Author: BatteryEducation

Advances in Battery Development

The history of the battery industry can be succinctly boiled down to the following:  we have been seeking to increase capacity, develop longer lifecycles, generate zero emissions, source low-cost raw materials, develop enhanced safety techniques, and of course to design and manage high energy density power packs that reduces the size and weight of all other batteries before.

If you are a electrochemical engineer then the above scenario would be your nirvana.

But what advances are being researched and what can consumers expect in terms of the commercialization? We are familiar with the SCiB and Lithium Air batteries but are there other developments? Let’s look at a few of the recently researched and tested including: NAS and ZEBRA.

NAS

In August 2008, Presidio, Texas began installing a backup power source for the city. The backup source is an $8 million dollar NAS battery located on the outskirts of the city. NAS gets its name from Na for sodium and S for sulphur.  This power supply provides the city 4 mega watts of storage to provide temporary backup power, operational power to run the city for approximately 6-8 hours. A sodium sulfur battery is a type of molten metal constructed from sodium (Na) and sulfur (S). This type of construction has a high energy density, high efficiency of charge/discharge (89–92%) and long cycle life, and is fabricated from inexpensive materials. However, operating temperatures reach in excess of 300 degrees Celsius and the sodium polysulfides are highly corrosive, thus an NAS is only suitable for large-scale non-mobile applications like the one in Presidio.

ZEBRA

The ZEBRA battery gets its name from the Zeolite Battery Research Africa Project (ZEBRA) group that began developing it in 1985. It’s technical name is Na-NiCl2. The ZEBRA battery is also known as the Zero Emission Battery Research Activities. What makes the ZEBRA so attractive is the specific energy and power it can store (90 Wh/kg and 150 W/kg).  The other aspects to the ZEBRA that makes it attractive is that the primary elements used Na, Cl and Al have much higher worldwide reserves and annual production than the Li used in Li-ion batteries. Also the ZEBRA has lifecycles of over 1500 cycles and five years have been demonstrated with full-sized batteries. Vehicles powered by ZEBRA batteries have covered over 1 million miles.

There are other promising technologies being developed for a wide array of power source applications including military, space, energy, and mobility. It will be interesting to see just what the next nirvana battery will be but one thing is for certain: it will have increased capacity, a longer lifecycle, zero emissions, low-cost raw materials, enhanced safety techniques, and a high energy density.

Until next time, Dan Hagopian – www.batteryship.com
Copyright © BatteryEducation.com. All rights reserved.

Super Charge Ion Battery

Over the last several years Toshiba has been working on a new battery technology that was called the super-charge ion battery (SCiB). The first battery of its kind was shipped in March of 2008. The SCiB battery is touted as a safe, high-performance, long-life, rechargeable battery for a wide array of solutions. The first time we saw it was at the 2007 Consumer Electronic show where Toshiba was displaying it on an electric bike.

Toshiba announced in November of 2009 that they would be building a second production plant to provide for additional capacity as sales ramp up.  Also earlier this year rumors surfaced that Toshiba is building a new 13 inch netbook that will incorporate the new SCiB battery. The netbook will weigh in at just over 2 pounds.

The key advantages that an SCiB battery has is:

  • Excellent Safety
  • Long Life Cycle
  • Rapidly Rechargeable
  • High Power

Excellent safety

The SCiB battery utilizes a new negative-electrode material called lithium titanate that offers a high level of thermal stability and a high flash point electrolyte. The separator is also highly resistant to heat. These features allow for a resistance to internal short circuiting and thermal runaway. This benefit makes the possibility of bursts or combustion very low.

Long-life cycle 

The SCiB battery has capacity loss after 3,000 cycles of rapid charge and discharge is less than 10%. That right after 3000 cycles (lithium ion batteries today taper out after about 500 cycles). Thus the SCiB battery has an excellent long lifecycle, and is able to repeat the charge-discharge cycle over 3,000 times. This means that the SCiB battery can be continuously used for more than 10 years with a once-a-day recharge-discharge cycle.  A standard lithium ion battery during that same time period will have to be replaced 3-5 times.  Imagine a laptop battery lasting 10 years!

Rapidly Rechargeable

One of the neat features is that the SCiB battery can be recharged to 90% of full capacity in less than ten minutes. 

High Power

The SCiB also has a input-output performance equivalent to that of an electric double layer capacitor. This makes the SCiB battery suited to high power applications like electric automobiles, fork lifts, motorcycles, and wind and solar power generators.

The SCiB battery has some other really neat features like the ability to perform in very low temperature extremes, but what concerns me is the price point for customers and commercially viable a new device with an SCiB battery will be?

If the device is priced beyond what your everyday consumer would be willing to pay then it will take a long time to be adopted by the marketplace. It is true that new technologies will change the way people live life but right now when people are so price conscience it just might take a few years before the new SCiB battery will be accepted universally.

Until next time, Dan Hagopian – www.batteryship.com
Copyright © BatteryEducation.com. All rights reserved.

Lithium Air Batteries

Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory are developing a new battery technology that by some estimates would pack 5 to 10 times the amount of energy today’s lithium ion batteries hold. This incredible improvement would be enough energy to allow electric cars to travel up to 400 miles before recharging.  The new battery technology is called lithium air (li-air).

A li-air battery makes electricity by transferring oxygen through a porous carbon electrode where it reacts catalytically with li-ions and electrons to form a solid lithium oxide.  The solid lithium oxide fills the pore spaces inside carbon electrodes as the battery discharges. Then when the battery is recharged, the lithium oxide decomposes again, releasing lithium ions and freeing up pore space in the carbon.  The remaining oxygen is released back into the atmosphere.

The four main challenges to li-air battery technologies are:

  • Safety
  • Cost
  • Battery Life
  • Performance

Safety

In terms of safety the great challenge is a materials one. Li-air batteries currently incorporate metallic electrolytes. When you recharge lithium electrodes they become highly reactive with respect to the metallic electrolyte and if these highly charged electrodes are not managed safely the chain reaction could be highly explosive. This is of particular concern when we consider the realities of roadway driving and the potential for car crashes. How would a li-air battery stand up to severe impact?

Cost

With research costs well into the tens of millions and the expectation by a consensus of researchers that a safely designed li-air battery would not be commercially viable for another 20 years the development costs will be extremely high and will the battery life and performance for consumers warrant the investment costs?

Battery Life

The other aspect to this is how long with the battery lasts. How many charge-discharge cycles will a li-air battery have? We know the current li-ion batteries have a charge –discharge cycle between 300-500 will li-air be comparable? Will it offer more? Are we talking 1 year of life or 5 and what variables would affect this range differential?

Performance

What does 5-10 times the amount of energy stored equate to in terms of real application to a potential user? Can we expect to get up 400 miles is li-air electric car before we have to recharge?

These four challenges to Li-air battery technology are enough of an obstacle to make the possibility of this promising technology to take up to 20 years to come to market. The idea is good and perhaps the theories will pan out someday, however that someday will have to wait for future generations.

Until next time, Dan Hagopian – www.batteryship.com
Copyright © BatteryEducation.com. All rights reserved.

What is the Total Equivalent Lithium Content of My Battery?

If you ever were curious to know just how much of the chemical, lithium, was packed into your battery then there is a way you can calculate it.

Let's look at an example, say the HP Compaq 367759-001, we know that this battery has the following technical specifications: 10.8V, 8800 mAh, Li-ion.

So now let's determine the ELC for one of the cells in this battery. As stated above the rated capacity is 8800 mAh. The mAh is the milliamps and so if we convert that to Ah or amp hours in order to do our calculation you get 8.8 Ah (8800 mAh is the same as 8.8 Ah).

Secondly, we need to divide the voltage by of the battery by the known voltage of each cell used in the battery. Most batteries use either a 3.6V or a 3.7V cell. In the HP Compaq 367759-001 battery cells have a 3.6V.

Finally we can complete our effort in knowing the total ELC in the 367759-001 by performing the following…

1. Divide the stated volts (V) on battery pack by 3.6 (or 3.7) and round to the nearest whole number. 2. Multiply the resulting number by the stated capacity in ampere-hours (Ah).
3. Then multiply that result by 0.3

Example: A lithium ion battery with 10.8 (V) and 8.8 ampere hours (or 8800 mAh).

1. 10.8 ÷ 3.6 = 3
2. 3 x 8.8 = 26.4
3.  26.4 x 0.3 = 7.92 grams of equivalent lithium content

To determine the amount of ELC in your battery follow the steps above and just input the technical specifications of your battery.

 Until next time, Dan Hagopian – www.batteryship.com
Copyright © BatteryEducation.com. All rights reserved.

How to buy a laptop battery?

As of the date of this writing there were 19,300,000 results in a Google search for the keyword laptop battery. On the one hand that is great if you are in need of one but at the same time overwhelming. How do you know what to buy, from who to buy, and what you even should be looking for when buying a laptop battery? I have identified seven categories a person needs to be informed about when going out to make a purchase for a new battery and they include: Part number, Make, and Model; and Chemistry; and Capacity; and Voltage; and Watt Hours; and Number of Cells; and finally the Retailer, Price and Warranty.

Part Number, Make, and Model

Essential to the purchase of your new laptop battery is the part number.  A part number is a unique identifier that is assigned to a part to simplify referencing and to unambiguously define a part within a single manufacturer. The part number above all is what needs to be known before going to buy your battery. Secondly the make and model are next most important part identifiers you must know.  The make is the manufacturer (e.g. Sony, HP, Dell). The model is a multi-component word that includes the line and actually model number. For example the Sony VAIO VGN-FZ90S is an example of a sony made laptop that is part of the VAIO series and which has model number VGN-FZ90S.

Most laptop’s hold this information within your computer’s system info. To access this info go into the properties of your computer and view the model information. The battery’s part number can be found on the battery itself.

Chemistry

Most laptops now require a lithium based battery chemistry. You cannot choose your chemistry type for most batteries.  It is still good however to know which chemistry type yur battery requires.

Capacity

Capacity also known as runtime Battery capacity quantifies the total amount of energy stored within a battery. More capacity equals a longer runtime between battery charges. Battery capacity is measured in amperes, which is the volume of electrons passing through the batteries electrolyte per second. A milliAmp hour (mAh) is the most commonly used notation system for consumer electronic batteries. Note that 1000 mAh is the same as 1 Ah.

When buying a battery knowing how much capacity you may need depends on: how much you want to spend, how often and how long you use your laptop on battery power, and what applications you my be running off the battery’s power. The higher the capacity the more money you will spend, so if you need the longer runtime’s or you use applications that require more battery juice then buy the higher capacity.

Voltage

Volts – or V – is an electrical measurement of energy potential. Mathematically voltage is commonly measured by V= I x R; where V=Voltage, I=Current, R=Resistance.  Voltage can also be defined as Electrical Potential difference – a quantity in physics related to the amount of energy that would be required to move an object from one place to another against various types of force. In the fields of electronics the electrical potential difference is the amount of work per charge needed to move electric charge from the second point to the first, or equivalently, the amount of work that unit charge flowing from the first point to the second can perform. A battery contains four unique types of voltage measurements. Each voltage measurement type residing in a battery effects battery life.

  • Float Voltage – is battery voltage at zero current (with battery disconnected).
  • Nominal Voltage – is battery voltage range 3.7V, 5.2V, 10.2V, 12V etc that says that a voltage range exists depending on the number of cells in the battery. For example a 12 Volt battery is made of 6 cells and has a Float voltage of about 12V.
  • Charge Voltage – The voltage of a battery while charging.
  • Discharge Voltage – The voltage of a battery while discharging. Again, this voltage is determined by the charge state and the current flowing in the battery.

For laptop batteries the most common voltage measurements are: 7.2V, 9.6V, 10.8V, 11.1V, and 14.4V. Since you cannot choose the voltage measurement for your laptop go with whatever measurement is closest to your original battery. Remember nominal voltage allows for slight deviation from the original but you cannot use a 7.2V battery if it requires 14.4V. The best example would be a 10.8V battery could be used with an 11.1V battery.

Watt Hours

Whr, Watts, Volts and Amperes are basic units of measure for a DC (Direct current) power supply. A battery, for example, is a direct current power supply and the combined measure Volts x Amps = Watts.  Watts are important because watts represent the electrical energy spent by a battery (power generator) and used by an electrical device. Watts in effect is the measure of the amount of work done by a certain amperage (amount) of electric current at a certain pressure or voltage.  Watt hours are measured by multiplying volts and capacity together (and commonly rounding up).

Number of Cells

The number of cells is important since the more cells contained in the battery the higher the capacity will be. To determine the number of cells in your laptop battery you need to have some general idea of what cells are being used in your battery. The most common battery cell is the 18650 and is manufactured by LG, Sony, Sanyo, Samsung, Panasonic and many others.  The 18650 is a 3.6V cylindrical Li-Ion cell. 18650 has no memory effect (distinguish between digital memory effect) and longer storage life than NiMH battery cells. 18650 is light weight and has a high energy density. It is in effect perfect for building batteries for laptop and other portable power devices.

Specifically the 18650 battery cell has a nominal voltage average of 3.7 V. It has a nominal capacity of 2200 mAh. It has a maximum charge current of 2.4 Ah and a max discharging current of 4.6 Ah. Its dimensions (DxH) are 18.3 mm (Max 18.4) x 64.9 mm (Max 65.1). It weighs   46.5 g (1.64 oz) .  It has cell cycle performance of 80% of initial capacity at 300 cycles. All in all the 18650 is a very good battery cell.

Using this common laptop battery cell as our base you can determine the number of cells in your laptop battery by doing the following. Divide the battery’s stated voltage by the 18650’s nominal voltage to get the number of cells in series and divide the battery’s stated capacity by the 18650’s nominal capacity to get the number of cells in parallel. Then multiply the results of the series and the parallel to get the total number of cells in the battery.

Retailer, Price and Warranty

Once you have all the above information now it is time to pick and choose a retailer to buy from. When choosing a retailer to buy a laptop battery from take into consideration the retailer’s reputation, the price, the warranty, and the return policy. Be sure to chat or speak with one of their representatives if you have questions. Be smart about where you buy from and only buy from a reputable retailer. With batteries you never want used and you always want to be sure that is a problem arises the retailer will be there to make it right.

Until next time, Dan Hagopian – www.batteryship.com
Copyright © BatteryEducation.com. All rights reserved.

What Raw Minerals Are Used To Make a Battery?

To build a battery you have four basic overarching battery components including the casing, chemistry, electrolyte, and the internal specialized hardware. At the core of these four basic overarching battery components are the foundation blocks; the raw materials necessary for the construction of a battery. Minerals and materials used in the construction of batteries are numerous but the core mineral required to have a battery is the batteries chemical which can either be : cadmium, cobalt, lead, lithium, and nickel (along with other rare earth elements).  Why is the chemical one of the most important element in a battery: because a battery at its most basic element is a system that converts and stores electrochemical energy for the purpose of providing portable power to a device. Without the chemistry changing chemical energy into electrical energy is impossible. So needless to say the availability of minerals used in batteries are highly important!

Incidentally the available raw material supply and price often times dictates how much your battery is going to be – if the raw material price is higher, than, your battery cost will be higher (the converse of that is also true). But what are the current supplies of the battery making minerals and how much demand is out there for these minerals?

In the United States there are currently 6,841 different mining operations ranging from aluminum to zircon.  Although 6,841 mines sounds like a lot of mining operations you must evaluate that number against the total demand of minerals. Consider that every American born in 2007 is estimated to use the following amounts of nonfuel mineral commodities over their lifetime (data pulled from MII):

  • Aluminum (bauxite) 5,677 pounds
  • Cement 65,480 pounds
  • Clays 19,245 pounds
  • Copper 1,309 pounds 
  • Gold 1,576 ounces
  • Iron ore  29,608 pounds
  • Lead 928 pounds
  • Phosphate rock  19,815 pounds 
  • Stone, sand, and gravel  1.61 million pounds 
  • Zinc 671 pounds 

Now consider that there were 4,315,000 babies born in 2007 (U.S. Census Bureau). So when you start multiplying the amounts of estimated use of each of the minerals you can quickly see 6,841 mines is not really a whole lot!

Lithium, Cadmium, Cobalt, Nickel By The Numbers

Chile was the leading lithium chemical producer in the world with Argentina, China, and the United States as additional major producers.  The United States remained the leading consumer of lithium minerals and compounds and the leading producer of value-added lithium materials. Incidentally only one company produced lithium compounds in the U.S. and that is at the Silver Peak Mine in Nevada run by the Chemetall Foote Corporation.  Lithium is used not only in batteries but also in ceramics and glass, lubricating greases, pharmaceuticals and polymers, air conditioning, primary aluminum production, continuous casting, chemical processing and other uses. In terms of annual quantity of lithium the USGS estimates that in the U.S in 2005 5,000,000 pounds of lithium was used in rechargeable batteries.

In terms of annual quantity of cadmium the USGS estimates that in the U.S in 2005 1,312,000 pounds of cadmium was used in rechargeable batteries.

In terms of annual quantity of cobalt (cobalt is used primarily for the battery’s electrodes) the USGS estimates that in the U.S in 2005 23,800,000 pounds of cobalt was used in rechargeable batteries.

In terms of annual quantity of nickel the USGS estimates that in the U.S in 2005 426,000,000 pounds of nickel was used in rechargeable batteries.

How Much Demand is there for these Minerals?

In 2002 it is estimated that 350 million batteries were purchased in the U.S. So if you assume that the past 7 years have been fairly consistent then you could assume that 2.4 Billion batteries were bought and in use and will eventually need to be recycled and replaced. This means that an ever increasing demand for minerals will be placed on the mines of the earth.

Thankfully there is enough available minerals and metals to be extracted from mines that at least for the time being we do not have to be overly concerned, but, indeed there will come a point decades down the road, that this will not always be true.

Until next time, Dan Hagopian – www.batteryship.com
Copyright © BatteryEducation.com. All rights reserved.

How Do Generic Aftermarket Batteries Compare with Name Brand Batteries?

Do aftermarket batteries have the same capability and longevity as their branded counterparts? In a simple word – yes – but what aftermarket batteries bring to customers (in addition to long life performance and similar technical ratings and components) is affordability.

Big brand companies get big in terms of sales and number of units sold for four reasons – product availability and reliability, marketing and advertising on a mass scale, and the ability to fulfill their product to customers. Overtime these four components will turn any company into a Big Brand – but at a price. There is a direct association between the price of product and the company’s cost. The lower the costs the lower the price – the higher the costs the higher the price you will have to pay.

As a customer of batteries what is mission critical is that your device (whether it is a laptop, PDA, two-way radio, power tool, or flashlight) works on battery power. Your device does not care whether you have a big brand battery name on it or a generic aftermarket battery!

What is important to your device is that your voltage, capacity, chemistry, and all the internal and external components meet the specific design needs of your device. For example take Apple's EC003 (the iPod Mini). The iPod Mini requires the following technical requirements:

• The exact physical dimensions for the battery compartment
• Lithium Ion Chemistry
• 3.7 volts
• a minimum of 400 mAh
• the necessary hardware (connector, fuse, charge and discharge FETs, cell pack, sense resistor, primary and secondary protection ICs, fuel-gauge IC, thermistor, pc board, and the EEPROM or firmware for the fuel-gauge IC)

Now outside of the above technical requirements the iPod Mini does not care if the battery comes from Apple or any other third party just as long as it is “100% OEM Compatible and Guaranteed to meet or exceed OEM specifications”.

So if aftermarket replacement batteries are “100% OEM Compatible and Guaranteed to meet or exceed OEM specifications” AND if aftermarket batteries are considerably lower in price why do people opt to buy OEM or branded batteries? Because consumers have been conditioned to buy the big brands because of the clever marketing and advertising that marketers pour over and over consumers.

Now I’m sure one may come with the argument that aftermarket batteries have a higher failure rate then branded batteries – but I can tell you that having been a direct part of the aftermarket and BIG brand market for 13 years (with various companies) – every manufacture and company has defects. It is a part of manufacturing regardless of the manufacturer’s name. Acceptable defect rates float between 1-2% of all units shipped. In manufacturing there is no such thing as 0% defect rate. That is why you have a product warranty with parts (money back periods and extended warranty periods).

So now since the aftermarket or NON-OEM batteries have a low defect rate, low product cost, and the exact same specs as the OEMs the only thing that would stop you from buying aftermarket batteries is your marketing condition and the size of your wallet!

Until next time, Dan Hagopian – www.batteryship.com
Copyright © BatteryEducation.com. All rights reserved.

How Long Will My Battery Last?

Most rechargeable batteries have a charge-discharge cycle that ranges between 300-500 cycles (for lithium based chemistries – NIMH can have up to 800 charge-discharge cycles and NICD chemistries can have up to 1200). A charge-discharge cycle means that a battery once at 100% draws power down to 0%. Then after recharge it will be back at 100%. This can be done 300-500 times on the same lithium based battery. Now most battery users recharge their batteries before the battery reaches 0%, this is perfectly acceptable, but still the same principles of the charge-discharge cycle limitations are in effect.

One common mistake is to assume that a battery that has a 1 year warranty will last for 365 days and when it does not last 1 year the assumption is is that the battery must be bad. This is a fallacy and an erroneous belief – in essence incorrect!

Here is why!

As I have written in other articles a battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. Batteries have two electrodes, an anode (the negative end) and a cathode (the positive end). Collectively the anode and the cathode are called the electrodes. In between the battery’s two electrodes runs an electrical current caused primarily from a voltage differential between the anode and cathode. The voltage runs through a chemical called an electrolyte (which can be either be in a liquid, solid, or gel state). This battery consisting of two electrodes is called a voltaic cell. Most batteries today are advance forms of the voltaic cells and have additional technology packed into the battery casing to support the overall system and its connected  device. These controls include the connector, fuse, charge and discharge FETs, the cell pack, the sense resistor (RSENSE), the primary and secondary protection ICs, the fuel-gauge IC thermistor, pc board, and the EEPROM or firmware for the fuel-gauge IC.

How Does a Battery Work and What Does It Produce?

We know that the result of a battery converting chemical energy into electrical energy allows us to turn on our laptop, PDA, MP3 or even a cell-phone. But how does the conversion process take place? As stated above the batteries we use today are variable changes of the voltaic pile. In addition to the controls I listed above today’s batteries are made up of plates of reactive chemicals (Li-ion, Li-po, NIMH, NICD) separated by an electrolyte barrier (which can be either be in a liquid, solid, or gel state), and subsequently polarized so all the electrons gather on one side. The system was designed to separate both positive and negative electrons. Then after separation an electron exchange occurs and a current of electron flow moves electrons to and from the anode and cathode. Simultaneously an electrochemical reaction takes place inside the battery to replenish the electrons. The effect is a chemical process that creates electrochemical energy.

Now the electrochemical reaction that is taking place is a chemical change that is necessary in order to create electricity. One factor that needs to be understood is that electricity is the flow of electrons. Specifically, electricity is a property of subatomic particles which couples to electromagnetic fields and causes attractive and repulsive forces between them. This repulsive force between the subatomic particles creates an electric current; the flow of electric charge transports energy from one atom to another. This electrical current is measured in amperes, where 1 ampere is the flow of 62,000,000,000,000,000,000 electrons per second!

Electricity therefore is a created energy source. All electricity in fact is a created source made or converted from coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power, wind, heat, sun, water, biomass and or other chemicals. In batteries today electricity is created by two chemicals in a solution for example: {a Solution of Lithium hexaflourophosphate (LiPF6) – a mixture of Organic Solvents: [Ethylene Carbonate (EC) + DiEthyl Carbonate (DMC) + DiEthyl Carbonate (DEC) + Ethyl Acetate (EA)]}

To create electricity within a battery first and foremost the battery's chemistry must be charged. Charging lithium can be thought of as the introduction of ions or movement of chemistry. To move the lithium chemistry (lithium-ion, lithium polymer, lithium iron phosphate, etc) you have to have a minimum voltage applied to the lithium. Most battery cells are charged to 4.2 volts with relative safe workings at about 3.8 volts. Anything less than 3.3 volts will not be enough to charge or move the chemistry. One thing to note here is that volts are an algorithmic measurement of current. So in a sense to create current through your battery you have to introduce current into your battery’s lithium .

Introducing current into your lithium is called intercalation. Intercalation is the joining of a molecule (or molecule group) between two other molecules (or groups). When it comes to charging your battery you are in effect pushing ions in and out of solid lithium compounds. These compounds have minuscule spaces between the crystallized planes for small ions, such as lithium, to insert themselves from a force of current. In effect ionizing the lithium loads the crystal planes to the point where they are forced into a current flow. The current flow is then channeled back and forth from anode to cathode and thereby creating an electrical flow to power on your device. Again this can done 300-500 times before all the ions are pushed out of the lithium and you will no longer be able to charge your device.

One final thought and that is runtime (time between charges). After each charge-discharge cycle the runtime (time between charges) is reduced by intercalation as discussed above. For example you may notice in the first 3-4 months you are getting between 3-5 hours of runtime on your battery. Then in months 5-12 (after your purchase) you notice that you are slowly getting less and less runtime in between charges until you might be getting less than 5 minutes of runtime. This is the normal use of the chemistry inside your battery and DOES NOT mean that the battery is bad, but simply has been used by you.

Until next time – Dan Hagopian, www.BatteryShip.com
Copyright © BatteryEducation.com. All rights reserved.

How Green Are Batteries?

When you peer into the world of batteries your first thought is “wow – there sure are a lot of batteries”. While this is certainly true as self directed environmentalist I wonder just how many batteries can actually be recycled. To answer the question let’s look at batteries from the manufacturing floor on up to the end user.

The battery business just as in any business requires that materials are bought, assembled into products, and eventually sold to an end user. Batteries however have an interesting collection of materials, which are designed to collect energy, store energy, and redistribute energy on demand. These processes on the surface seem very environmentally friendly but let’s see just how friendly!

As alluded to above building a battery requires basic components including: the casing, the chemistry, the electrolyte, and the battery’s specialized hardware

The Battery Casing

The purpose of a battery casing is for enclosing and hermetically sealing an internal battery body. Battery casings are manufactured in layers. The casing layers are developed from various raw materials and can include one or two polyethylene terephthalate layers (a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family), a polymer layer, and a polypropylene layer (another thermoplastic polymer). The entire casing can be recycled.

The Battery Chemistry

As noted above a battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. To convert chemical energy into electrical energy the battery must contain the chemical base to allow conversion to occur. Types of common chemicals used in batteries on the market today are:

• Lithium Ion (Li-ion)
• Lithium Polymer (Li-po)
• Lithium-thionyl chloride (Li-SOCl2)
• Lithium-sulfur dioxide (Li-SO2)
• Lithium-manganese dioxide (Li-MnO2)
• Nickel-cadmium (NICD)
• Nickel-metal-hydride (NIMH)
• Lead-acid batteries
• Reusable Alkaline

Each of these chemistries can be recycled.

The Battery’s Electrolyte

The actual conversion of chemical energy into electrochemical energy can only be done if an electron flow passes between two electrodes, an anode (the negative end) and a cathode (the positive end). The battery’s electrical current (electron flow) runs from one electrode to another through a conductive chemical called an electrolyte solution.

A basic electrolyte solution is a chemical compound (salt, acid, or base) that when dissolved in a solvent forms a solution that becomes an ionic conductor of electricity. In the battery cell the electrolyte solution is the conducting medium in which the flow of electric current between the electrodes takes place by the migrating electrons.

At the end of the battery’s electrolyte solution’s life, the spent battery acid can be neutralized using an industrial grade baking soda compound. After neutralization the acid turns into water, treated, cleaned to meet clean water standards, and then released into the public sewer system. Another option would be to convert spent battery acid into sodium sulfate, which is used in laundry detergent, glass and textile manufacturing.

The Battery’s Specialized Hardware

A battery consists of more than the casing, electrolyte, and the chemical. It requires some very specialized hardware, especially when we speak directly about a smart battery. Your typical smart battery may have a multitude of hardware components that when working in tandem not merely create electrical power and transfer it to a particular device but additionally sends data packets of information to the device so that the device can actually gauge the battery (at least in theory). Some of the common hardware features in a smart battery include: the connector, the fuse, the charge and discharge FETs, the cell pack, the sense resistor (RSENSE), the primary and secondary protection ICs, the fuel-gauge IC, the thermistor, the pc board, and the EEPROM or firmware for the fuel-gauge IC. The materials that comprise these individual components can be broken down and recycled.

So How Green Are Batteries?

Batteries are very environmentally safe, especially batteries that are rechargeable.

Until next time – Dan Hagopian, www.BatteryShip.com
Copyright © BatteryEducation.com. All rights reserved.

Lithium Battery Chemistries

Common types of lithium based batteries are in use currently and they include but not limited to:

  1. Lithium Ion (Li-ion)
  2. Lithium Polymer (Li-po)
  3. Lithium-thionyl chloride (Li-SOCl2)
  4. Lithium-sulfur dioxide (Li-SO2)
  5. Lithium-manganese dioxide (Li-MnO2)

Lithium Ion (Li-ion)

  • The lightest of all metals
  • The greatest electrochemical potential
  • The largest energy density for weight.
  • The load characteristics are reasonably good in terms of discharge.
  • The high cell voltage of 3.6 volts allows battery pack designs with only one cell versus three.
  • Is is a low maintenance battery.
  • No memory and no scheduled cycling is required to prolong the battery's life.
  • Lithium-ion cells
  • cause little harm when disposed.
  • It is fragile and requires a protection circuit to maintain safe operation.
  • Cell temperature is monitored to prevent temperature extremes.
  • Capacity deterioration is noticeable after one year (whether the battery is in use or not).

Lithium Polymer

  • The lithium-polymer differentiates itself from the conventional battery in the type of electrolyte used (a plastic-like film that does not conduct electricity but allows ion exchange – electrically charged atoms or groups of atoms).
  • The polymer electrolyte replaces the traditional porous separator, which is soaked with electrolyte.
  • The dry polymer design offers simplifications with respect to fabrication, ruggedness, safety and thin-profile geometry.
  • Cell thickness measures as little as one millimeter (0.039 inches).
  • Can be formed and shaped in any way imagined.
  • Commercial lithium-polymer batteries are hybrid cells that contain gelled electrolyte to enhane conductivity.
  • Gelled electrolyte added to the lithium-ion-polymer replaces the porous separator. The gelled electrolyte is simply added to enhance ion conductivity.
  • Capacity is slightly less than that of the standard lithium-ion battery.
  • Lithium-ion-polymer finds its market niche in wafer-thin geometries, such as PDA batteries.
  • Improved safety – more resistant to overcharge; less chance for electrolyte leakage.

Lithium-manganese dioxide (Li-MnO2)

  • Lithium-manganese dioxide cells have a metallic lithium anode (the lightest of all the metals) and a solid manganese dioxide cathode.
  • Lithium-manganese dioxide cells are immersed in a non-corrosive, non-toxic organic electrolyte.
  • They deliver a voltage of 2.8 V and are cylindrical in shape, in 1/2 AA to D format, with spiral electrodes.

Lithium-sulfur dioxide (Li-SO2)

  • Lithium-sulphur dioxide cells have a metallic lithium anode (the lightest of all the metals) and a liquid cathode comprising a porous carbon current collector filled with a sulphur dioxide (SO2) solution.
  • They deliver a voltage of 2.8 V and are cylindrical in shape, in ½ AA to double-D format, with spiral electrodes.
  • Lithium-sulphur dioxide cells have a high energy density (250 Wh/kg) and a good capability for delivering repeated bursts of high power (up to 400 W/kg), derived from the spiral construction and is utilised in most of the applications addressed by this type of cell.

Lithium-thionyl chloride (Li-SOCl2)

  • Lithium-thionyl chloride cells have a metallic lithium anode (the lightest of all the metals) and a liquid cathode comprising a porous carbon current collector filled with thionyl chloride (SOCl2).

They deliver a voltage of 3.6 V and are cylindrical in shape, in 1/2AA to D format, with spiral electrodes for power applications and bobbin construction for prolonged discharge.

  • Lithium-thionyl chloride cells have a high energy density, partly because of their high nominal voltage of 3.6 V. Bobbin versions can reach 1220 Wh/L and 760 Wh/kg, for a capacity of 18.5 Ah at 3.6 V in D format. Because self-discharge is extremely low (less than 1% per year), this kind of cell can support long storage periods and achieve a service life of up to 20 years.

    • Until next time – Dan Hagopian, BatteryShip.com
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