Sodium chloride battery development program for load leveling. Interim report, January 1, 1975-December 31, 1975

Technical Report · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1975

OSTI ID:6072606

Work performed between January 1 - December 31, 1975 toward the development of a molten sodium chloride battery for load leveling is reported. A cell has been developed which offers considerable promise for lightweight, long life, and low cost batteries. It includes a steel-contained molten sodium negative, a separator conductive to sodium ions, a molten sodium chloroaluminate electrolyte, a molten metal chloride positive (typically, but not exclusively antimony trichloride), dispersed carbon powder, and a metallic positive current collector. The cell operates at 200/sup 0/C and is thus able to use silicone rubber instead of glass to seal the molten sodium (most glasses are slowly attacked by molten sodium). The low temperature also favors a longer life for the beta alumina separator before penetration occurs and reduces current collector and seal corrosion. The vapor pressure of the cell is only a few torr. No solid-solid reactions are involved; this together with the absence of immiscible liquid phases (antimony trichloride is quite soluble in the molten electrolyte) allows the cell to be deep-cycled without damage or degradation. The open circuit voltage at full charge is slightly above 3 volts. The ionic conductivity of the melt at 200/sup 0/C is about 7 ohm-cm at full charge (less at partial discharge), compared to 3 ohm-cm for molten sodium pentasulfide at 350/sup 0/C and an extremely high value for molten sulfur. (WHK)

• Research Organization: ESB, Inc., Yardley, PA (USA). ESB Technology Center
• OSTI ID: 6072606
• Report Number(s): EPRI-EM-230; ON: DE82900234
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200107* -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Off-Peak Energy Storage-- (1980-)
25 ENERGY STORAGE
250901 -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Design & Development
250902 -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Performance & Testing
250903 -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Materials
Components
& Auxiliaries
ALKALI METALS
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
ALUMINIUM OXIDES
BATTERY SEPARATORS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHLORINE
COMPATIBILITY
COST
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DESIGN
ELECTRIC BATTERIES
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
ELEMENTS
ENERGY STORAGE
ENERGY SYSTEMS
HALOGENS
IONIC CONDUCTIVITY
LOAD MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
METAL-GAS BATTERIES
METALS
MICROSCOPY
MICROSTRUCTURE
NONMETALS
OFF-PEAK ENERGY STORAGE
OPTIMIZATION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POWER SYSTEMS
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SEALS
SERVICE LIFE
SODIUM
STORAGE
SULFUR
TESTING
TUBES