Unit – II MODERN ENERGY STORAGE DEVICES FOR ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES

BATTERIES

Batteries are broadly classified into two types.

a) Primary battery or Primary cell (Irreversible Cell)

In these cells, the electrodes and the electrode reactions cannot be reversed by passing an
external electrical energy. They are not rechargeable.

They do not obey the conditions of thermodynamic reversibility

Example: Dry cell, Mercury cell

b) Secondary battery or Secondary cell (Reversible Cell)

These batteries are rechargeable. In these cells, the electrode reactions can be reversed by
passing an external energy.

These are called storage cells (or) accumulators.

Reversible Irreversible cells

A cell which obeys the following three conditions of thermodynamic

reversiblity is called reversible cell.
1. If the daniel cell is connected to an external source of emf equal to 1.1 volt,
no current flows and also no chemical reaction takes place in the cell.
2. If the external emf is made slightly less than 1.1 volt, small amount of
current flows from the cell and small chemical reaction occurs.
3. If the external emf is made slightly greater than 1.1 volt, the current will
flow in the opposite direction.

c) Flow battery or Fuel cell

In these cells, the reactants, products and electrolytes are continuously passing throughthe
cell.
Example:
Hydrogen – oxygen fuel cell.

General battery characteristics of primary and secondary battery

Voltage
Voltage expresses differences in electric potential and, therefore, magni-tude of the available
energy.

Capacity
Battery capacity represents the electric output of a cell or battery on a servicetest delivered
before the cell reaches a specified final electrical condition. Thisusually is expressed in ampere-
hours. It is a measure of the discharge capability of a battery.
Shelf Life

Shelf life measures how long a cell can be stored before its capacity drops to a given percentage
of production capacity or maximum charge. Shelf life is related to battery self-discharge.
Although a battery is not connected to an external electronic device
duringstorage,someparasiticchemicalre-actions can occur within the cell (similar to leakage
current in electronic devices). This results in loss of capacity during storage.

Capacity and discharge

A battery’s capacity is the amount of electric charge it can deliver at therated voltage. The more
electrode material contained in the cell the greater itscapacity. A small cell has less capacity than
a larger cell. Capacity is measured inunits such as amp-hour .

ALKALINE BATTERY

This is the advanced form of the dry cell. It uses a zinc anode and MnO2 cathode. The electrolyte
in this cell is potassium hydroxide. This cell derives its power from the reduction of theMnO2,
cathode and oxidation of the zinc anode.

The emf of this cell is 1.5V.

Uses
It is used in calculators, watches etc.
Advantages of alkaline battery
1. It maintains its voltage, when the current is drawn from it
2. The anodic metal zinc does not dissolve readily by alkali
3. The life time of battery is longer than the dry battery.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LEAD ACID BATTERY (or) LEAD STORAGE CELL

Description of Lead Acid Battery

Each of its cell has a lead anode and lead dioxide cathode. The leaddioxide is packed on a metal
plate. These two electrodes are immersed in aqueoussulphuric acid electrolyte of density 1.2
g/ml.

Cell representation
Pb / PbSO4// H2SO4/ PbO2 / Pb

Working

In the discharge of the battery, the sulphuric acid is replaced by waterand hence the density of
the electrolyte, sulphuric acid, decreases from the initial value of 1.2 g/ml to 1.0 g/ml.

Recharging

The battery can be recharged by passing electric current in the opposite

direction. The electrode reaction gets reversed.

Uses
1. Lead acid battery is used to supply current mainly in automobiles such
as cars, buses etc.
2. It is also used in gas engine ignition, telephone exchanges, hospitals,
powers stations etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NICKEL CADMIUM CELL (or) NICAD BATTERY(PART – C)

Recharging
The electrode reactions are reversed. As a cadmium gets deposited on anode and NiO2
on the cathode.

Advantages
1. It gives a constant voltage of 1.4 V.
2. It has a longer life than a lead acid battery.
3. It is smaller and lighter
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LITHIUM BATTERY(PART – C)

It is a solid state battery, becausethe electrolyte is in the solid state.

Description
Lithium battery consists of Lithium anode and TiS cathode. The solid electrolyte

is a polymer which permits the passage of ions but not that of electrons.

Advantages of Lithium battery

The Lithium battery is considered to be the cell of the future because:
1. Its cell voltage is high, 3.0 V.
2. Lithium is a light-weight metal battery is light weight
3. Since Li has the most negative E value and, hence, generates a higher
voltage than other types of cells.
4. All the constituents of the battery are solids and, hence, there is no risk of
leakage from the battery.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOLAR ENERGY

The energy that we get directly from the sun is called solar energy. Some of
the applications of solar energy are detailed below.

Solar cells

They are also known as photovoltaic cells or PV cells. Solar cells are made of thin wafers or
semiconductor materials like silicon and gallium. When solar radiations fall on them, a potential
difference is produced which causes flow of electrons and produces electricity.
Silicon canbe obtained from silica or sand, whichis abundantly available and inexpensive.By
using gallium arsenide, cadmiumsulphide or boron, efficiencyof the PV cells can be improved.
Thepotential difference produced by asingle PV cell of 4 cm 2 size is about 0.4 - 0.5 volts and
produces a current of 60 milli amperes.

Applications of solar cells

Solar cells are widely used in calculators, electronic watches, street lighting,traffic signals, water
pumps etc.

Advantages (Two Marks)

1. It is a non-depletable and a pollution-free source of energy.
2. The electricity produced can be stored in batteries and used to supply
power to remote villages.

Disadvantages (Two Marks)

1. Power generation will be affectedduring cloudy and rainy days and also at night.
2. Solar energy is relatively expensive
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HYDROGEN – OXYGEN FUEL CELL(PART – C)

A fuel cell is a galvanic cell in which the chemical energy of a continuouslysupplying fuel is
converted into electrical energy.

Example: Hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell.

A common type of fuel cell is based on the combustion of H2 to form water.

Fuel cells consist of two electrodes made of porous graphiteimpregnated with a catalyst
(platinum, silver, metal oxide, etc.). The electrodesare placed in an aqueous solution of NaOH.
Oxygen and hydrogen are continuouslypassedintothecell.

Cell reaction
The electrons produced at the anode pass through the external wire to the
cathode. Here the electrons are absorbed by oxygen and water to produce OH
ions.

Advantages
1. Fuel cells are efficient and take little time for operation.
2. A fuel cell produces electric current directly from the reaction of a fuel
and an oxidiser.

===============================================================