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rockies
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# Posted: 3 May 2018 07:37pm - Edited by: rockies
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I watched this show last night. It covered all the latest developments in battery technology, from lithium ion, saltwater, to "flow" batteries.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6494720/
One of the most interesting developments had to do with solving the main problem with lithium-ion batteries (in that they can explode if the battery is pierced, damaged or over-charged). A developer named Mike Zimmerman (Ionic Materials Company) has replaced the liquid inside the battery with a plastic electrolyte substance that can be punctured or cut and the battery won't explode or catch fire. The battery will even keep operating as it is cut up.
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/the-plastic-battery-that-doesnt-explode/
http://ionicmaterials.com/
The really great thing about replacing the liquid inside the battery with a plastic electrolyte product is that the lithium anode can now be made of metal (which has a much higher energy density than traditional lithium anodes) and you still have a totally safe battery.
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rockies
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# Posted: 3 May 2018 07:58pm
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Exploding Lithium battery (what happens when the barrier between the anode and cathode is either pierced or damaged) causing an instantaneous discharge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAZ62tUtc0w
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cspot
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# Posted: 3 May 2018 08:42pm
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Interesting.
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 4 May 2018 03:58pm
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The David H. Koch Fund for Science is a major funder of NOVA. He has been a member of the Board of Trustees of WGBH in Boston, NOVA's presenting station and top PBS producer, since 1997 and has been a supporter of the station since 1982.
That show was produced in 2016 and released in 2017, hence the dramatization of the "exploding Lithium Batteries" which is old news and no longer happening unless you have one of the buggered batteries.
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rockies
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# Posted: 4 May 2018 07:22pm
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Why is it no longer happening? And how does David H. Koch funding of NOVA WGBH Boston influence battery technology, one way or the other?
In the design of a lithium ion battery there seems to be just a thin film or membrane between the anode and cathode. If that is punctured or damaged in any way the battery can explode. Sometimes it happens from over-charging, sometimes for no apparent reason.
Lithium-ion may be the best choice now, but future developments (as in using a plastic electrolyte rather than liquid) may result in a safer, more powerful battery in the future.
https://www.wired.com/2017/03/dont-blame-batteries-every-lithium-ion-explosion/
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creeky
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# Posted: 5 May 2018 09:13am
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Saying lithium battery is like saying chocolate. There are many flavours.
Cell phone batteries are by nature (quick product cycles) more prone to problems. Plus mfct juice them to max voltage (4.3) in order to get longest running time bragging rights. They don't care that the battery will need replacing earlier. In fact ...
Use your battery between 20 and 80%. As I've said many times, 3.4 to 4 cell voltage. Store any lithium battery between 40 and 60% dod. Don't fully charge your battery unless you need to. Charge at .5C.
Luckily this is all easy to do with lithium solar energy storage.
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rockies
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# Posted: 5 May 2018 06:20pm
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I do agree that lithium ion is superior to lead acid. It's unfortunate that the up and coming saltwater battery maker Aquion went bankrupt, although their assets have been purchased and the company is trying to relaunch.
I would guess the best thing to do in the meantime is to put a lithium ion battery inside a storage box that has concrete block walls and a metal roof (keeping all other solar equipment in a separate space) so if the battery ever did explode it wouldn't destroy the building.
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