capacity of 20 kWh and an output power of 1000 W.

Through actual demonstrations, the battery system can simultaneously supply power to a TV set, a computer, an electric fan, and 10 60-watt light bulbs, preliminarily verifying the power generation capability of the aluminum air battery system, which is new energy and new. A major breakthrough in the field of materials.

Al-air batteries are essentially fuel cells and are a chemical power source that converts the chemical energy of metallic materials directly into electrical energy.

Aluminum air batteries use aluminum as the negative electrode and oxygen as the positive electrode in the cell. They consume only aluminum and a small amount of water during operation. When the aluminum and water are consumed, they cannot work. It is a battery and cannot be charged. The aluminum electrode needs to be replaced to continue working. The theoretical amount of cathode active material for this type of battery is infinite, so the theoretical capacity of the battery depends mainly on the amount of negative metal. Such batteries have a greater specific capacity. As a special fuel cell, aluminum-air batteries have great commercial potential in applications such as military, civilian, and underwater power systems, telecom system backup power sources, and portable power supplies.

Aluminum air battery advantages and disadvantages

1 than the energy, aluminum air battery theoretical specific energy up to 8100Wh/kg;

2 Lighter weight, the same energy of the aluminum air battery is only 12% of the lead-acid battery quality;

3 non-toxic danger, can be recycled and used;

4 Aluminum is rich in raw materials.

The disadvantages of aluminum air batteries are also obvious:

1 is a chemical reaction device that releases electrical energy. It cannot be recharged repeatedly. Aluminum electrodes need to be replaced to continue working.

2Although aluminum air batteries contain high specific energy, their specific power is lower;

3 The charging and discharging speeds are relatively slow, the voltage lags behind, and the self-discharge rate is large;

4 A thermal management system is needed to prevent overheating of the aluminum-air battery during operation.

The theoretical specific energy of aluminum air battery can reach 8100Wh/kg. In 2014, the actual specific energy of aluminum air battery only reached 350Wh/kg, but it is also 7~8 times of lead-acid battery, 5.8 times of nickel-hydrogen battery, and of lithium battery. 2.3 times. After adopting the aluminum air battery, the vehicle can significantly increase the driving mileage. According to foreign data, the use of aluminum air batteries in California has had only one record of aluminum electrode driving mileage of 1,600 km.

The total energy of traction power lead-acid batteries developed and developed in China is 13.5 kWh and the total mass is 375 kg. The total mass of the same energy aluminum air battery is only 45kg, which is 12% of the lead-acid battery quality. As the quality of the battery is greatly reduced, the vehicle's service quality is also reduced, which can increase the vehicle's loading energy or extend the driving range.

Aluminum will not cause harm to the human body and can be recycled and used without polluting the environment. Aluminum is rich in raw materials and has a large-scale aluminum smelter, which has lower production costs. Aluminum recycling is convenient, and recycling and regeneration costs are also low. Moreover, the replacement of aluminum electrodes can be used to solve the problem of slow charging of aluminum air batteries.

Although aluminum-air batteries contain high specific energy, their specific power is lower, charging and discharging speeds are slower, voltage lags behind, and self-discharge rate is greater. Thermal management systems are needed to prevent overheating of aluminum-air batteries during operation.

Alcoa Canada and Israeli company Phinergy's new 100-kilogram aluminum air battery stores enough power to run 3,000 kilometers. Lithium-ion batteries are still needed in cars that use such batteries. Aluminum batteries are only activated after the lithium battery has been exhausted. Therefore, they can be used for a long period of time, and only need to be filled with fresh water every month. Usually after a year or so before reaching the limit of use, a new aluminum plate can be replaced at the service station.

The research and development of aluminum air batteries has a history of more than 70 years. It is mainly used in the United States by the US military and the Aeronautical and Space Administration. Al-air batteries have been operating on Mars for 13 years and are still operating normally.