Effects of Lithium Sulfate and Zinc Sulfate Additives on the Cycle Life and Efficiency of Lead Acid Batteries

Abstract

The influence of lithium and zinc sulfate additives on the cycle life and efficiency of a 2 V/20 A H lead acid battery was investigated. Charging and discharging processes (cycle) were carried out separately for dilute sulfuric acid electrolyte, sulfuric acid–lithium sulfate electrolyte, and sulfuric acid–zinc sulfate electrolyte solutions for one (1) hour each. The voltage after 30 min of the charging process yielded 2.30 V for dilute H 2 SO 4 , 2.74 V for H 2 SO 4 + Li 2 SO 4 , and 2.90 V for H 2 SO 4 + ZnSO 4 solutions. A load of 6 V, 10.3 W incandescent lamp was applied, and after 30 min of the discharge process for each electrolyte, the voltage was 1.10 V for H 2 SO 4 , 1.90 V for H 2 SO 4 + ZnSO 4 , and 1.30 V for H 2 SO 4 + Li 2 SO 4 . A calculated efficiency of 77% for H 2 SO 4 , 74% for H 2 SO 4 + ZnSO 4 , and 85% for H 2 SO 4 + Li 2 SO 4 solution was obtained. The cycle test is evidence that the addition of lithium sulfate salt improved the cycle life and efficiency of the 2 V/20 A H lead acid battery, while zinc sulfate offered no significant improvement. The cycle life of a battery increases with decrease in acid concentration, longer discharge time, and increase in efficiency.

Exploring the Additive Effects of Aluminium and Potassium Sulfates in Enhancing the Charge Cycle of Lead Acid Batteries

“…Additive effects of aluminium sulfate in the sulfuric electrolyte solution of lead acid battery had no improvement on the charge cycle and stability of the cathode with reference to the battery made of dilute sulfuric acid electrolyte. In a similar research, it was also discovered that sodium sulfate additive yielded no enhancement of the charge cycle and cathode stability of a refillable lead acid battery [14]. In addition, when investigating the impact of fluid solution additives, there was an extension of the life of a lead acid battery using mixed sulfates of copper, aluminum, cobalt, cadmium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and deionized water [13].…”

“…Similarly, this research illustrated that using potassium sulfate additive as part of the electrolyte solution neither improved the charge cycle nor the stability of the cathode of lead acid battery with reference to the dilute sulfuric acid electrolyte lead acid battery. It was also discovered that zinc sulfate additive added in the electrolyte solution of dilute sulfuric acid did not also improve a lead acid battery [15]. According to previous research, sodium sulfate as an electrolyte additive have positively influenced the performance of 12V/65AH lead acid battery [16].…”

A Hybrid Redox‐Mediated Zinc‐Air Fuel Cell for Scalable and Sustained Power Generation

“…[1] Traditional backup power systems, such as diesel generators, have the drawbacks of high maintenance requirements, high levels of emission and noise, while lead-acid batteries suffer from low energy density, sensitivity to temperature and power fluctuations. [2] Hydrogen fuel cells are emerging as a promising candidate to substitute these technologies due to their salient features of zero emissions, low noise, and flexible modular design. [3] However, the relatively high cost and hurdles of transportation and storage of large volume of hydrogen, as well as its flammable feature pose challenges for their widespread applications as power sources.…”

Supercapacitors Based on Resveratrol/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites

“…Thus, research on sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sources has become the focus in the field of energy storage. In particular, electrochemical energy technologies have attracted widespread attention, and they are the most commonly used energy storage technologies in batteries, including alkaline, lead storage, , and lithium-ion − batteries. However, such energy storage technologies are characterized by long charging times and low power density.…”