Getting amps from small selfmade DIY Zinc Air cells, amazing !

[hartiberlin]

one drop at a time, test it for volatility.

Well, with nitroglycerin, one drop could be too much ! 

Deciding soon, if I have the balls to do it, no risk, no fun

Any other advices ?

Regards, Stefan.

[hartiberlin]

Here are 3 pictures from:

http://cavac.se/produkter.html

It seems he is using a pretty expensive air electrode from:
http://www.electric-fuel.com/airelectrode/E4spec.html

This is why the cell is pretty expensive..

He is selling the cell for around 1000 SEK, which is about 100 Euros
or about 150 US$.

The Datasheets says:

Zinc-Air Cell (monoblock), rechargeable

Cell Chemistry: Zink/KOH/O2

Cellvoltage open circuit (uncompressed): 1.4 V
Cellvoltage (with  load, 0.3 A/cm2) 1.0 V

Current (continuous): 100 A (0.3 A/cm2)

Current  (1 minutes, max): 120 A (0.35 A/cm2)

Amp-hours (C/10): 900 Ah

Energy Density (30 A / 100 A): 580 / 450 Wh / kg

Energitthet (30 A / 100 A): 1500 / 1200 Wh / L

Power Density: 50 W / kg

Effekttthet: 135 W / L

Charge Cycles (0.1 C, 100% DOD):> 100
Cathode-area: 340 cm2, Make Electric Fuel (*)

dimensions (mm) (length x width x height): 205 mm x 30 mm x 120 mm

Weight: 2,0 kg


He said on the swedish forum:

The price of 1000 SEK is 70% dependent on the price of air cathode, especially in this prototype cell in which a ready and very expensive version of the Electric Fuel (EF) is used. In the future own cells meaning even air cathode was self-made, with more of a halved the price for it. Customer price at an average volume of production would reach around 1000 SEK per kWh, including profit margins and so on.

This prototype cell, 900 Ah, where 0.824 Ah,  is obtained from each gram of zinc.

Cell voltage is 1.4 V and 1.0 V, no load at nominal load of 100 A, max 120 A.

[hartiberlin]

He just replied on the Swedish forum and said that for this cell at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s35sJwX1jlo

he used the following setup:

Recipes / ingredients in simple prototype cells on youtube is for the air cathode:

48% activated carbon with 2% absorbed colloidal silver
and
50% Teflon, was pressed in a fine mesh stainless steel mesh (1 mm mesh, 0.2 mm wire thickness)
as one electrode.

The Electrolyte was
a 40% KOH solution electrolyte (60% water, 40% KOH).

A separator made of glass wool, solid zinc plate (1 mm thick) lying on a similar steel nets used in air-cathode.

So this is very easy to make and has huge current output capabilities.

The question still is, what kind of Teflon fluid or beads were used ?

Regards, Stefan.

[onthecuttingedge2005]

Well, with nitroglycerin, one drop could be too much ! 

Deciding soon, if I have the balls to do it, no risk, no fun

Any other advices ?

Regards, Stefan.

Hi Stefan.

mostly protective equipment.

1. heavy duty welding gloves.
2. heavy duty chemical gloves
note; insert welding gloves inside chemical gloves.
they are bulky but give added protection from losing fingers.

3. heavy duty Protective mask or face plate.
4. some form of highly anchored blast face to redirect compression force away from your body.

5. see if there is any literature already present for such a chemical mix and the proper way to handle it.

always keep thinking about what you are about to do before you do it as far as chemistry is involved.

Jerry

[hartiberlin]

Well, these are things I don´t have availabe here at the moment...
Hmm, I am thinking  :

I already mixed KMNO4 with carbon powder in my younger years,
so there is not much risk...

But I don´t know, what will happen, if I add the acrylic binder,
which is a wet white colored acrylic binder used to make acrylic paint colors..

Can the acryl in it react violently with the KMNO4 ?

Will it help, when all is in a wet watersolution state ?

As the acrylic binder binds the water and gets
hard, maybe this will generate too much heat
with the KMNO4 and ignite it ?

Is here any advanced chemist reading this and can give me a few tips ?

Will it react maybe violently when the graphite-acrylic binder-KMNO4 mix
will be put into the KOH-water solution ?

What reactions could start then ?

Please help.

Many thanks.