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Unit 5 - Types of Batteries and Their Characteristics

The document provides an overview of battery types, their characteristics, and applications, distinguishing between primary (non-rechargeable) and secondary (rechargeable) batteries. It details various battery chemistries including Nickel-Cadmium, Nickel-Metal Hydride, Lithium-ion, and Lead-Acid, along with their specific properties and uses. Additionally, it outlines key criteria for selecting the appropriate battery for specific applications, such as energy density, power density, safety, life cycle durability, and cost.

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Kartikay Pant
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28 views7 pages

Unit 5 - Types of Batteries and Their Characteristics

The document provides an overview of battery types, their characteristics, and applications, distinguishing between primary (non-rechargeable) and secondary (rechargeable) batteries. It details various battery chemistries including Nickel-Cadmium, Nickel-Metal Hydride, Lithium-ion, and Lead-Acid, along with their specific properties and uses. Additionally, it outlines key criteria for selecting the appropriate battery for specific applications, such as energy density, power density, safety, life cycle durability, and cost.

Uploaded by

Kartikay Pant
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Types of Batteries, their important characteristics and Applications

 Batteries are complex electrochemical devices, composed of distinct cells, that


generate electrical energy from the chemical energy of their cell components
 A battery cell consists primarily of a:
 Metallic anode (negative electrode),
 A metallic oxide cathode (positive electrode), and
 An electrolyte material that facilitates the chemical reaction between the two
electrodes.
 Electric currents are generated as the anode corrodes in the electrolyte and
initiates an ionic exchange reaction with the cathode
 Batteries are used in motor and marine vehicles, electronics, watches, cameras,
calculators, hearing aids, cordless telephones, power tools and countless other
portable household devices.

Types of Batteries
Batteries are classified and distinguished according to their chemical components.
 Batteries are referred to as wet or dry cells.
 In wet cell batteries, the electrolyte is a liquid.
 In dry cell batteries, the electrolyte is contained in a paste, gel or other solid matrix
within the battery.
But under all of these are two major battery types;
1. Primary Batteries
2. Secondary Batteries

1. Primary Batteries
 Primary batteries contain cells in which the chemical reactions are irreversible,
and they therefore cannot be recharged.
 Primary batteries exist in different forms ranging from coin cells to AA batteries.
They are commonly used in standalone applications where charging is impractical
or impossible.
 Primary batteries always have high specific energy and the systems in which they
are used are always designed to consume low amount of power to enable the
battery last as long as possible.
 Some other examples of devices using primary batteries include;
a. Pace makers,
b. Animal trackers,
c. Wrist watches,
d. remote controls; and
e. children toy to mention a few.

Figure: Primary Batteries


 The most popular type of primary batteries are alkaline batteries.
 They have a high specific energy and are environmentally friendly, cost-effective
and do not leak even when fully discharged.
 They can be stored for several years, and have a good safety record.
 The only disadvantage to alkaline batteries is the low load current, which limits its
use to devices with low current requirements like remote controls, flashlights and
portable entertainment devices.

2. Secondary Batteries
 Secondary batteries are batteries with electrochemical cells whose chemical
reactions can be reversed by applying a certain voltage to the battery in the
reversed direction.
 Also referred to as rechargeable batteries, secondary cells unlike primary cells
can be recharged after the energy on the battery has been used up.
 Secondary batteries are further classified on the basis of their charge capacity.
Such as small capacity and heavy duty batteries.
 Small capacity secondary batteries are used to power portable electronic
devices like mobile phones, and other gadgets and appliances.
 While heavy-duty batteries are used in powering diverse electric vehicles and
other high drain applications like load levelling in electricity generation. T
 They are also used as standalone power sources alongside Inverters to supply
electricity.
 Although the initial cost of acquiring rechargeable batteries is always higher than
that of primary batteries but they are the most cost-effective over the long-term.
 Secondary batteries can be further classified into several other types based on
their chemistry.
 This is very important because the chemistry determines some of the attributes of
the battery including its specific energy, cycle life, shelf life, and price to mention a
few.

There are basically four major chemistries for rechargeable batteries;


1. Lithium-ion(Li-ion)
2. Nickel Cadmium(Ni-Cd)
3. Nickel-Metal Hydride(Ni-MH)
4. Lead-Acid

1. Nickel-Cadmium Batteries
The nickel–cadmium battery (NiCd battery or NiCad battery) is a type of rechargeable
battery which is developed using nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium
as electrodes.
Some of the properties of Nickel-Cadmium batteries are listed below.
 Specific Energy: 40-60W-h/kg
 Energy Density: 50-150 W-h/L
 Specific Power: 150W/kg
 Charge/discharge efficiency: 70-90%
 Self-discharge rate: 10%/month
 Cycle durability/life: 2000cycles
Figure: Nickel – Cadmium battery

2. Nickel-Metal Hydride Batteries


 Nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) is another type of chemical configuration used
for rechargeable batteries.
 The chemical reaction at the positive electrode of batteries is similar to that of
the nickel–cadmium cell (NiCd), with both battery type using the same nickel oxide
hydroxide (NiOOH).
 However, the negative electrodes in Nickel-Metal Hydride use a hydrogen-
absorbing alloy instead of cadmium which is used in NiCd batteries.

Figure: Ni-MH Battery


Some of the properties of batteries based on the Nickel-metal hydride chemistry;
 Specific Energy: 60-120h/kg
 Energy Density: 140-300 Wh/L
 Specific Power: 250-1000 W/kg
 Charge/discharge efficiency: 66% - 92%
 Self-discharge rate: 1.3-2.9%/month at 20oC
 Cycle Durability/life: 180 -2000

3. Lithium-ion Batteries
 Lithium ion batteries are one of the most popular types of rechargeable batteries.
 They are found in different portable appliances including mobile phones, smart
devices and several other battery appliances used at home.
 They also find applications in aerospace and military applications due to their
lightweight nature.

Figure: Lithium-Ion Battery

Some of the attributes of lithium ion batteries are listed below;


 Specific Energy: 100: 265W-h/kg
 Energy Density: 250: 693 W-h/L
 Specific Power: 250: 340 W/kg
 Charge/discharge percentage: 80-90%
 Cycle Durability: 400: 1200 cycles
 Nominal cell voltage: NMC 3.6/3.85V
4. Lead-Acid Batteries
 Lead acid batteries are a low-cost reliable power workhorse used in heavy duty
applications.
 Lead-acid storage batteries are used in automobiles, motorcycles, boats and
several industrial applications.
 They are primarily used to provide starting, lighting and ignition for automotive
products.
 These are wet cell batteries consisting of lead electrodes in a liquid sulfuric acid
electrolyte.
 The average battery weighs ~16 kg, one-half of which is composed of lead anode
and lead dioxide cathode

Figure: Lead – Acid Battery


 In addition to lead, each battery contains;
 ~ 4 L of sulfuric acid,
 ~ 1.5 kg of polypropylene plastic casing,
 ~ 1.5 kg of polyvinyl chloride rubber separators, and
 ~ 1.5 kg of various chemical sulfates and oxides to which the lead is bound.
 The typical useful lifetime of lead-acid storage batteries is 3 to 4 years.
Criterion to select a battery for appropriate application:
Factors to consider when selecting the right type of battery for an appropriate application are
listed below:
1. Energy Density: The energy density is the total amount of energy that can be stored per
unit mass or volume. This determines how long your device stays on before it needs a
recharge.
2. Power Density: Maximum rate of energy discharge per unit mass or volume. Low power:
laptop, i-pod. High power: power tools.
3. Safety: It is important to consider the temperature at which the device you are building will
work. At high temperatures, certain battery components will breakdown and can undergo
exothermic reactions. High temperatures generally reduces the performance of most
batteries.
4. Life cycle durability: The stability of energy density and power density of a battery with
repeated cycling (charging and discharging) is needed for the long battery life required by
most applications.
5. Cost: Cost is an important part of any engineering decisions you will be making. It is
important that the cost of your battery choice is commensurate with its performance and will
not increase the overall cost of the project abnormally.

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