I have to declare an interest in this one as I worked on it.
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/36699-saltwater-light-phone-charger?locale=en
http://revolution-green.com/hydra-light-release/
Kind Regards
Mark
Quote from: markdansie on February 11, 2016, 08:17:46 AM
I have to declare an interest in this one as I worked on it.
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/36699-saltwater-light-phone-charger?locale=en
http://revolution-green.com/hydra-light-release/
Kind Regards
Mark
I often wonder where people get there idea's from ::)
3 years of development they say.
And now they have a fund raiser going. :D
It would take me 1 day to make such a device.
2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64EDo4OB_L0
Brad.
Thanks for the feedback Brad
The idea is simple. The execution of the detail is where the time is consumed meeting standards, testing and manufacturing engineering.
At least we are making an attempt to bring some environmental alternatives and soon low cost lighting options to the developed world.
People like the late Mark E put a lot of effort into this as I and many other engineers and scientists did. Often the simple ideas are the hardest to execute
Kind Regards
Mark
Quote from: markdansie on February 11, 2016, 09:01:26 AM
Thanks for the feedback Brad
The idea is simple. The execution of the detail is where the time is consumed meeting standards, testing and manufacturing engineering.
At least we are making an attempt to bring some environmental alternatives and soon low cost lighting options to the developed world.
People like the late Mark E put a lot of effort into this as I and many other engineers and scientists did. Often the simple ideas are the hardest to execute
Kind Regards
Mark
Well if MarkE was involved,then the product should be very good.
While im here.have you heard anything about a new solar cell that claims an efficiency of 72% ?--this would make a huge change world wide if it is true.
Brad
Hi Brad
There have been a few claim high potential gains (theory) but I can not recall that one.I will be glad to here more about it if you have a link.
Hope all is well with you
Kind Regards
Mark
You should be able to adapt the thinking to aircrafts' ULBs (viz MH370 etc)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_locator_beacon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_locator_beacon)
There will be voltage issues but if you can, you'll get on Boeing and Airbus' Christmas card list.
is everybody paying attention??
here you go. This is the list.
Any two elements on this list is a saltwater battery.
the further away from each other they are on the list, the more energy produced.
As logical thinking would lead one to believe, the technology shown above uses graphite (carbon) and Magnesium.
Here is another one, that doesn't try to hide anything from you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw9jS9loVKk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw9jS9loVKk)
"replacable rods" in the device from the original post are consumed, because the Mg is destroyed in the process. creating magnesium chloride and sodium hydroxide.
This is evident by the "used" water becoming more alkaline. Also, some free chlorine is released.
this was invented by Count Volta back in the 1800's.
Also can be used is U.S. Pennies, to make a voltaic Pile. This contingency was put into place by Ronald Reagan,
as a contingency for a power grid collapse. Some of you may have noticed, pennies are not all copper anymore.
Pennies can be used in emergency to create batteries.
There is a standing Public Service Announcement, in the U.S. that can be sent out over the t.v. and radios that instructs people on how to build these. unfortunately, unless your radios and tvs are battery powered, only a few people will actually get this message, if the grid fails. Even fewer will understand it.
This is simple, 2 different metals, + saltwater.
The results of experiments in this in the 1800's led to the development of the triboelectric series of elements and the electrochemical battery. As well as the invention of electrolysis and the discovery of electromotive force.
Quote from: tinman on February 11, 2016, 09:23:50 AM
....
While im here.have you heard anything about a new solar cell that claims an efficiency of 72% ?--this would make a huge change world wide if it is true.
....
Hi Brad,
The 72% efficiency is a combined result of the solar cell and concentrated heat usage at the same time, see this description from 2010:
http://www.greenoptimistic.com/zenithsolar-z20-chp-efficiency-20101020/#.VrywO0CnwqQ (http://www.greenoptimistic.com/zenithsolar-z20-chp-efficiency-20101020/#.VrywO0CnwqQ)
A video from ZenithSolar of Israel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4izFzVCzx6A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4izFzVCzx6A)
Here is a system that concentrate sunlight by mirrors to get 72% efficiency:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-wHBDes-8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-wHBDes-8)
Of course, concentrated sunlight by mirrors has the issue of heating up the solar cells, so they need cooling.
Here is an 'official' chart (i.e. confirmed) on solar cell efficiencies to date, (no sunlight concentration), see the chart in this link:
http://phys.org/news/2016-02-solar-cell-efficiency-nrel.html (http://phys.org/news/2016-02-solar-cell-efficiency-nrel.html)
And news on achieving 46% efficiency (direct conversion of sunlight to electricity) by multi-junction cells (this result is included in the above chart):
https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/press-and-media/press-releases/press-releases-2014/new-world-record-for-solar-cell-efficiency-at-46-percent (https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/press-and-media/press-releases/press-releases-2014/new-world-record-for-solar-cell-efficiency-at-46-percent)
Gyula
@sm0ky2 thanks for the chart and the info on why they changed the metal on the penny. I did not realize the penny battery was intentionally created. clever (I wish they only coated one side with copper though so you didn't have to sandpaper the copper off).
Hi smoKy2
You are right that a combination of any of those two elements and salt water is a battery. This technology is not a battery so to speak except you will consume the anode. It is more like a fuel cell technology and consumes oxygen. The problem with just using two dissimilar metals (which works fine) is energy density. Try an experiment where you put a piece of carbon and say magnesium in salt water. measure the amps across (short) You will see it is high at first then drops to around 20 or 30% of the initial measurement. The difference with this it will climb much higher with the same piece of metal (whatever you choose for the anode ) and climb to a level many times higher than a traditional battery.
It is still based on old and well known technology. Thanks for the information
Kind Regards
Mark
Quote from: gyulasun on February 11, 2016, 11:50:58 AM
Hi Brad,
The 72% efficiency is a combined result of the solar cell and concentrated heat usage at the same time, see this description from 2010:
http://www.greenoptimistic.com/zenithsolar-z20-chp-efficiency-20101020/#.VrywO0CnwqQ (http://www.greenoptimistic.com/zenithsolar-z20-chp-efficiency-20101020/#.VrywO0CnwqQ)
A video from ZenithSolar of Israel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4izFzVCzx6A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4izFzVCzx6A)
Here is a system that concentrate sunlight by mirrors to get 72% efficiency:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-wHBDes-8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-wHBDes-8)
Of course, concentrated sunlight by mirrors has the issue of heating up the solar cells, so they need cooling.
Here is an 'official' chart (i.e. confirmed) on solar cell efficiencies to date, (no sunlight concentration), see the chart in this link:
http://phys.org/news/2016-02-solar-cell-efficiency-nrel.html (http://phys.org/news/2016-02-solar-cell-efficiency-nrel.html)
And news on achieving 46% efficiency (direct conversion of sunlight to electricity) by multi-junction cells (this result is included in the above chart):
https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/press-and-media/press-releases/press-releases-2014/new-world-record-for-solar-cell-efficiency-at-46-percent (https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/press-and-media/press-releases/press-releases-2014/new-world-record-for-solar-cell-efficiency-at-46-percent)
Gyula
80% http://www.computerworld.com/article/2487947/emerging-technology/ibm-solar-energy-tech-claims-to-harness-power-of-2-000-suns.html
but has to be constantly water cooled. Ideal for situations like water pumps etc.
Basically, the new industry standard is to combine the Archimedes "Solar Death Ray", with the conventional solar PV cell.
This allows for a much greater light concentration per ^2 area. Thus an increase in performance of each cell in the plant.
also, they have to buy less cells to gather the same amount of sunlight. = lower cost per watt.
Heat is discussed primarily as a "problem", but some intuitive minds are seeing it as an additional energy benefit.
All of these efficiency %'s are based on a theoretical value of the amount of energy coming from the sun,
were we able to harness 100% of it. It is based on the ^2 area perpendicular to the sunlight.
of course higher altitudes get more sun, but there is a standard at sea level.
Our estimate of this value is based on a limited set of data, which we know not to be consistent.
Thus the value is an average Watts per square meter, and admittedly there can be errors in instantaneous power levels
ranging to the order of 3 magnitudes.
so, % efficiency of a solar conversion system, is essentially an arbitrary rating based on the amount of power one can obtain from a solar-based system, given a set ^2 area of land.
Quote from: markdansie on February 11, 2016, 02:54:11 PM
Hi smoKy2
You are right that a combination of any of those two elements and salt water is a battery. This technology is not a battery so to speak except you will consume the anode. It is more like a fuel cell technology and consumes oxygen. The problem with just using two dissimilar metals (which works fine) is energy density. Try an experiment where you put a piece of carbon and say magnesium in salt water. measure the amps across (short) You will see it is high at first then drops to around 20 or 30% of the initial measurement. The difference with this it will climb much higher with the same piece of metal (whatever you choose for the anode ) and climb to a level many times higher than a traditional battery.
It is still based on old and well known technology. Thanks for the information
Kind Regards
Mark
Thanks for the clarity Mark.
So your system is not based on the same principal as the saltwater car in the video I posted?
Does oxygen need to be supplied into your system, to sustain the electrolytic decomposition of the metal?
And does this process build-up oxide deposits on the cathode?
Many thanks to Mark Dansie by bringing this finally to the market.
I guess their new Website URL had not been posted here,
so here it is:
http://www.hydra-light.com/ (http://www.hydra-light.com/)
I think this is also an metal-air battery so the graphite plates have to be able to breath air, that is Oxygen...
as Oxygen is needed to be converted at the graphite electrode to go into ions to decompose and magnesium alloy
and to produce current...
So if other persons try to replicate this, make sure your graphite plates are not always under
water or fully inside the electrolyte bath, cause otherwise they can not "breath" air and thus they only can convert the air, that was stored in the graphite matrix, before they were put into the saltwater....
I also always wondered myself earlier, why my saltwater cells became more and more weaker, when I realized
that the graphite electrodes can not breath any air anymore, when they are almpst completely inside the saltwater...
So the best thing would be to put these graphite plates on one side as the wall of the container and with the other side in contact with the electrolyte,
so on the one side they can fully "breath" the air and at the other side are fully immersed into the saltwater electrolyte...
It seems they have exactly done this as you can see here:
http://www.hydra-light.com/#!technology/c24vq (http://www.hydra-light.com/#!technology/c24vq)
Especially seen in this great picture:
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b4cbd_bc14c62da3a5423d9f92d4e3f7e83c26.png
The graphite plate seems to breat air from the other side not beeing in the saltwarer electrolyte...
Well Done Mark Dansie and Team !
Regards, Stefan
Here is still another shot of the cell case:
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b4cbd_07d07ccd9e104a3f95bbbc9248c6687d.jpg
where you can see, that the graphite plate will seal the electrolyte container with one of its sides.
I wonder how leakproof is the graphite plate versus the saltwater electrolyte.
The graphite plate must be pressed probably pretty hard against the container, so no saltwater will spill
out... As Graphite plates are sometimes very soft material , I wonder how long these graphite plates
will last in this unit and don´t get clogged by Magnesiumchlorid saltes....I wonder how expensive will
be replacement graphite plates for it..
I also wonder what kind of ohmical resistance these graphite plates will have...
Does Hydra Light manufacture these plates themselve or are they being bought by a third party ?
Also one could probably easily substitute the magnesium rod with a piece of aluminium foil
rolled up and put in there instead of the Magnesium rod... okay, you will only
have then around 1.2 volts with saltwater, but if you take Sodiumcarbonate-water or Firewood-Ash-water as the electrolyte,
you will also get around 1.5 Volts as in the Magnesium case... so you could save a bit of money and
use your used up coke cans ( Aluminium-Metal) or alufoil to power this lamp...so you spare the 4 US$ for the magnesium rods...
Regards, Stefan.
P.S: What I don´t like about the Hydra Light is the color temperature of their LEDs...
These Camping Laterns always come with these very cold light bright 6500 Kelvin
Color Temperature LEDs that really hurt your eyes, cause they have very strong line spectras, not a contineous
spectrum..and that is bad for your eyes and can hurt them.....
I wish they would have choosen
the new 2700Kelvin COB filament LED modules, which are much better for your eyes...
Also these would not attract so many moths and mosquitos outdoors...
Regards, Stefan.
Hi Stefan
The product one may have a warmer led, i tend to agree with you.
There is a replacement cell available sold separately with the cathode.
We are using a third party technology at the moment but are developing a low cost replacement using different manufacturing technologies.
So you can purchase the cell and anode separate to the product.
If they are used daily or continuously the cathode runs for thousands of hours. If they are not looked after properly the lifespan can be only hundreds of hours. There is some simple maintenance required. I will send you some in a couple of months.
Kind Regards
Mark
Hi Stefan,
would be good if you could join our Thunder-Clap program to help spread the word.
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/36699-saltwater-light-phone-charger?locale=en
Kind Regards
Mark
Dear Mark.
Look into this guy´s graphite process , he has the lowest resistance in graphite plate
designs I know of....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o3eVevf9TM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o3eVevf9TM)
It is only around 2 Ohms / cm now which will conduct the currrent much more.
If you additionally also put a current collector stainless steel mesh metal foil behind the graphite plate
at the air side, you will even have lower inner cell and graphite plate resistance and thus much more output power...
( Then the output power will not be consumed at the ohmical resistance of the graphite plate...)
He uses H2O2 and KMNO4 to exfoliate the graphite and then bakes and burns these graphite flakes
inside the Microwave and then presses them down to graphite plates...
Thus he gets such a low resistance, which is just great...
Okay, I joined your Thunderclap promotion with my Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr Accounts...
Will be interesting to see, how your Kickstarter campaign will work out....
Regards, Stefan.
P.S: Yes, try to adapt it to the new Filament COB LED modules, that use 1800K, 2200 or 2700 Kelvin
of color temperature, they are very nice for the eyes.. also if they don´t light up so bright, but they
give out a very nice yellow warm light...
Quote from: markdansie on February 13, 2016, 11:45:25 PM
Hi Stefan
The product one may have a warmer led, i tend to agree with you.
There is a replacement cell available sold separately with the cathode.
We are using a third party technology at the moment but are developing a low cost replacement using different manufacturing technologies.
So you can purchase the cell and anode separate to the product.
If they are used daily or continuously the cathode runs for thousands of hours. If they are not looked after properly the lifespan can be only hundreds of hours. There is some simple maintenance required. I will send you some in a couple of months.
Kind Regards
Mark
Something like these Filament LED COB Modules:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/50-60v-37-1-6mm-1w-COB-led-light-source-for-bulb-filament/32265251230.html
But be sure to get the 2200Kelvin or 2700 Kelvin types,
so you get wonderful warm light.
You would probably need then a different DC2DC converter, as these COB Modules work with around
50 to 60 Volts, but a good JouleThief circuit would then also work quite nicely...
Hope this helps.
Regards, Stefan.
Hi Stefan
thanks for the input I will investigate
The late Mark E designed the circuits including the dc to dc converters obtaining efficiencies up to 93% and typically over 80%. They have been balanced to a Philips led that is over 170 lumens per watt. In the larger products we have a two cell configuration. We have also tested Joule Thiefs. We have several families of boards that were developed over two years.
The cathode is not a graphite plate and I will be testing graphine with our new development. A lot more will be revealed in the next comming weeks
Thanks for joining the thunderclap.
Kind Regards
Mark
Quote[ This technology is not a battery so to speak except you will consume the anode. It is more like a fuel cell technology and consumes oxygen. The difference with this it will climb much higher with the same piece of metal (whatever you choose for the anode ) and climb to a level many times higher than a traditional battery.[/size]It is still based on old and well known technology. Thanks for the information
Hi Mark
I have been using this for quite some years for creating hydrogen from water using it's own ability to generate power by oxidising a metal, certain metals are better than others, the system lab name is SMD but is shortly to be changed to a more commercial name.
The onset was to create hydrogen from water and the oxygen used up to run the system, and yes it has been done and dates back to 2003 and has been an item I have been developing as time permitted, there is a small group who know of this and have worked on parts of this, some you know. There were two patent applications a few years back, now abandoned so as the prior art exists in my name (no other can patent it), that was the idea, free for all.
Hydrogen from water at no running cost apart from water and a very cheap metal as the running fuel 8) shortly to be published in full after some new replications are completed by group members.
Regards
Mike 8)
PS. I don't post on OU.com very much for obvious reasons, I have made this an exception this time.
Hi Mike
thanks for posting.
I vent the hydrogen of as it is only a small volume. I sometimes wonder if I should capture it and use a fuel cell. Using a metal to create hydrogen is a good idea but can be expensive depending on the source of the supply. Aluminium is excellent.
In the products we are aiming at we are very competitive compared to batteries and kerosene. Once we reach a certain size then we are no longer economical. We can power an electric car but will cost 10 times more than gasoline.
There are many expired patents, including one similar to the method we used, some dating back decades, that never went into production. We have not take the approach to patent the cell but some of the electronics may have applications in other industries.
We are also developing a very low cost high volume cathode for release in models latter this year or early next year which will make the technology very affordable (that is why I was in Cambridge UK last week)
I wish you all the best success with your current project and looking forward to seeing it come to fruition.
Kind Regards
Mark
Hi Mark
The volume of hydrogen in SMD is high due to the way it is designed, also the power extraction from the electron capture is also high, the only thing is I use electron storage before the booster, also my design and is around 98% efficient in this form.
Before anyone asks, the hydrogen production is equal to very efficient electrolysis but without the oxygen, that goes to produce the power to run the electrolysis, so 2/3rds the volume of gas.
The volume can be more if it is used in another form, packing it out with CO2 to form methane, that is one of my pet projects.
regards
Mike 8)
Hi Mike
I like the idea of packing it out with CO2 to form methane :)
Kind Regards
Yes the reaction is catylised by the removal of the oxygen, when done properly, it was my idea for methane powered cars
regards
Mike 8)
Dear Mike,
are you just using Aluminium and NaOH as the catalyst ?
But then you have to recycle the Aluminiumhydroxid...or get rid of it...
No it is not as simple as that, there is no Al or NaoH, it is an electrochemical reaction, the end waste is oxidised metal (Fe), the
overal reaction is complex though.
Regards
Mike 8)
using a carboplating process that deposited carbon nanoparticles from an open flame
we were able to create carbon-plated nickel electrodes with a conductivity of 3x10^-8 Ohms/meter
or very close to that of Gold.
thanks for this information
Thanks i agree with you
I think so right .
I just looked at the website http://www.hydralight.net/technology/ , very nice, but how do you shut off the light (battery) after you have tipped it into water.
Once the battery is activated it will run its course. Let's say I need light for one hour and then two months later I need light for another two hours? New light (battery), right?
This is not a game killer, but it limits its use.
Greetings,
No, I don't think that is strictly true. In the versions I know about, the consumable anode is only consumed when current is being drawn from the cell, IIRC. So you can turn it off electrically and let it dry out and then it can be re-activated when needed, as long as there is some anode material left.
The drawback I saw was the buildup of the reaction product, which must be cleaned out and disposed of periodically. This reaction product is generally harmless but I hesitate to think about millions of users all down at the beach cleaning out/activating their Hydralights at the same time.
a marvelous idea.its a current-to-voltage transformer in there somewhere(l.e.d.s need very little i and lots v).at neutral ph the anode wil alkaline over time and increase resistance.at vinegar ph the thing can go for a while
Hi TK
please email me your address again I will send you one. The new one is maintenance free, the waste is contained in the cell. We are also doing a fully bio degradable one made from bmboo.
I sent Stefan one some time agao
Quote from: markdansie on March 22, 2018, 05:30:31 AM
Hi TK
please email me your address again I will send you one. The new one is maintenance free, the waste is contained in the cell. We are also doing a fully bio degradable one made from bmboo.
I sent Stefan one some time agao
@makdansie, TK, Stefan:
May be markdansie can answer my question, or Stefan and TK will have some experience with the water activated battery.
I understand that the water activated battery can be stored for many years as long as it is not activated (stays dry).
But what happens once it is dipped in salt water? A slightly acidic solution will be created in the battery which allows a corrosion process causing electrons to flow between anode and cathode.
Electrons only flow if the light is turned on. So one could let the battery dry out without using it up. And later one ads water again to create the acidic solution again.
I imagine that letting the battery dry out causes chemical reactions which are not reversible and therefore constitutes some "loss". The "loss" will probably be a shorter electricity production than in the case of a one time cycle.
Case 1: adding water and turning the light on and letting it shine till the battery is used up will give you light for instance 100 hours.
Case 2: adding water, turning the light on for some time, then letting the battery dry out, adding water again, and letting the light shine till the battery is used up, will give you in total light for a shorter time than in case 1.
Now the question:
how much are the "losses" if one lets the battery dry out and adds water again months or years later?This is not a criticism, I just want to know how the battery reacts to multiple dry outs.
Greetings, Conrad
"Now the question: how much are the "losses" if one lets the battery dry out and adds water
again months or years later?"
chemicaly speaking,there'l b a major buildup of scum over time.resistance increases
Quote from: hartiberlin on February 13, 2016, 09:56:54 PM
Many thanks to Mark Dansie by bringing this finally to the market.
I guess their new Website URL had not been posted here,
so here it is:
http://www.hydra-light.com/ (http://www.hydra-light.com/)
I think this is also an metal-air battery so the graphite plates have to be able to breath air, that is Oxygen...
as Oxygen is needed to be converted at the graphite electrode to go into ions to decompose and magnesium alloy
and to produce current...
So if other persons try to replicate this, make sure your graphite plates are not always under
water or fully inside the electrolyte bath, cause otherwise they can not "breath" air and thus they only can convert the air, that was stored in the graphite matrix, before they were put into the saltwater....
I also always wondered myself earlier, why my saltwater cells became more and more weaker, when I realized
that the graphite electrodes can not breath any air anymore, when they are almpst completely inside the saltwater...
So the best thing would be to put these graphite plates on one side as the wall of the container and with the other side in contact with the electrolyte,
so on the one side they can fully "breath" the air and at the other side are fully immersed into the saltwater electrolyte...
It seems they have exactly done this as you can see here:
http://www.hydra-light.com/#!technology/c24vq (http://www.hydra-light.com/#!technology/c24vq)
Especially seen in this great picture:
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b4cbd_bc14c62da3a5423d9f92d4e3f7e83c26.png
The graphite plate seems to breat air from the other side not beeing in the saltwarer electrolyte...
Well Done Mark Dansie and Team !
Regards, Stefan
I never cared for consumption batteries with metal that require you to reconstitute them with more electric energy .if you use zinc and carbon air batteries you'll need to move air thought the carbon to jump the power .but the zinc oxide can be reconstituted by heating to red hot like in a solar Furness or camp fire with air pre heaters .if mixed with carbon it turns to zinc vapor that's why the high temp must reach vapor point to work .then the vapor collects on lead sheets in side of the cooling area and comes off easy .then refuel your cell.using the sun or just fire wood seems better than hoping the powers still on .and you can scale it up and store it . try Penny's they melt in a stove flame .