Introduction:
Athough it is believed that the first battery was invented by Benjamin Franklin, in 1748. There is archaeological evidence to prove that China had the technology as early as the Qin Dynasty. Over 2200 years old, during the Qin Dynasty, the world's largest mausoleum, Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇陵), was built. Within the mausoleum is one of the ancient miracles of the world, the Terracotta Army (兵马俑). The statues of soldiers held a variety of weapons, spears, axes, crossbows, arrowheads, swords, etc, with their metal parts coated with chromium to prevent them from rusting. The coating had a thickness as thin as 10 to 15 micron. This shows that the Chinese invented chrome-plating technology which required electrolysis. So the Chinese invented electrolysis which required electricity. At the time of 265-31 BC, an Aluminium 'Girdle' was recovered from the Tomb of General Chu. It was made from an alloy of 85% Aluminium, 10% Copper and 5% Manganese. The only viable method of producing aluminium from Bauxite was through electrolysis, after Alumina (The
Mausoleum of the Qin Shihuang, the Place Where Evidence of the Ancient Chinese Battery is Found
The Dream of the Battery for a Greener Environment
中国梦 用电池造成绿色梦
Contents:
Aluminium Chloride component of the ore) is dissolved in molten 'Cryolite'. Such method was patent in the last century. How did the Chinese know how to use electricity long before the Europeans? One perfect explanation is that the Bagdad Battery, a battery that existed around 200BC, excavated from Iraq, in 1938. The artifact was a clay pot containing a copper cyclider and an iron rod. When the pot was filled with acid, it would produce electricity of 4 Volts, a voltage more than enough for electrolysis. The Chinese must have known how to make such a battery to chrome plate those weapons. It is the only explanation how the Chinese were the 1st to have the
knowledge of chrome plating. The technology was rediscovered by the Germans, in 1937.
The Battery King, Wang Zixin:
The ancient Bagdad Battery may not cause environmental damages or perhaps only minimal damages. But the modern batteries today most certainly would. As the Chinese economic power house grows so does the production and usage of batteries. Since 2004, China has been the world's largest producer of batteries, and in 2014, the nation's annual production of alkaline batteries reached 13.8 billion, according to statistics from the China Industrial Association of Power Sources, an industry association. This also accounts for the growing amounts of disposed batteries in the nation known as the environmental killer. Chemicals that leak from a small battery is
How the Terracotta Army Looked Like Just Before They were Exposed to Air. This is the Part of the Mausoleum where Weapons with Chromium-Plated Metal Parts were Found
enough to contaminate 600 cubic meters of water while a D-sized battery can render a square meter of soil useless. To prevent such problem from persisting, China made great improvements in reducing the toxic content in batteries. October 2003, China released Technology Policy on Used Batteries Pollution Prevention and Control, a guideline requiring manufacturers to produce alkaline batteries with little or no mercury. January 1, 2005, companies that manufactures alkaline batteries with mercury content higher than 0.0001% were banned. January 1, 2006, sales of alkaline batteries containing more than 0.0001 percent mercury were outlawed. According to
King of Batteries, Wang Zixin, Holds Up a Used Battery Needed to Be Recycled
Qian Jing, secretary general of the battery division of the China Industrial Association of Power Sources: "All batteries manufactured by legally registered companies comply with the national standards. Illegal batteries are only being made in a small number of unregulated factories." Technological improvements have reduced levels of mercury in batteries and national guidelines have been introduced that contain stipulations on the disposal of used batteries, moves that have resulted in calls for collection and recycling are phasing out, and batteries were to be disposed of along with general household waste instead. However, Owner of Beijing's largest alkaline battery storage facility, Wang Zixin (王自新), said: "The guideline does say they can be discarded, but the precondition is that there is no capability to recycle them." Wang who was a former doctor and a former millionaire, found out about the battery environmental hazards when he read a magazine story about disused batteries, in 1999. He realized, there were no treatment plants yet in China to recycle and reprocess discarded batteries and
became convinced that this would be the way for him, both, to make money and give back to the environment. So in that year, Wang gave up his profitable construction business and invested his entire fortune, devoting his life to stop the environmental hazards caused by the discarded batteries. After six-month's of research, Wang devised an integrated and detailed layout of creating an industrial chain for disused battery recycling. "Relevant materials and information I accumulated piling up was even higher than me," Wang said. With the help of his relatives. He raised more than 7 million yuan for the project. Late in 1999 he set up a treatment plant in Yixian County,
120 kilometres away from Beijing, in the Hebei Province. The plant needs 3,000 tons of disused batteries every year to maintain its normal operation. Because of the inefficient collection system, Wang's plant had only recycled less then 100 tons over the three years. This is a small percentage of the 10,000 tons of batteries consumed in Beijing per year. Under pressured by the Hebei Environmental Protection Administration, the plant was forced to close, in 2002, fearing the factory would leak waste water that would pollute the neighboring rivers and poisonous gas that would polluted the air. All of the 7 million yuan, Wang Zixin earned from his eight year business was lost completely. However Wang's spirit remained high. Knowing the problems which the previous plant would cause, Wang started to borrow money to invest on a new treatment plant. February 2004, Wang invented and patent the vacuum pyrogenic technology. Under vacuum environment, no poisonous gas would escape, the battery is first gasified, then cooled. As the
temperature reduces, different metals, such as mercury and zinc, will liquify at different temperatures, allowing each metal to be collected at each temperature e.g. the heavy metal, mercury, would be extracted when the temperature reaches 357°C. This new patent surely met national standards. He collected batteries from multiple sources, ranging from individuals, schools, companies to communities. Over 1,400 metric tons of waste batteries were collected. 1,200 tons were delivered from the municipal government. However the war is far from over. Even if Wang successfully opened his 2nd battery-recycling plant, due to begin on July 2012, the new
The BYD Logo with the Slogan "Build Your Dreams"
plant will do little for Wang's finances. Even if the batteries were given to him for free, he can only make a profit of 1 yuan from 200 batteries, barely enough to cover workers' salaries and warehouse charges. This is the reason why there hasn't been any battery-recycling plants in China, before Wang Zixin. "You are bound to burn your bucks if you run a battery-recycling plant without any funding or government support," said Wang. "I just hope my pioneering venture will at least open the way for the world's biggest battery consumer to follow." To make things worse, despite the application of Wang's environmentally friendly patent, the governments of Beijing and cities in surrounding Hebei province still refused to grant permission for the project in case of other possible potential environment threats, which left Wang with the headache of dealing with a "battery mountain" in his warehouse. Sadly, battery collection had to be ceased in 2012. Only 200 tons of battery waste were kept for further research, while the municipal government transported the rest to the Tianjin, where they were wrapped in plastic and
treated with chemicals, reducing the potential environmental damage. The batteries were buried in a landfill for dangerous chemicals. Despite the hardships, Wang still remained dedicated to developing new technology for the industrialization of battery recycling. He is titled as King of Batteries. For the past 16 years, he has done a lot such as setting up a battery recycling center, volunteer service team, and researching technology to recycle waste batteries. His passion and enthusiasm, won himself a reputation as environmental protector. Thanks to the persistent endeavors of environment lovers like Wang, increasing numbers of people have become aware and
World's 1st Mass-Produced Plug-In Hybrid Automobile, F3DM, Manfuctured by BYD
concerned, and now many are participating in battery recycling and treatment. At present, battery-recycling receptacles have been installed in many communities in Beijing, the city which Wang's alkaline battery storage facility is located, largest in Beijing. Garbage bins especially for discarded cells are found on many roadsides in the city. However, Wang and his family are currently in huge financial troubles, almost bankrupt. His family currently survives on his wife's 1,000 yuan monthly salary. Hopefully that the Chinese Government and other wealthy individuals would offer financial subsides for his plant. As human beings, we should make a donation (http://www.feidc.net/), large or small, to the hero so he can get out of poverty and continue with his quest to make battery technology environmentally friendly to all of us.
From Lithium Battery to Battery Powered Vehicles:
Although alkaline batteries are not yet being recycled in China, other types of batteries
are being recycled in the nation. They are lithium-ion, nickel-hydrogen and the lead acid batteries. China public company, BYD (比亚迪), is a major supplier of the lithium-ion batteries. Founded in the February 1995, BYD started as a rechargeable battery factory competing in the Chinese market against Japanese imports. The company grew quickly capturing more than half the world's mobile-phone battery market, within ten years. As China becomes the both world's largest producer and market for automobiles, it also means a higher usage of lead acid batteries. Luckily this battery is recyclable, making it friendly to the environment. However as a large market
of cars also meant more cars on the road. More cars on the road would mean higher levels of carbon emission. With so many cars on the road how can we have no carbon emissions? China public company, BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries, volunteered to solve the problem. As of March 2014, this company has amassed more than 12,000 domestic patents and more than 8,000 international patents in areas such as environmentally-friendly, fire-safe iron phosphate chemistries, advance electric vehicle drive and energy recovery systems. As a result, BYD has developed a fire-safe, completely recyclable, and incredibly long-cycle Iron Phosphate Battery.
The efforts of the Iron Phosphate Battery lead BYD to a new innovation, the F3DM. The F3DM is the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid automobile and went on sale to government agencies and corporations in China on December 15, 2008. In August 2012, nearly 4 years later, BYD, would produce their 2nd the plug-in hybrid automobile, BYD Qin Ev300.
The Successor of the BYD F3DM, BYD Qin
This new model was designed to replace the F3DM. Compared with the F3DM, the Qin Ev300 used a 13 kWh lithium iron phosphate batteries (LiFePO4). This battery has a high energy density and can withstand up to 4,000 charges while still retaining 80% performance, and uses no toxic heavy metals in its manufacture. Due to its improved design, the new battery is about 50% smaller and lighter than the one used on the F3DM. With a smaller battery and increased wheelbase, the Qin Ev300 will have more interior space than the F3DM, and the styling has also been improved over BYD's earlier models, most notably in the car's interior. The Qin Ev300 can
accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 5.9 seconds and has a top speed of 185 km/h, 3.3 seconds faster than US' Chevrolet Volt.
As the company continues to develop hybrid cars, their innovative talents doesn't just limits on Hybrids. In the year 2009, BYD produced the E6 vehicle, the world's first production pure electric vehicle. Because this automobile does not run on oil but on battery instead, it will not release any carbon emission, no matter how long its been on the road for. In Shenzhen, there are plenty of electric taxis on the road, all of which are the E6 Car. E6 are also exported to Colombia, Costa Rica, Netherlands, UK, US and Taiwan. The production of electric bus became the foundation of another important invention. BYD successfully invented the world's first long-range battery electric transit bus. This 40 foot bus can drive continuously for 24 hours,
Production Pure Electric Vehicle, E6, Invented by BYD
under only one fully charged battery. Driving the BYD Bus instead of the oil consuming traditional buses, can help the world save 2.77 trees per day.
The innovation of BYD electric vehicles not only made BYD the world's largest electric bus manufacturer, it has made China's fleet of electric vehicles the largest in the world. Just Shenzhen, itself, has 1,300 electric buses and 700 electric taxis, bringing a total of 2000 electric vehicles. They are the future of the world. As China is the world's largest importer of oil. Electric vehicles will definitely play an important role in reducing oil consumption for it is about time for the world to face the environmental problem caused by carbon emissions and over extracting resources of our earths crust.
Because of the contributive innovation which China has achieved, Modern China has become a nation of car lovers and as the vibrant economy progresses more people start cashing into the motor industry. As a result of this, China has overtaken the US as the world largest car market where 15 million brand new cars are bought yearly and the majority are the traditional petrol fed vehicles rather than the electric ones. If we work this out mathematically, China has 40,000 new set of wheels on the road everyday which has already created plenty of traffic jams and cities choking with carbon monoxide. Besides replacing the pollutive vehicles with our newly invented
Long-Range Battery Electric Transit Bus Invented by BYD
electric cars, the number of vehicles would also have to be decreased. This idea of limited vehicles on the road is in fact a very ancient Chinese idea. In the book, Tao Te Ching, written by Lao Tze, states："虽有周瑜與无所乘之" which means although cars and boats exists in a community, they are not often used. As more cars are on the road we pollute the air with more carbon monoxide. Cars being driven less often means less pollution. If cars are not driven often, owning a private car would be unnecessary which means we as people of the community can easily walk to the places we need to go everyday such as our work place, shopping malls, school for kids, etc. This means that we only need to use a motor vehicle when we have a special occasion e.g. Our employer sends us on a business trip or if we take our family out on a vacation. By doing our community can eliminate most of the private cars reducing to
public transport and truck for freight shipping. It is unbelievable that in ancient times, a time when the only transport vehicles were the non-polluting horse chariots, the Chinese had already worked out that a healthy community doesn't use their cars often. Finally, to completely reduce the carbon emissions to zero, we must have all the remaining transport vehicle replaced with BYD's battery powered electric vehicles.
World's Largest Battery:
January 5, 2012, as BYD innovated electric vehicles out of the battery, the company worked with State Grid Corporation of China on the world's largest battery ever. Constructed in the Hebei Province (河北省), the project are arrays of BYD batteries, larger than a football field. The massive battery arrays are capable of storing 36 megawatt-hours of electricity, enough to power 12,000 homes for 1 whole hour during a power failure, making it the world's largest storage energy device. These arrays isn't just a stand alone battery as it is connected with 140 megawatts of wind and solar power generation projects as well as a smart grid transmission system. Together,
these elements represent China's push toward a smart grid system that can generate renewable energy when conditions are ripe and store excess energy in its new battery array for use throughout the day. As a result renewable energy efficient would increased by 10%, as unused generated renewable energy would be stored.
The Membrane-Free Ferrocene-Based High-Rate Semiliquid Battery:
May 7, 2015, three Chinese researchers, Ding Yu, Yu Guihua and Zhao Yu, from the University of Texas, Austin, US invented the membrane free ferrocence based semiliquid battery which exhibited encouraging results, encompassing many of the features desired in a state of the art energy storage device. In particular, the new battery has a working voltage similar to that of a lithium-ion battery, a power density comparable to that of a supercapacitor, and it can maintain its good performance even when being charged and discharged at very high rates. The three researchers explain that the battery is considered semiliquid because it uses a liquid
ferrocene electrolyte, a liquid cathode, and a solid lithium anode. "The greatest significance of our work is that we have designed a semiliquid battery based on a new chemistry. The battery shows excellent rate capability that can be fully charged or discharged almost within one minute while maintaining good energy efficiency and reasonable energy density, representing a promising prototype liquid redox battery with both high energy density and power density for energy storage." said Yu. The battery is designed for applications in two of the biggest areas of battery technology, hybrid electric vehicles and energy storage for renewable energy resources. The battery's high power density of 1400W/L and a great energy density of 40Wh/L puts it in the uniquely favorable position of combining a power density that is as high as that of current supercapacitors with an energy density on par with the state of the art redox flow batteries and lead-acid
The World's Largest Battery Built by the China State Grid Corporation and BYD
batteries, though just slightly lower than that of lithium-ion batteries. This combination is especially attractive for electric vehicles, where the power density corresponds to top speed and the energy density to the vehicle's range per charge. The researchers also report in their paper that the new battery has a high capacity of 137mAh/g and a high capacity retention of 80% every 500 cycles. The researchers attribute the battery's good performance in large part to its liquid electrode design that enables its high rate capability, which is basically a measure of how fast the battery operates. The ions can move through the liquid battery more rapidly than in a solid
The Structure and Working Principle of the Membrane Free Ferrocene Based Semiliquid Battery, along with an Experimental Demonstration Showing the Battery’s Power Output Could Light Up a 9 x 9 LED Array
battery, and the redox reactions in which the electrons are transferred between electrodes also occur at very high rates in this particular battery. For comparison, the values used to measure these rates (the diffusion coefficient and the reaction constant) are orders of magnitude greater in the new battery than in most conventional flow batteries.
Although the battery looks very promising so far, the researchers note that more work still needs to be done. "We suppose that other metals like zinc and magnesium may also function as the anode for such a battery as long as the electrolyte compatibility is resolved. We also expect that other organometallic compounds with multi-valence-state metal centers (redox centers) may also function as the anode, which eventually would make the battery fully liquid." said Yu. In the future, the researchers plan to test the long-term durability of the battery,
especially its lithium anode, under realistic operating conditions. In addition, the researchers want to find a way to increase the solubility of ferrocene in order to further increase the energy density to compete with current lithium-ion batteries while maintaining its very high power density.
The Hydroquinone Liquid Battery:
March 25, 2016, at the University of Texas, Austin, US, two Chinese, Ding Yu and Yu Guihua, invented the hydroquinone liquid Battery. The liquid battery whose catholyte is made of an organic solution, hydroquinone, which can be extracted directly from the biomass of certain plants. The bio inspired battery can overcome limitations facing conventional liquid batteries, resulting in a higher output voltage and lower cost. One of the main applications of this liquid battery is to store wind and solar energy. It's not too surprising that hydroquinone makes a good battery material, as it is a part of the quinone family and quinones are widely used in nature for electron-
transfer processes, such as photosynthesis. Other quinone structures have previously been investigated for use in liquid batteries, but study shows that hydroquinone is especially appealing because of its small size, high voltage, natural abundance, and the fact that is already used in industry for other applications, such as plastics and cosmetics. In the new battery design, the researchers combined hydroquinone with graphite as the anode instead of the more commonly used lithium, producing completely metal-free battery. This combination avoids the environmental issues related to using metals and the dendrite problem that often plagues lithium-based batteries. One of the biggest advantages of the new battery is its high output voltage, which is desirable because it allows the stored energy to be used quickly as needed. In conventional flow batteries, the chemical reactions usually take place in water, which inherently limits the maximum
Working Principle of the Hydroquinone Liquid Battery with the Hydroquinone Aqueous solution as the Cathode and Graphite as the Anode
output voltage to 1.23 volts. The new bio-inspired battery increases this maximum output voltage to 3.4 volts by taking advantage of the potential discrepancy between hydroquinone and graphite, as well as the liquid form of the reactants. The high output voltage, in turn, contributes to a high energy density of 60 Wh/L and high specific capacity of 456mAh/g, meaning the battery can store a large amount of energy in a given volume. Both values are among the highest for a liquid battery reported so far. The bio-inspired battery also has a power density 100W/kg, comparable to that of other reported liquid batteries, and both researchers believed further improvements can be made.
The Aluminum-Graphite Dual-Ion Battery:
March 28, 2016, a Chinese research team invented the aluminum-graphite, dual-ion battery which is an environmentally friendly, low-cost battery that overcomes many of the problems of lithium ion battery. This new battery significantly reduced weight, volume, and fabrication cost. It also has higher energy density in comparison with conventional lithium ion battery. Aluminum-graphite, dual-ion battery's electrode materials are composed of environmentally friendly, low cost aluminum and graphite, while its electrolyte is composed of conventional lithium salt and carbonate solvent. The discovery is particularly important, giving rising battery demand with
Schematic Structure of the Aluminium-Graphite, Dual-Ion Battery
the existing lithium ion battery technology reaching its limit by weight and energy density. Lithium ion batteries are widely used in portable electronic devices, electric vehicles and renewable energy systems. Although it can be recycled, if the battery is not disposed properly, it would create major environmental problems, since the batteries contain toxic metals in their electrodes. According to the Freedonia Group, the world battery demand is expected to rise 7.7 percent annually, reaching $120 billion US by 2019. Leader of the research team, Tang Yongbing said: "Compared with conventional the lithium ion batteries, this aluminum-graphite, dual-ion battery shows an obvious advantage in production cost that is 50% less, specific density 1.3-2.0 times higher, and energy density 1.6-2.8 times higher." The aluminum-graphite, dual-ion battery mechanism follows a dual ion intercalation/alloying process. Upon charging, anions in the electrolyte intercalate into the graphite cathode,
while the lithium ions in the electrolyte deposit onto the aluminum counter electrode to form an aluminium–lithium alloy. The discharge process is the reverse of the charging process, where both anions and lithium ions diffuse back into the electrolyte. Since the aluminium counter electrode in the aluminum-graphite, dual-ion battery acts as the anode and the current collector at the same time, the dead load and dead volume of the aluminum-graphite, dual-ion battery is significantly reduced, making a battery with both high specific energy density and high volume energy density. The research team estimated the specific energy density and power density of the aluminum-graphite, dual-ion battery according to the configuration of the packaged battery. Results show that the aluminum-graphite, dual-ion battery can deliver a specific energy density of 222 Wh/kg at a power density of 132W/kg, and 150Wh/kg at 1200W/kg. Compared with commercial lithium ion batteries which only have 200Wh/kg at 50W/kg, and 100Wh/kg at 1000W/kg and electrochemical capacitors which only have 5Wh/kg at 5000W/kg, the aluminum-graphite, dual-ion battery showed a much better performance. Importantly, it's volume energy density is 560Wh/L which is much higher than traditional batteries. This aluminum-
graphite, dual-ion battery shows real potential for large-scale application in both electronic devices and electric vehicles. This technology may represent a revolutionary step for China's energy industry. The successful commercialization of this new type battery
has great potential to significantly enhance the performance of portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and renewable energy systems, etc.
The Graphene Battery:
July 11, 2016, Promising a recharge time of just 13 to 15 minutes, a Chinese company invented the world’s first graphene battery (石墨烯基锂离子电池) which charges 10 to 20 times faster than the lithium-ion battery our smartphones and laptop. Graphene, a type of carbon, is 200 times stronger and six times lighter than steel. It can
Video on the Graphene Battery
potentially revolutionize battery technology by opening up the possibilities of bendable or super-lightweight batteries that could make our gadgets a lot slimmer than they are now. Because graphene batteries discharge power faster than current batteries, they’ll offer up a lot more power to electric vehicles, huge drones, and many other applications. The graphene battery also beats the lithium-ion battery in longevity, capable of going through 3,500 charging cycles, according to the presentation made by the Dongxu Optoelectronics Chairman, Li Zhaoting. China's application on graphene doesn't just limit on batteries for the nation is leading the world in graphene technology.
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