Large-scale metal-air battery with slurry anode

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9774066-B2
Application number	US-201514673559-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2015
Priority date	Aug 1, 2012
Publication date	Sep 26, 2017
Grant date	Sep 26, 2017

Abstract

A battery and an associated method are provided for generating power using an air cathode battery with a slurry anode. The method provides a battery with an air cathode separated from an anode current collector by an electrically insulating separator and an extrusion gap. The anode current collector extruder has a first plate with a plurality of slurry outlet perforations, and a sleeve having a first partition immediately adjacent to the extruder first plate, with a plurality of slurry inlet perforations. Active slurry is provided under pressure to an extruder inlet, and the extruder first plate slurry outlet perforations are selectively aligned with sleeve first partition slurry inlet perforations. Active slurry deposits are formed in the extrusion gap to mechanically charge the battery. In the discharge position, the sleeve moves so that the perforations no longer align, and slurry in the extruder is isolated from slurry in the extrusion gap.

First claim

We claim:

1. An air cathode battery with a slurry anode, the battery comprising:
an air cathode having an interior surface;
an electrically insulating separator adjacent to the air cathode interior surface;
an anode comprising:
a current collector sleeve comprising a first partition with a plurality of slurry inlet perforations, separated from the separator by an extrusion gap, and moveable with respect to the air cathode and an extruder;
the extruder comprising an inlet to accept active slurry, and a first plate with a plurality of slurry outlet perforations, immediately adjacent to the current collector first partition;

a plurality of active slurry deposits formed in the extrusion gap between the perforations in the current collector first partition and the separator in response to selectively aligning perforations in the current collector first partition with perforations in the extruder first plate;
wherein the air cathode is a pair of parallelly aligned panels comprising a first panel having an interior surface and a second panel having an interior surface, wherein the separator comprises a first separator adjacent to the first panel interior surface and a second separator adjacent to the second panel interior surface, and wherein the extrusion gap comprises a first extrusion gap and a second extrusion gap;
wherein the first separator is separated from the current collector sleeve first partition by the first extrusion gap;
wherein the current collector sleeve further comprises a second partition with a plurality of slurry inlet perforations, separated from the second separator by the second extrusion gap; and
wherein the extruder further comprises a sealed chamber with a second plate having a plurality of slurry outlet perforations, immediately adjacent to the current collector sleeve second partition, and at least a bottom surface connecting the first plate to the second plate.

2. The battery of claim 1 wherein the extruder in a discharge position has no perforations in the first and second plates aligned with perforations in the current collector sleeve first and second partitions; and
wherein active slurry in the extruder sealed chamber is separated from the active slurry deposits in first and second extrusion gaps when the extruder is in the discharge position.

3. The battery of claim 2 wherein the extruder first plate and second plate have electrically conductive exterior surfaces respectively facing the current collector sleeve first and second partitions, and wherein the extruder first and second plates have electrically insulated interior surfaces; and
wherein the current collector sleeve first and second partitions have conductive exterior surfaces respectively facing the first and second extrusion gaps, and wherein the current collector sleeve first and second partitions have electrically insulated interior surfaces.

4. The battery of claim 3 wherein the combination of the extruder first and second plate exterior surfaces, current collector sleeve first and second partition exterior surfaces, and active slurry deposits in the first and second extrusion gaps respectively form first and second electrically continuously anode electrodes when the extruder is in the discharge position.

5. The battery of claim 3 wherein the current collector sleeve first and second partitions each have a lip extending from a top edge of their exterior surfaces respectively extending to a top edge of the first and second separators; and
wherein the current collector sleeve first and second partitions are moveable with respect to the first and second separators to an exhaust position where the lips are extended along interior surfaces of the first and second separator top edges to first and second separator bottom edges, respectively cleaning spent slurry deposits from the first and second extrusion gaps.

6. The battery of claim 1 wherein the current collector sleeve first and second partition perforations and the extruder first and second plate perforations have shapes selected from a group consisting of round, oval, rectangular, tear-shaped, and combinations of the above-listed shapes.

7. The battery of claim 1 wherein the active slurry deposits are formed in shapes responsive to the degree of overlap between perforations in the current collector sleeve first partition with perforations in the extruder first plate.

8. The battery of claim 1 wherein the active slurry deposits are formed in shapes responsive to the pressure of the active slurry supplied to the extruder inlet when the current collector sleeve first partition perforations and the extruder first plate perforations are aligned.

9. The battery of claim 1 wherein the active slurry comprises zinc particles and an alkaline electrolyte.

10. The battery of claim 3 wherein the combination of the extruder first and second plate insulating interior surfaces, and the current collector sleeve first and second partition insulating interior surfaces, insulate slurry inside the extruder sealed chamber from being oxidized when the extruder is in the discharge position.

Assignees

• Sharp Laboratories Of America (Sla) Inc
• Sharp Laboratories America Inc

Inventors

• Kisdarjono Hidayat
• Lu Yuhao
• Evans David
• Lee Jong-Jan

Classifications

• H01M6/045

  characterised by aqueous electrolyte · CPC title

• H01M4/38 Primary

  of elements or alloys · CPC title

• H01M12/06

  with one metallic and one gaseous electrode · CPC title

• H01M8/083

  Alkaline fuel cells · CPC title

• H01M6/5077

  Regeneration of reactants or electrolyte · CPC title