Electric Fuel (e.f.l.) Ltd.

Electric Fuel Limited

Hyogen, Ltd.

Menachem Givon

Jonathan Goldstein

Yachin Yarchi

Inna Gektin

Menachem J Korall

Neal Naimer

Mariano Abramson

Yaron Shrim

Yuli Zingerman

Ronald A Putt

Tzvi Rosenberg

Mark Slutski

The invention provides a solid phase hydrogen-generating system utilizing a solid chemical hydride fuel selected from the group consisting of sodium borohydride, lithium borohydride, magnesium hydride and calcium hydride, wherein the fuel is encapsulated in a plurality of removable capsules, the capsules being pumpable and having a major axis of up to 40 mm.

System for hydrogen storage and generation

A high capacity primary (single-use; non-rechargeable) battery pack for high current portable appliances such as cellular phones employs electrochemical cells that use ambient oxygen for one of the electrodes. The pack makes possible a simple low cost design by providing for oxygen supply in a completely passive yet compact configuration. Cells may be arranged inside a housing in a tightly packed arrangement by providing internal spaces that are sized to permit diffusion and, if possible, bulk air flow. The highest volumetric energy density is achievable by permitting bulk flow of air into the housing. It has been found that in practical use, in applications such as cellular telephones, that bulk air flow can play a significant role in gas exchange required for operation. A number of design criteria are developed for providing for a mix of molecular diffusion and bulk flow in the design of battery packs according to the invention. Most of these criteria relate to providing for gas exchange to portions of cells that are housed deep within the housing structure without requiring large amounts of physical space that would undermine the design goal of compactness. These criteria permit portions of cells to be positioned remotely from openings in the housing while still providing adequate oxygen delivery.

Battery pack design for metal-air battery cells

A battery power supply has a primary battery to provide long service life and a secondary battery to provide short instantaneous power pulses required by loads with variable duty cycles and puslatile load profiles such as digital cellular phones. The primary battery is linked to the power pulse battery in parallel and in series to the load. In the pulse battery, one of the electrodes has at least two electroactive materials as components of the same electrode. These different electroactive materials are selected to have different discharge potentials, charging potentials, and voltage outputs. One of the materials provides a voltage output of a predetermined level and the other of the materials lowers the overall charging voltage of the electrode below that of the first material. The mixed electrode in the pulse battery permits the pulse battery to be charged by the primary battery during the off-pulse periods throughout a substantial portion of the entire discharge voltage range of the primary battery. Thus, the primary battery is not required to provide very tight voltage ranges over its discharge cycle or history during operation with a pulsatile load. The primary battery may be a zinc-air battery.

Pulse battery having an electrode with at least two electroactive materials

The invention provides enhanced performance zinc for use in the negative element of zinc batteries and cells, comprising a mixture of thermally generated zinc particles and particles of electrochemically produced zinc, said particles of electrochemically produced zinc being present in a parts by weight ratio of at least 1:500 relative to said thermally generated zinc.

Enhanced performance zinc

The invention provides an apparatus for removing zinc particle deposits from substantially the entire face of a major surface of an electrode in an electrochemical bath, the apparatus comprising a plate attached to actuating means for affecting relative movement between the plate and the major surface of the electrode, the plate being provided with a scraper blade-retaining slot along one of its edges, and further comprising a scraper blade removably inter-engaged with the slot, the blade extending from the slot towards the surface of the electrode, and extending substantially along the entire length of the major surface of the electrode, the actuating means being arranged to move the scraper from a first position to a second position in a first downward stroke to affect scraping of individual zinc particle deposits from substantially the entire face of the major surface of an adjacent electrode and then to return the blade from the second position to the first position in a second upward stroke.

Apparatus for removing zinc particle deposits from an electrode

The invention provides a process for removing discharged active zinc-containing material from a mechanically rechargeable zinc battery anode, containing the same, the anode being of the type comprising a skeletal frame, including conductive metal and having a portion of a surface area thereof formed as open spaces, and an active zinc anode component compacted into a rigid static bed of active anode material encompassing the skeletal frame, and having two opposite major surfaces, the process comprising introducing the anode between a pair of spaced-apart first and second crusher plates, each of the crusher plates being provided with a plurality of pointed projections of varying heights and a plurality of recesses of varying depths, the crusher plates being aligned with each other to the effect that tips of projections of the first crusher plate substantially mutually occlude with recesses provided on the second crusher plate and tips of projections of the second crusher plate substantially mutually occlude with recesses provided on the first surface; abruptly reducing the space between adjacent crusher plates said anode bed; moving said crusher plates away from said deformed anode bed and then displacing said deformed bed, along at least a first axis, by at least half the distance between adjacent projection tips of at least one of said crusher plates; again abruptly reducing the space between adjacent crusher plates; and repeating the last two steps until the fragmentation of the bed and the dislodgement of the resulting fragmented particles from the skeletal frame are achieved.

Recharging of zinc batteries

The invention provides a scraper for removing deposits from a major surface of an electrode in an electrochemical bath. The scraper consists of a plate which moves across the electrode surface. The scraper is provided with a scraper blade-retaining slot along one of its edges, the slot being angled relative to the plane of the scraper with its opening extending towards the electrode surface. The scraper also has a scraper blade which is removable from inter-engagement with the slot. In use, the scraper removes deposits from a major surface of an electrode in an electro-chemical liquid-containing bath.

Process and scraper for removing deposits from an electrode

The invention provides a rigid reusable transport and storage vessel for retaining a plurality of anode cassettes of pressed zinc particles saturated with aqueous alkaline solution, and utilizable as an electric fuel in a zinc-air battery, the vessel having a sealably covered aperture and being provided with a hydrogen recombination device, the device being provided with an external surface at least part of which projects into the air surrounding the vessel for venting any hydrogen produced by the anode cassettes into the air surrounding the vessel, and the vessel being internally compartmentalized to contain a plurality of sealable internal compartments for retaining the plurality of anode cassettes, each of the internal compartments being provided with a gas non-return valve venting from the internal compartment to an interior space of the vessel for venting generated hydrogen from the cassettes via the gas non-return valve to the vessel for elimination via the hydrogen recombination device while preventing ingress of air to the internal compartments, whereby hydrogen internally generated and emitted from the vessel is safely combined with the oxygen in the air surrounding the vessel, thus eliminating potentially explosive hydrogen.

Means for storage and transportation of electric fuel

A process for the preparation of an alkaline-zinc slurry for use in batteries, the slurry comprising an admixture of (a) at least partly oxidized zinc; (b) an aqueous solution of at least one Group Ia metal; and (c) an inorganic or organic inhibitor. The process includes the steps of electrolyzing the admixture in a cell with a corrosion-resistant anode and a non-zinc-adherent cathode such that the zinc deposits on the cathode self-detach or are removed until no more than a preselected amount of zinc remains in the solution, provided that the current density at the cathode is preselected so that the electrowon zinc will have, after homogenizing into particles, a density within the range 0.2-2.0 g/cc and a surface area within the range 0.5-6.0 m.sup.2 /g; removing zinc from the cathode and homogenizing it into particles; and combining the homogenized zinc particles with additional aqueous Group Ia metal hydroxide and optionally with other makeup components selected from the group consisting of water and inhibitor to form a charged slurry.

Growing community of inventors

Hanegev, Israel

Menachem Givon