Flow battery, process for the manufacture, and use thereof

Abstract

State-of-the-art flow batteries suffer from drawbacks such as congestion of their electrodes, defects in liquid tightness, or shunt currents, all of which may lead to efficiency drop. Solution The problem is solved by a flow battery comprising multi-chambered ducts (100) mutually plugged together, each duct containing an integrated air electrode (111) and partition walls being partly ion-permeably perforated and partly impermeable, and nonconducting joining elements with integrated passages, the joining elements plugged bilaterally onto the ducts (100).

Claims

1. A flow battery comprising multi-chambered ducts mutually plugged together, each duct containing an integrated air electrode, partition walls being partly ion-permeably perforated and partly impermeable, and nonconducting joining elements with integrated passages, the joining elements plugged bilaterally onto the ducts, wherein each duct comprises an insulating and lye-proof outer frame, and a conducting inner frame encased in the outer frame, wherein the inner frame defines a first chamber containing the air electrode, a second chamber adjacent to the first chamber, a third chamber adjacent to the second chamber, and a fourth chamber adjacent to the third chamber, and wherein the inner frame comprises a partly perforated first partition wall between the first chamber and the second chamber, an impermeable second partition wall between the second chamber and the third chamber, and a partly perforated third partition wall between the third chamber and the fourth chamber.

2. The battery as in claim 1, wherein the insulating outer frame is lye-proof.

3. The battery as in claim 2, wherein the outer frame forms a perforated outer wall delimiting the fourth chamber opposite the third partition wall.

4. The battery as in claim 2, wherein the third chamber or fourth chamber comprises energizing elements for guiding or impairing a fluid flow.

5. The battery as in claim 2, wherein the second chamber contains oxygen, or ionic fluid.

6. The battery as in claim 2, wherein the third chamber contains metal slurry.

7. The battery as in claim 2, wherein the fourth chamber contains electrolyte.

8. The battery as in claim 2, wherein the first wall and third wall exhibit pores.

9. The battery as in claim 1, wherein each duct exhibits a longitudinally uniform cross section.

10. The battery as in claim 1, wherein the outer frame exhibits complementarily formed regions for plugging the ducts together.

11. A process for the manufacture of a battery as in claim 1 comprising extruding a conductor into stock such that the stock forms a first chamber for integrating an air electrode, a second chamber, a third chamber, a fourth chamber, a first partition wall between the first chamber and the second chamber, a second partition wall between the second chamber and the third chamber, and a third partition wall between the third chamber and the fourth chamber, perforating the first wall and third wall, integrating the air electrode into the first chamber, encasing the stock in a lye-proof insulator, breaking the stock down into ducts, mutually plugging the ducts together, and plugging joining elements bilaterally onto the ducts.

12. The process as in claim 11, wherein the first wall and third wall are laser-perforated.

13. The process as in claim 11, wherein the air electrode is integrated by wet-laying a gas diffusion layer into the first chamber, wet-laying a catalysis layer onto the gas diffusion layer, compressing the gas diffusion layer with the catalysis layer under a given pressure into the air electrode, curing the air electrode, and pyrolyzing the air electrode.

14. A method of manufacturing a structural element of an electric vehicle, the improvement comprising the battery of claim 1.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the structural element is a floor panel of a car.

16. The battery of claim 2, wherein the insulating outer frame comprises polypropylene.

17. The battery as in claim 2, wherein the second chamber contains air.

18. The battery as in claim 6, wherein the metal slurry is based on zinc, lithium, or vanadium.

19. The battery as in claim 8, wherein the pores range from 50 nm to 5 pm in diameter.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a transversal section of a battery duct.

(2) FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of a chamber of the duct.

(3) FIG. 3 is a plan view of the duct.

(4) FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a battery.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(5) One way of carrying out the invention claimed is hereinafter described at detail.

Example

(6) FIG. 1 shows a multi-chambered duct (100) comprising an insulating and lye-proof outer frame (102) of polypropylene and a conducting inner frame (101) encased therein. The inner frame (101) forms a first chamber (105) containing an air electrode (111), the first chamber (105) separated by a first partition wall (107) from a second chamber (103) filled with aerial oxygen or ionic liquid (not depicted). An impermeable second partition wall (108) seals the second chamber (103) from a third chamber (104) charged with zinc slurry (not depicted), which chamber in turn is divided from a fourth chamber (106) by a third partition wall (109). The first wall (107) and third wall (109), both of which are partly perforated, exhibit pores ranging from 100 nm to 5 μm in diameter. Opposite the third partition wall (109), the outer frame (102) forms a perforated outer wall (110) that delimits the fourth chamber (106) and encloses the electrolyte (not depicted) flowing therethrough. Also, the outer frame (102) exhibits complementarily formed regions (112, 113) that may be used for plugging the duct together with further ducts (100) of the same or similar shape and size.

(7) As may be taken from FIG. 2, the third or fourth chamber (200) comprises energizing elements (201) for guiding the fluid flow passing through it. Herein, each duct (300) exhibits an essentially uniform cross section such as the one shown in FIG. 3.

(8) An advantageous process for the manufacture of a flow battery (400) based on such ducts (100, 300, 401) is now described. To this end, a conductor may be extruded into stock that forms the chambers and walls therebetween, of which the first wall (107) and third wall (109) are laser-perforated. Next, a gas diffusion layer (GDL) and catalysis layer are wet-laid into the first chamber (105) and compressed with each other under a given pressure, these layers now jointly constituting the air electrode (111). Upon curing and pyrolyzing the latter, the stock is encased in a lye-proof insulator and broken down into ducts (100, 300, 401) such that the conductor forms the inner frame (101) and the insulator forms the outer frame (102) of each duct. The flow battery (400) may now be finalized by mutually plugging the ducts (100, 300, 401) together in a serial connection and plugging joining elements (402) bilaterally onto the ducts (100, 300, 401). The resulting panel can be welded between two thin shell elements (406, 407) for use as a support element in a car body. FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of a battery based on the ducts of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

(9) The invention is applicable throughout, inter alia, the electricity and manufacturing—especially automotive—industries.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

(10) 100 Duct 101 Inner frame 102 Outer frame 103 Second chamber 104 Third chamber 105 First chamber 106 Fourth chamber 107 First (partition) wall 108 Second (partition) wall 109 Third (partition) wall 110 Outer wall 111 Air electrode 112 Complementarily formed region 113 Complementarily formed region 200 Third or fourth chamber 201 Energizing element 300 Duct 400 Flow battery 401 Duct 402 Joining element 403 Air, ionic fluid, or electrolyte 404 Metal slurry 405 Ionic fluid or electrolyte 406 Shell element 407 Shell element

CITATION LIST

(11) The following documents are cited throughout this document.

Patent Literature

(12) U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,901 A (KORALL MENACHEM [IL] ET AL) 29.08.1995 US 2014255812 A (FISCH EL HALBERT [US]) 11.09.2014 U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,662 A (BENNETT WILLIAM R [US]) 22.12.1987 WO 2015009029 A (H2 INC [KR]) 22.01.2015

Non-Patent Literature

(13) NOACK, Jens, et al. The Chemistry of Redox-Flow Batteries. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl. 26 Jun. 2015, vol. 54, no. 34, p. 9776-9809. DUNLAP, Richard A. Sustainable Energy. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2015. ISBN 1133108776. p. 495.