Zinc-Air Fuel Cell
The benefits of electric cars are well known, but problems remain. The typical electric car battery has as much range on one charge as a gasoline car has when the needle sits on "empty". This is fine for most daily commutes, but not longer drives.
One way to achieve unlimited range in electric cars is by means of mechanically recharged batteries. In this very new type of electric car, primary power comes from a battery that can be recharged in minutes by supplying it with a liquid mixture of electrolyte and pulverized zinc metal. The metal yields its energy in the battery as it converts into zinc hydroxide gel, which is collected during refueling. Peak acceleration power comes from a secondary battery, connected to an electric motor driving the wheels.
One way to achieve unlimited range in electric cars is by means of mechanically recharged batteries. In this very new type of electric car, primary power comes from a battery that can be recharged in minutes by supplying it with a liquid mixture of electrolyte and pulverized zinc metal. The metal yields its energy in the battery as it converts into zinc hydroxide gel, which is collected during refueling. Peak acceleration power comes from a secondary battery, connected to an electric motor driving the wheels.
The original prototype cell was fabricated with SLS rapid-prototyping machine. After operation tests, chemical build-up were found on the corners and surfaces of the cell.
A fair amount was also found blocking the electrolyte inlets as appeared on the bottom of the picture. This was the main problem that we decided to solve as it kills the output of the battery. Upon further inspection, we determined that the the build up were due to two reasons: 1. The lacking of a mechanism that stops the zinc pallets from falling into the air inlets; 2. Insufficient amount of electrolyte flowing through the cell to agitate the pallets.
A fair amount was also found blocking the electrolyte inlets as appeared on the bottom of the picture. This was the main problem that we decided to solve as it kills the output of the battery. Upon further inspection, we determined that the the build up were due to two reasons: 1. The lacking of a mechanism that stops the zinc pallets from falling into the air inlets; 2. Insufficient amount of electrolyte flowing through the cell to agitate the pallets.
The new cell was then designed specifically to solve the existing problem. First of all, we selected acrylic as our material for construction. It allows us to have a visual of the on-going reaction, being transparent, also eliminates the possibility of surface chemical build up.
On the middle plane where the membrane is attached, the sidewall were designed to taper towards the bottom, preventing zinc pallets from entering the lower half of the cell. In addition, a series of barriers were also designed to prevent the zinc pallets from entering the electrolyte inlets.
On the middle plane where the membrane is attached, the sidewall were designed to taper towards the bottom, preventing zinc pallets from entering the lower half of the cell. In addition, a series of barriers were also designed to prevent the zinc pallets from entering the electrolyte inlets.