Method of iron electrode manufacture and articles and systems therefrom

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022149359-A1
Application number	US-202117523389-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 10, 2021
Priority date	Nov 11, 2020
Publication date	May 12, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

Iron electrode materials, iron electrodes, and methods for fabricating said iron electrode materials and iron electrodes via elevated temperature thermomechanical processing of porous particulate iron materials are described. For example, as part of iron electrode manufacture, a particulate iron material into an apparatus may be provided. In addition, pressure and/or heat may be applied to the particulate iron material in the apparatus for a time period to form an electrode having therein conductive connections between particles of the particulate iron material.

First claim

1 . A method for iron electrode manufacture, comprising:
providing a particulate iron material into an apparatus; and applying pressure and/or heat to the particulate iron material in the apparatus for a time period to form an electrode having therein conductive connections between particles of the particulate iron material.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing the electrode into an electrochemical system without applying an external current collector or packing to the electrode.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises compaction rollers and the applied pressure is generated at least in part by the compaction rollers.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pressure and/or heat are applied in a Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) process, a uniaxial hot pressing process, a hot roll compaction process, a hot briquetting process, or a hot forging process.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the applied heat results in an elevated temperature in a range from about 300 to about 1000 degrees Celsius; the applied pressure is in a range from about 0.1 to about 200 MPa; the applied pressure is applied by a uniaxial, biaxial, triaxial, isostatic, and/or roller method; and/or the time period is in a range from about 1 second to about 24 hours.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the applied pressure is in a range from about 1 to about 100 MPa.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a greater than 50 vol. % microporosity within the particles of the particulate iron material is maintained after applying the pressure and elevated temperature.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrode has a greater than 50 vol. % microporosity within the particles of the particulate iron material after applying the pressure and elevated temperature.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pressure and/or heat are applied in a non-oxidizing atmosphere.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing oxidation after formation of the electrode.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
forming texture on the iron electrode.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the texture comprises variable thickness channels.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises a tool portion with conical protrusions therefrom.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises a roller with teeth.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises a textured roller.

16 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing surface cleaning of the particulate iron material prior to providing the particulate iron material into the apparatus.

17 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to providing the particulate iron material into the apparatus, preheating the particulate iron material and/or mechanically changing one or more aspects of the particulate iron material.

18 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to providing the particulate iron material into the apparatus, controlling a particle size of the particulate iron material.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein controlling the particle size of the particulate iron material comprises reducing a particle size of the particulate iron from a first particle size to a second particle size.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the second particle size is one half of the first particle size.

21 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the second particle size is one quarter of the first particle size.

22 . The method of claim 19 , wherein a particle size reduction technique comprises one or more of jaw crushing, hammer milling, gyratory milling, and pulverizing with a parallel plate pulverizer.

23 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the particulate iron material into the apparatus comprises at least in part a thermal spraying process depositing a portion of the particulate iron material onto a substrate and/or bed of direct reduced iron.

24 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the particulate iron material into the apparatus comprises at least in part using an additive manufacturing process.

25 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the electrode additionally comprises using one or more of ultrasonic compaction/vibration, slicing, machining, cold compaction, cold extrusion, casting, different temperature compaction, and compaction and bonding to at least in part form the electrode.

26 . The method of claim 1 , wherein applying pressure and/or heat comprises application of ˜0.5-50 MPa pressure at room temperature or application of ˜0.1-10 MPa at a temperature >400° C. and <1200° C.

27 . The method of claim 1 , comprising applying heat to the particulate iron material that iron carbide decomposes to form iron and graphite.

28 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the applied heat is at a temperature of 300-727° C.

29 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying pressure and/or heat in an oxygen atmosphere at a temperature from 700-900° C.

30 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the particles of the particulate iron material comprise metallurgically-bonded sponge iron particles, wherein the microporosity with the sponge iron particles is >50 vol % and the particle size of the sponge iron particles is >100 microns.

31 . An iron electrode, comprising:
metallurgically-bonded sponge iron particles, wherein the microporosity with the sponge iron particles is >50 vol % and the particle size of the sponge iron particles is >100 microns.

32 - 34 . (canceled)

35 . A bulk energy storage system, comprising:
one or more batteries, wherein at least one of the one or more batteries comprises:
an iron electrode comprising metallurgically-bonded sponge iron particles, wherein the microporosity with the sponge iron particles is >50 vol % and the particle size of the sponge iron particles is >100 microns.

36 . The bulk energy storage system of claim 35 , wherein the bulk energy storage system is a long duration energy storage (LODES) system.

Assignees

• Form Energy Inc

Inventors

• Gibson Michael Andrew
• Pantano Joseph Anthony
• Chakraborty Rupak
• Perkins Nicholas Reed
• Woodford William Henry
• Sacha Valerie Christine
• Morgan Robert Wesley
• Weber Eric
• Chevrier Vincent
• Liotta Andrew Haynes
• Thomas-Alyea Karen
• Nation Leah
• Chon Michael
• Eisenach Rebecca Marie

Classifications

• Y02P10/25

  Process efficiency · CPC title

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title

• H01M4/248

  Iron electrodes · CPC title

• H01M4/0471

  involving thermal treatment, e.g. firing, sintering, backing particulate active material, thermal decomposition, pyrolysis · CPC title

• H01M4/521

  of iron for aqueous cells · CPC title