Flow Battery Reactor Layout for Safe High-Energy Operation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery technologies face limitations in achieving high energy density and high power density while ensuring safety and effective thermal management, leading to issues such as uncontrolled discharge and poor scalability.
Innovation Solution
The invention employs a system of interconnected electrochemical reactors with separate reservoirs for reactants and a material transport assembly to manage fluid reactants and products, incorporating thermal management mechanisms to control and separate reactants, thereby ensuring safe and efficient energy conversion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional battery technologies pack more energy in smaller volume to achieve high energy density, then energy density is improved, but safety deteriorates due to increased proximity of reactants and products facilitating uncontrolled discharge
Solution Approach 1:
The battery system is divided into separate compartments: a first compartment containing the first reactant, a second compartment containing the second reactant, and a third compartment for the reaction product. This spatial segmentation prevents direct contact between reactants and products, eliminating the risk of uncontrolled discharge while maintaining high energy density through efficient use of each compartment's volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The reaction product is extracted from the reaction zone and stored in a separate third compartment, removing it from proximity to the reactants. This extraction eliminates the harmful interaction pathway while preserving the energy storage capacity, as the product can be accumulated without compromising safety.
2Power
If conventional batteries increase power density by placing reactants close together, then power density is improved, but thermal management deteriorates due to difficulty in heat dissipation
Solution Approach 1:
The battery is segmented into multiple compartments with thermal management mechanisms positioned between them. This segmentation allows heat generated in each compartment to be managed locally, preventing heat accumulation and improving overall thermal dissipation efficiency while maintaining high power density through optimized reactant placement.
Solution Approach 2:
Thermal management mechanisms act as intermediaries between compartments, facilitating heat transfer and dissipation. These mechanisms enable efficient thermal control by mediating the heat flow from reaction zones to cooling systems, allowing high power density operation without thermal runaway risks.
3Quantity of substance
If conventional batteries scale up in size to meet growing energy demands, then energy capacity is improved, but safety deteriorates due to increased risk of uncontrolled discharge
Solution Approach 1:
The scaled-up battery system uses multiple separated compartments for reactants and products, with each compartment independently contained. This segmentation approach allows the system to scale up in total capacity while maintaining safety through physical barriers that prevent uncontrolled discharge across the entire system, as each compartment operates independently.
Solution Approach 2:
By extracting and isolating the reaction product in a separate third compartment, the system eliminates the primary pathway for uncontrolled discharge. This allows the battery to scale up in energy capacity without proportionally increasing safety risks, as the product separation mechanism remains effective regardless of system size.
4Quantity of substance
If conventional batteries increase reactant concentration to achieve high energy density, then energy density is improved, but thermal management deteriorates due to increased heat generation
Solution Approach 1:
The battery compartments are arranged with thermal management mechanisms positioned between them, allowing heat generated from high-concentration reactants to be managed locally. This segmentation enables high energy density through concentrated reactants while preventing thermal runaway through distributed heat dissipation pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
Thermal management mechanisms serve as intermediaries that facilitate heat transfer from high-concentration reactant zones to cooling systems. These intermediaries enable the system to maintain high energy density through concentrated reactants while effectively managing the increased heat generation through enhanced thermal coupling with cooling systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables high specific energy and energy density, safe operation, and fast recharge capabilities, addressing the limitations of conventional batteries by providing scalable and safe energy storage solutions.
Implementation Method 1
an electrochemical reaction in the electrochemical reactor between the first reactant and the second reactant
Implementation Method 2
a material transport assembly configured to provide the material transport communication between the electrochemical reactor and the first and second reservoirs, present the first reactant as a fluid to the electrochemical reactor
Implementation Method 3
incorporating thermal management mechanisms to control and separate reactants
Data Source
AI summary
Electrochemical systems providing reversible operation of high specific energy or gravimetric energy, and high energy density or volumetric energy battery chemistries, methods of operating such systems, processes providing high energy densities and high power densities, and architectures for the successful implementation of such systems, methods and processes. A number of interconnected electrochemical reactors can be assembled to create a battery. By presenting fluidic reactants via pumping, injection and/or other circulation technologies that enable high specific energy, high utilization of reactants, and efficient thermal control, the operation of the electrochemical reactor/battery can be optimized. In a flow battery system and method for handling molten alkali metal and hydroxide species, the volume of the reactants is maximized over inactive components and thus increase energy density. Molten and gaseous reactants/products are fed to/removed from a central power conversion module from/fed to reservoirs for discharge/charge.