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Sodium–sulfur battery

A sodium–sulfur (NaS) battery is a type of molten-salt battery that uses liquid sodium and liquid sulfur electrodes.[1][2] This type of battery has a similar energy density to lithium-ion batteries,[3] and is fabricated from inexpensive and non-toxic materials. However, due to the high operating temperature required (usually between 300 and 350 °C), as well as the highly corrosive and reactive nature of sodium and sodium polysulfides, these batteries are primarily suited for stationary energy storage applications, rather than for use in vehicles. Molten Na-S batteries are scalable in size: there is a 1 MW microgrid support system on Catalina Island CA (USA) and a 50 MW/300 MWh system in Fukuoka, Kyusyu, (Japan).[4]

Cut-away schematic diagram of a sodium–sulfur battery

Despite their very low capital cost and high energy density (300-400 Wh/L), molten sodium–sulfur batteries have not achieved a wide-scale deployment: there have been ca. only 200 installations with a combined energy /power of 4 GWh / 0.56 GW worldwide.[5] vs. 948 GWh for lithium-ion batteries.[6] Poor market adoption of molten sodium-sulfur batteries is due to their safety and durability issues, such as a short cycle life of fewer than 1000 cycles on average (although there are reports of 15 year operation with 300 cycles per year).[5] In 2023, only one company (Niterra, formerly NGK of Japan) produces molten NaS batteries on a commercial scale.

Like many high-temperature batteries, sodium–sulfur cells become more economical with increasing size. This is because of the square–cube law: large cells have less relative heat loss, so maintaining their high operating temperatures is easier. Commercially available cells are typically large with high capacities (up to 500Ah).

A similar type of battery called the ZEBRA battery, which uses a NiCl
2
/AlCl
3
catholyte in place of molten sodium polysulfide, has had greater commercial interest in the past, but As of 2023 there are no commercial manufacturers of ZEBRA. Room-temperature sodium–sulfur batteries are also known. They use neither liquid sodium nor liquid sulfur nor sodium beta-alumina solid electrolyte, but rather operate on entirely different principles and face different challenges than the high-temperature molten NaS batteries discussed here.

Construction edit

Typical batteries have a solid electrolyte membrane between the anode and cathode, compared with liquid-metal batteries where the anode, the cathode and the membrane are liquids.[2]

The cell is usually made in a cylindrical configuration. The entire cell is enclosed by a steel casing that is protected, usually by chromium and molybdenum, from corrosion on the inside. This outside container serves as the positive electrode, while the liquid sodium serves as the negative electrode. The container is sealed at the top with an airtight alumina lid. An essential part of the cell is the presence of a BASE (beta-alumina solid electrolyte) membrane, which selectively conducts Na+. In commercial applications the cells are arranged in blocks for better heat conservation and are encased in a vacuum-insulated box.

For operation, the entire battery must be heated to, or above, the melting point of sulphur at 119 °C. Sodium has a lower melting point, around 98 °C, so a battery that holds molten sulphur holds molten sodium by default. This presents a serious safety concern; sodium can be spontaneously inflammable in air, and sulphur is highly flammable. Several examples of the Ford Ecostar, equipped with such a battery, burst into flame during recharging, leading Ford to abandon the attempted development of molten NaS batteries for cars.[7]

Operation edit

During the discharge phase, molten elemental sodium at the core serves as the anode, meaning that the Na donates electrons to the external circuit. The sodium is separated by a beta-alumina solid electrolyte (BASE) cylinder from the container of molten sulfur, which is fabricated from an inert metal serving as the cathode. The sulfur is absorbed in a carbon sponge.

BASE is a good conductor of sodium ions above 250 °C, but a poor conductor of electrons, and thus avoids self-discharge. Sodium metal does not fully wet the BASE below 400 °C due to a layer of oxide(s) separating them; this temperature can be lowered to 300 °C by coating the BASE with certain metals and/or by adding oxygen getters to the sodium, but even so wetting will fail below 200 °C.[8] Before the cell can begin operation, it must be heated, which creates extra costs. To tackle this challenge, case studies to couple sodium–sulfur batteries to thermal solar energy systems.[9] The heat energy collected from the sun would be used to pre-heat the cells and maintain the high temperatures for short periods between use. Once running, the heat produced by charging and discharging cycles is sufficient to maintain operating temperatures and usually no external source is required.[10]

When sodium gives off an electron, the Na+ ion migrates to the sulfur container. The electron drives an electric current through the molten sodium to the contact, through the electrical load and back to the sulfur container. Here, another electron reacts with sulfur to form Sn2−, sodium polysulfide. The discharge process can be represented as follows:

2 Na + 4 S → Na2S4 (Ecell ~ 2 V)

As the cell discharges, the sodium level drops. During the charging phase the reverse process takes place.

Safety edit

Pure sodium presents a hazard, because it spontaneously burns in contact with air and moisture, thus the system must be protected from water and oxidizing atmospheres.

2011 Tsukuba Plant fire incident edit

Early on the morning of September 21, 2011, a 2000 kilowatt NaS battery system manufactured by NGK, owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company used for storing electricity and installed at the Tsukuba, Japan Mitsubishi Materials Corporation plant caught fire. Following the incident, NGK temporarily suspended production of NaS batteries.[11]

Development edit

United States edit

Ford Motor Company pioneered the battery in the 1960s to power early-model electric cars.[12] In 1989 Ford resumed its work on a Na-S battery powered electric car, which was named Ford Ecostar. The car had a 100 miles driving range, which was twice as much as any other fully electric car demonstrated earlier. 68 of such vehicles were leased to United Parcel Service, Detroit Edison Company, US Post Office, Southern California Edison, Electric Power Research Institute and California Air Resources Board. Despite the low materials cost, these batteries were expensive to produce, as the economy of scale was not achieved during that time. Also, the battery life was esitamted to be only 2 years. However, the program was terminated in 1995, after two of the leased car batteries caught fire.[13]

As of 2009, a lower temperature, solid electrode version was under development in Utah by Ceramatec. They use a NASICON membrane to allow operation at 90 °C with all components remaining solid.[14][15]

In 2014, researchers identified a liquid sodium-caesium alloy that operates at 150 °C and produces 420 milliampere-hours per gram. The material fully coated ("wetted") the electrolyte. After 100 charge/discharge cycles, a test battery maintained about 97% of its initial storage capacity. The lower operating temperature allowed the use of a less-expensive polymer external casing instead of steel, offsetting some of the increased cost associated with using caesium.[8][16]

Japan edit

The NaS battery was one of four battery types selected as candidates for intensive research by MITI as part of the "Moonlight Project" in 1980. This project sought to develop a durable utility power storage device meeting the criteria shown below in a 10-year project.

  • 1,000 kW class
  • 8 hour charge/8 hour discharge at rated load
  • Efficiency of 70% or better
  • Lifetime of 1,500 cycles or better

The other three were improved lead–acid, redox flow (vanadium type), and zinc-bromide batteries.

A consortium formed by TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Co.) and NGK (NGK Insulators Ltd.) declared their interest in researching the NaS battery in 1983, and became the primary drivers behind the development of this type ever since. TEPCO chose the NaS battery because all its component elements (sodium, sulfur and alumina) are abundant in Japan. The first large-scale field testing took place at TEPCO's Tsunashima substation between 1993 and 1996, using 3 x 2 MW, 6.6 kV battery banks. Based on the findings from this trial, improved battery modules were developed and were made commercially available in 2000. The commercial NaS battery bank offers:[17]

  • Capacity: 25–250 kWh per bank
  • Efficiency of 87%
  • Lifetime of 2,500 cycles at 100% depth of discharge (DOD), or 4,500 cycles at 80% DOD

A demonstration project used NaS battery at Japan Wind Development Co.’s Miura Wind Park in Japan.[18]

Japan Wind Development opened a 51 MW wind farm that incorporates a 34 MW sodium sulfur battery system at Futamata in Aomori Prefecture in May 2008.[19]

As of 2007, 165 MW of capacity were installed in Japan. NGK announced in 2008 a plan to expand its NaS factory output from 90 MW a year to 150 MW a year.[20]

In 2010, Xcel Energy announced that it would test a wind farm energy storage battery based on twenty 50 kW sodium–sulfur batteries. The 80 tonne, 2 semi-trailer sized battery is expected to have 7.2 MW·h of capacity at a charge and discharge rate of 1 MW.[21] Since then, NGK announced several large scale deployments including a virtual plant distributed on 10 sites in UAE totaling 108 MW/648 MWh in 2019.[22]

In March 2011, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Kyoto University announced that they had developed a low temperature molten sodium ion battery that can output power at under 100 °C. The batteries have double the energy density of Li-ion and considerably lower cost. Sumitomo Electric Industry CEO Masayoshi Matsumoto indicated that the company planned to begin production in 2015. Initial applications are envisaged to be buildings and buses.[23][failed verification]

Challenges edit

Molten sodium beta-alumina batteries failed to meet the durability and safety expectations, that were the basis of several commercialization attempts in the 1980s. A characteristic lifetime of NaS batteries was determined as 1,000-2,000 cycles in a Weibull distribution with k=0.5.[24] There are several degradation pathways:

  1. During charge, sodium metal dendrites tend to form (slowly after several cycles) and propagate (rather quickly once they nucleate) into the intergrain boundaries in the solid beta-alumina electrolyte, eventually leading to internal short-circuiting and immediate failure. In general, a significant threshold current density needs to be exceeded before such rapid Mode I fracture-degradation is initiated.[25][26][27][28]
  2. Beta-alumina surface layer on the Na side turns grey after > 100 cycles. This is caused by a slower growth of micron-size sodium metal globules in the triple-junctions between the grains of the solid electrolyte. This process is possible, because the electronic conductivity of beta-alumina is small but not zero. The formation of such sodium metal globules gradually increases the electronic conductivity of the electrolyte and causes electronic leakage and self-discharge;[29]
  3. Darkening of the beta-alumina also occurs on the sulfur side upon passing electric current, albeit at a slower schedule that the darkening on the sodium side. It is believed to be due to the deposition of carbon, which is added to the bulk sulfur to provide electronic conductivity.[26]
  4. Oxygen-depletion in the alumina near the sodium electrode has been suggested as a possible cause for the following crack formation.[30]
  5. Disproportionation of sulfur into aluminum sulfate and sodium polysulfide has been suggested as a degradation pathway.[31] This mechanism is not mentioned in later publications.
  6. Passing current (e.g. >1 A/cm2) through beta-alumina can cause temperature gradient (e.g. > 50 °C/ 2 mm) in the electrolyte, which in turn results in a thermal stress.[32]

Applications edit

Grid and standalone systems edit

NaS batteries can be deployed to support the electric grid, or for stand-alone renewable power[33] applications. Under some market conditions, NaS batteries provide value via energy arbitrage (charging battery when electricity is abundant/cheap, and discharging into the grid when electricity is more valuable) and voltage regulation.[34] NaS batteries are a possible energy storage technology to support renewable energy generation, specifically wind farms and solar generation plants. In the case of a wind farm, the battery would store energy during times of high wind but low power demand. This stored energy could then be discharged from the batteries during peak load periods. In addition to this power shifting, sodium sulfur batteries could be used to assist in stabilizing the power output of the wind farm during wind fluctuations. These types of batteries present an option for energy storage in locations where other storage options are not feasible. For example, pumped-storage hydroelectricity facilities require significant space and water resources, while compressed air energy storage (CAES) requires some type of geologic feature such as a salt cave.[35]

In 2016, the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation commissioned the world's largest sodium–sulfur battery in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The facility offers energy storage to help manage energy levels during peak times with renewable energy sources.[36][37]

Space edit

Because of its high energy density, the NaS battery has been proposed for space applications.[38][39] Sodium sulfur cells can be made space-qualified: in fact a test sodium sulfur cell flew on the Space Shuttle. The NaS flight experiment demonstrated a battery with a specific energy of 150 W·h/kg (3 x nickel–hydrogen battery energy density), operating at 350 °C. It was launched on the STS-87 mission in November 1997, and demonstrated 10 days of experimental operation.[40]

The Venus Landsailing Rover mission concept is also considering the use of this type of battery, as the rover and its payload are being designed to function for about 50 days on the hot surface of Venus without a cooling system.[41][42]

Transport and heavy machinery edit

The first large-scale use of sodium–sulfur batteries was in the Ford "Ecostar" demonstration vehicle,[43] an electric vehicle prototype in 1991. The high operating temperature of sodium sulfur batteries presented difficulties for electric vehicle use, however. The Ecostar never went into production.

Room Temperature Sodium–Sulfur Batteries edit

One of the main shortcomings of traditional sodium–sulfur batteries is that they require high temperatures to operate. This means that they must be preheated before use, and that they will consume some of their stored energy (up to 14%) to maintain this temperature when not in use. Aside from saving energy, room temperature operation mitigates safety issues such as explosions which can occur due to failure of the solid electrolyte during operation at high temperatures.[44] Research and development of sodium–sulfur batteries that can operate at room temperature is ongoing. Despite the higher theoretical energy density of sodium–sulfur cells at room temperature compared to high temperature, operation at room temperature introduces challenges like:[44]

  • Poor conductivity of sulfur and sodium polysulfides
  • Volume expansion of sulfur, which creates mechanical stresses within the battery
  • Low reaction rates between the sodium and sulfur
  • Formation of dendrites on the sodium anode which create short-circuits in the battery. This is contributed to by the shuttle effect which is explained below.
  • Shorter cycle life which means that the cells must be replaced more often than their high-temperature counterparts.

The Shuttle Effect:

The shuttle effect in sodium–sulfur batteries leads to a loss of capacity, which can be defined as a reduction in the amount of energy that can be extracted from the battery.[45] When the battery is being discharged, sodium ions react with sulfur (which is in the S8 form) at the cathode to form polysulfides in the following steps:[45]

  1. Sodium ions react with S8 to form Na2S8, which is soluble in the electrolyte.
  2. Na2S8 reacts further with sodium ions to form Na2S4, which is also electrolyte-soluble
  3. Na2S4 reacts further with sodium ions to form Na2S2, which is insoluble.
  4. Na2S4 reacts further with sodium ions to form Na2S, which is insoluble

The problem occurs when the soluble polysulfide forms migrate to the anode, where they form the insoluble polysulfides. These insoluble polysulfides form as dendrites on the anode which can damage the battery and interferes with the movement of sodium ions into the electrolyte.[45] Furthermore, the insoluble polysulfides at the anode cannot be converted back into sulfur when the battery is being recharged, which means that less sulfur is available for the battery to function (capacity loss).[45] Research is being conducted into how the shuttle effect can be avoided.

See also edit

References edit

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  31. ^ M. Liu and L. C. De Jonahe, "Chemical stability of sodium beta -alumina electrolyte in sulfur/sodium polysulfide melts." Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 135, 741 (1988) 10.1149/1.2095734
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  44. ^ a b Wang, Yanjie; Zhang, Yingjie; Cheng, Hongyu; Ni, Zhicong; Wang, Ying; Xia, Guanghui; Li, Xue; Zeng, Xiaoyuan (2021-03-11). "Research Progress toward Room Temperature Sodium Sulfur Batteries: A Review". Molecules. 26 (6): 1535. doi:10.3390/molecules26061535. ISSN 1420-3049. PMC 7999928. PMID 33799697.
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External links edit

  • "AEP'S Appalachian Power unit to install first U.S. use of commercial-scale energy storage technology". News Releases. American Electric Power. 19 September 2005.
  • LaMonica, Martin (4 August 2010). "Giant battery smooths out variable wind power". CNET.
  • Advanced Energy Storage for Renewable Energy Technologies
  • "Low-cost battery built with four times the capacity of lithium". The University of Sydney. Retrieved 2022-12-13.

sodium, sulfur, battery, sodium, sulfur, battery, type, molten, salt, battery, that, uses, liquid, sodium, liquid, sulfur, electrodes, this, type, battery, similar, energy, density, lithium, batteries, fabricated, from, inexpensive, toxic, materials, however, . A sodium sulfur NaS battery is a type of molten salt battery that uses liquid sodium and liquid sulfur electrodes 1 2 This type of battery has a similar energy density to lithium ion batteries 3 and is fabricated from inexpensive and non toxic materials However due to the high operating temperature required usually between 300 and 350 C as well as the highly corrosive and reactive nature of sodium and sodium polysulfides these batteries are primarily suited for stationary energy storage applications rather than for use in vehicles Molten Na S batteries are scalable in size there is a 1 MW microgrid support system on Catalina Island CA USA and a 50 MW 300 MWh system in Fukuoka Kyusyu Japan 4 Cut away schematic diagram of a sodium sulfur batteryDespite their very low capital cost and high energy density 300 400 Wh L molten sodium sulfur batteries have not achieved a wide scale deployment there have been ca only 200 installations with a combined energy power of 4 GWh 0 56 GW worldwide 5 vs 948 GWh for lithium ion batteries 6 Poor market adoption of molten sodium sulfur batteries is due to their safety and durability issues such as a short cycle life of fewer than 1000 cycles on average although there are reports of 15 year operation with 300 cycles per year 5 In 2023 only one company Niterra formerly NGK of Japan produces molten NaS batteries on a commercial scale Like many high temperature batteries sodium sulfur cells become more economical with increasing size This is because of the square cube law large cells have less relative heat loss so maintaining their high operating temperatures is easier Commercially available cells are typically large with high capacities up to 500Ah A similar type of battery called the ZEBRA battery which uses a NiCl2 AlCl3 catholyte in place of molten sodium polysulfide has had greater commercial interest in the past but As of 2023 update there are no commercial manufacturers of ZEBRA Room temperature sodium sulfur batteries are also known They use neither liquid sodium nor liquid sulfur nor sodium beta alumina solid electrolyte but rather operate on entirely different principles and face different challenges than the high temperature molten NaS batteries discussed here Contents 1 Construction 2 Operation 3 Safety 3 1 2011 Tsukuba Plant fire incident 4 Development 4 1 United States 4 2 Japan 4 3 Challenges 5 Applications 5 1 Grid and standalone systems 5 2 Space 5 3 Transport and heavy machinery 5 4 Room Temperature Sodium Sulfur Batteries 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksConstruction editTypical batteries have a solid electrolyte membrane between the anode and cathode compared with liquid metal batteries where the anode the cathode and the membrane are liquids 2 The cell is usually made in a cylindrical configuration The entire cell is enclosed by a steel casing that is protected usually by chromium and molybdenum from corrosion on the inside This outside container serves as the positive electrode while the liquid sodium serves as the negative electrode The container is sealed at the top with an airtight alumina lid An essential part of the cell is the presence of a BASE beta alumina solid electrolyte membrane which selectively conducts Na In commercial applications the cells are arranged in blocks for better heat conservation and are encased in a vacuum insulated box For operation the entire battery must be heated to or above the melting point of sulphur at 119 C Sodium has a lower melting point around 98 C so a battery that holds molten sulphur holds molten sodium by default This presents a serious safety concern sodium can be spontaneously inflammable in air and sulphur is highly flammable Several examples of the Ford Ecostar equipped with such a battery burst into flame during recharging leading Ford to abandon the attempted development of molten NaS batteries for cars 7 Operation editDuring the discharge phase molten elemental sodium at the core serves as the anode meaning that the Na donates electrons to the external circuit The sodium is separated by a beta alumina solid electrolyte BASE cylinder from the container of molten sulfur which is fabricated from an inert metal serving as the cathode The sulfur is absorbed in a carbon sponge BASE is a good conductor of sodium ions above 250 C but a poor conductor of electrons and thus avoids self discharge Sodium metal does not fully wet the BASE below 400 C due to a layer of oxide s separating them this temperature can be lowered to 300 C by coating the BASE with certain metals and or by adding oxygen getters to the sodium but even so wetting will fail below 200 C 8 Before the cell can begin operation it must be heated which creates extra costs To tackle this challenge case studies to couple sodium sulfur batteries to thermal solar energy systems 9 The heat energy collected from the sun would be used to pre heat the cells and maintain the high temperatures for short periods between use Once running the heat produced by charging and discharging cycles is sufficient to maintain operating temperatures and usually no external source is required 10 When sodium gives off an electron the Na ion migrates to the sulfur container The electron drives an electric current through the molten sodium to the contact through the electrical load and back to the sulfur container Here another electron reacts with sulfur to form Sn2 sodium polysulfide The discharge process can be represented as follows 2 Na 4 S Na2S4 Ecell 2 V As the cell discharges the sodium level drops During the charging phase the reverse process takes place Safety editPure sodium presents a hazard because it spontaneously burns in contact with air and moisture thus the system must be protected from water and oxidizing atmospheres 2011 Tsukuba Plant fire incident edit Early on the morning of September 21 2011 a 2000 kilowatt NaS battery system manufactured by NGK owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company used for storing electricity and installed at the Tsukuba Japan Mitsubishi Materials Corporation plant caught fire Following the incident NGK temporarily suspended production of NaS batteries 11 Development editUnited States edit Ford Motor Company pioneered the battery in the 1960s to power early model electric cars 12 In 1989 Ford resumed its work on a Na S battery powered electric car which was named Ford Ecostar The car had a 100 miles driving range which was twice as much as any other fully electric car demonstrated earlier 68 of such vehicles were leased to United Parcel Service Detroit Edison Company US Post Office Southern California Edison Electric Power Research Institute and California Air Resources Board Despite the low materials cost these batteries were expensive to produce as the economy of scale was not achieved during that time Also the battery life was esitamted to be only 2 years However the program was terminated in 1995 after two of the leased car batteries caught fire 13 As of 2009 update a lower temperature solid electrode version was under development in Utah by Ceramatec They use a NASICON membrane to allow operation at 90 C with all components remaining solid 14 15 In 2014 researchers identified a liquid sodium caesium alloy that operates at 150 C and produces 420 milliampere hours per gram The material fully coated wetted the electrolyte After 100 charge discharge cycles a test battery maintained about 97 of its initial storage capacity The lower operating temperature allowed the use of a less expensive polymer external casing instead of steel offsetting some of the increased cost associated with using caesium 8 16 Japan edit The NaS battery was one of four battery types selected as candidates for intensive research by MITI as part of the Moonlight Project in 1980 This project sought to develop a durable utility power storage device meeting the criteria shown below in a 10 year project 1 000 kW class 8 hour charge 8 hour discharge at rated load Efficiency of 70 or better Lifetime of 1 500 cycles or betterThe other three were improved lead acid redox flow vanadium type and zinc bromide batteries A consortium formed by TEPCO Tokyo Electric Power Co and NGK NGK Insulators Ltd declared their interest in researching the NaS battery in 1983 and became the primary drivers behind the development of this type ever since TEPCO chose the NaS battery because all its component elements sodium sulfur and alumina are abundant in Japan The first large scale field testing took place at TEPCO s Tsunashima substation between 1993 and 1996 using 3 x 2 MW 6 6 kV battery banks Based on the findings from this trial improved battery modules were developed and were made commercially available in 2000 The commercial NaS battery bank offers 17 Capacity 25 250 kWh per bank Efficiency of 87 Lifetime of 2 500 cycles at 100 depth of discharge DOD or 4 500 cycles at 80 DODA demonstration project used NaS battery at Japan Wind Development Co s Miura Wind Park in Japan 18 Japan Wind Development opened a 51 MW wind farm that incorporates a 34 MW sodium sulfur battery system at Futamata in Aomori Prefecture in May 2008 19 As of 2007 165 MW of capacity were installed in Japan NGK announced in 2008 a plan to expand its NaS factory output from 90 MW a year to 150 MW a year 20 In 2010 Xcel Energy announced that it would test a wind farm energy storage battery based on twenty 50 kW sodium sulfur batteries The 80 tonne 2 semi trailer sized battery is expected to have 7 2 MW h of capacity at a charge and discharge rate of 1 MW 21 Since then NGK announced several large scale deployments including a virtual plant distributed on 10 sites in UAE totaling 108 MW 648 MWh in 2019 22 In March 2011 Sumitomo Electric Industries and Kyoto University announced that they had developed a low temperature molten sodium ion battery that can output power at under 100 C The batteries have double the energy density of Li ion and considerably lower cost Sumitomo Electric Industry CEO Masayoshi Matsumoto indicated that the company planned to begin production in 2015 Initial applications are envisaged to be buildings and buses 23 failed verification Challenges edit Molten sodium beta alumina batteries failed to meet the durability and safety expectations that were the basis of several commercialization attempts in the 1980s A characteristic lifetime of NaS batteries was determined as 1 000 2 000 cycles in a Weibull distribution with k 0 5 24 There are several degradation pathways During charge sodium metal dendrites tend to form slowly after several cycles and propagate rather quickly once they nucleate into the intergrain boundaries in the solid beta alumina electrolyte eventually leading to internal short circuiting and immediate failure In general a significant threshold current density needs to be exceeded before such rapid Mode I fracture degradation is initiated 25 26 27 28 Beta alumina surface layer on the Na side turns grey after gt 100 cycles This is caused by a slower growth of micron size sodium metal globules in the triple junctions between the grains of the solid electrolyte This process is possible because the electronic conductivity of beta alumina is small but not zero The formation of such sodium metal globules gradually increases the electronic conductivity of the electrolyte and causes electronic leakage and self discharge 29 Darkening of the beta alumina also occurs on the sulfur side upon passing electric current albeit at a slower schedule that the darkening on the sodium side It is believed to be due to the deposition of carbon which is added to the bulk sulfur to provide electronic conductivity 26 Oxygen depletion in the alumina near the sodium electrode has been suggested as a possible cause for the following crack formation 30 Disproportionation of sulfur into aluminum sulfate and sodium polysulfide has been suggested as a degradation pathway 31 This mechanism is not mentioned in later publications Passing current e g gt 1 A cm2 through beta alumina can cause temperature gradient e g gt 50 C 2 mm in the electrolyte which in turn results in a thermal stress 32 Applications editGrid and standalone systems edit Main articles Grid energy storage Battery storage power station and Stand Alone Power System NaS batteries can be deployed to support the electric grid or for stand alone renewable power 33 applications Under some market conditions NaS batteries provide value via energy arbitrage charging battery when electricity is abundant cheap and discharging into the grid when electricity is more valuable and voltage regulation 34 NaS batteries are a possible energy storage technology to support renewable energy generation specifically wind farms and solar generation plants In the case of a wind farm the battery would store energy during times of high wind but low power demand This stored energy could then be discharged from the batteries during peak load periods In addition to this power shifting sodium sulfur batteries could be used to assist in stabilizing the power output of the wind farm during wind fluctuations These types of batteries present an option for energy storage in locations where other storage options are not feasible For example pumped storage hydroelectricity facilities require significant space and water resources while compressed air energy storage CAES requires some type of geologic feature such as a salt cave 35 In 2016 the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation commissioned the world s largest sodium sulfur battery in Fukuoka Prefecture Japan The facility offers energy storage to help manage energy levels during peak times with renewable energy sources 36 37 Space edit Because of its high energy density the NaS battery has been proposed for space applications 38 39 Sodium sulfur cells can be made space qualified in fact a test sodium sulfur cell flew on the Space Shuttle The NaS flight experiment demonstrated a battery with a specific energy of 150 W h kg 3 x nickel hydrogen battery energy density operating at 350 C It was launched on the STS 87 mission in November 1997 and demonstrated 10 days of experimental operation 40 The Venus Landsailing Rover mission concept is also considering the use of this type of battery as the rover and its payload are being designed to function for about 50 days on the hot surface of Venus without a cooling system 41 42 Transport and heavy machinery edit The first large scale use of sodium sulfur batteries was in the Ford Ecostar demonstration vehicle 43 an electric vehicle prototype in 1991 The high operating temperature of sodium sulfur batteries presented difficulties for electric vehicle use however The Ecostar never went into production Room Temperature Sodium Sulfur Batteries edit One of the main shortcomings of traditional sodium sulfur batteries is that they require high temperatures to operate This means that they must be preheated before use and that they will consume some of their stored energy up to 14 to maintain this temperature when not in use Aside from saving energy room temperature operation mitigates safety issues such as explosions which can occur due to failure of the solid electrolyte during operation at high temperatures 44 Research and development of sodium sulfur batteries that can operate at room temperature is ongoing Despite the higher theoretical energy density of sodium sulfur cells at room temperature compared to high temperature operation at room temperature introduces challenges like 44 Poor conductivity of sulfur and sodium polysulfides Volume expansion of sulfur which creates mechanical stresses within the battery Low reaction rates between the sodium and sulfur Formation of dendrites on the sodium anode which create short circuits in the battery This is contributed to by the shuttle effect which is explained below Shorter cycle life which means that the cells must be replaced more often than their high temperature counterparts The Shuttle Effect The shuttle effect in sodium sulfur batteries leads to a loss of capacity which can be defined as a reduction in the amount of energy that can be extracted from the battery 45 When the battery is being discharged sodium ions react with sulfur which is in the S8 form at the cathode to form polysulfides in the following steps 45 Sodium ions react with S8 to form Na2S8 which is soluble in the electrolyte Na2S8 reacts further with sodium ions to form Na2S4 which is also electrolyte solubleNa2S4 reacts further with sodium ions to form Na2S2 which is insoluble Na2S4 reacts further with sodium ions to form Na2S which is insoluble The problem occurs when the soluble polysulfide forms migrate to the anode where they form the insoluble polysulfides These insoluble polysulfides form as dendrites on the anode which can damage the battery and interferes with the movement of sodium ions into the electrolyte 45 Furthermore the insoluble polysulfides at the anode cannot be converted back into sulfur when the battery is being recharged which means that less sulfur is available for the battery to function capacity loss 45 Research is being conducted into how the shuttle effect can be avoided See also editList of battery types Lithium sulfur battery Molten salt batteryReferences edit Wen Z Hu Y Wu X Han J Gu Z 2013 Main Challenges for High Performance NAS Battery Materials and Interfaces Advanced Functional Materials 23 8 1005 doi 10 1002 adfm 201200473 S2CID 94930296 a b Bland Eric 2009 03 26 Pourable batteries could store green power MSNBC Discovery News Archived from the original on 2009 03 28 Retrieved 2010 04 12 Adelhelm Philipp Hartmann Pascal Bender Conrad L Busche Martin Eufinger Christine Janek Juergen 2015 04 23 From lithium to sodium cell chemistry of room temperature sodium air and sodium sulfur batteries Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology 6 1016 1055 doi 10 3762 bjnano 6 105 ISSN 2190 4286 PMC 4419580 PMID 25977873 NGK Insulators NAS case studies https www ngk co jp nas case studies a b Spoerke Erik D Martha M Gross Stephen J Percival and Leo J Small Molten Sodium Batteries Energy Sustainable Advanced Materials 2021 59 84 Doi 10 1007 978 3 030 57492 5 3 https finance yahoo com news lithium battery production country top 183050554 html text Notable 20names 20include 20CATL 20and to 20increase 20to 2091 20GWh Ford Unplugs Electric Vans After 2 Fires Bloomberg Business News 6 June 1994 a b Lu X Li G Kim J Y Mei D Lemmon J P Sprenkle V L Liu J 2014 Liquid metal electrode to enable ultra low temperature sodium beta alumina batteries for renewable energy storage Nature Communications 5 4578 Bibcode 2014NatCo 5 4578L doi 10 1038 ncomms5578 PMID 25081362 Chen 2015 A Combined Sodium Sulphur Battery Solar Thermal Collector System for Energy Storage INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING CSEE 2015 428 439 Oshima T Kajita M Okuno A 2005 Development of Sodium Sulfur Batteries International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology 1 3 269 doi 10 1111 j 1744 7402 2004 tb00179 x Q amp A Concerning the NAS Battery Fire NAS Battery Fire Incident and Response NGK Insulators Ltd Archived from the original on 2012 10 28 Retrieved 2014 06 26 Davidson Paul 2007 07 05 New battery packs powerful punch USA Today Long Hard Road The Lithium Ion Battery and the Electric Car 2022 C J Murray https www amazon com Long Hard Road Lithium Ion Electric dp 1612497624 ref sr 1 1 crid 176CB5599LUX6 amp keywords long hard road the lithium ion battery and the electric car amp qid 1697893528 amp sprefix Long Hard Road 3A The Lithium Ion Battery and the Electric Car 2Caps 2C68 amp sr 8 1 New battery could change world one house at a time Ammiraglio61 s Blog 2010 01 15 Retrieved 2014 06 26 Ceramatec s home power storage The American Ceramic Society September 2009 Retrieved 2014 06 26 PNNL News Wetting a battery s appetite for renewable energy storage www pnnl gov August 1 2014 Retrieved 2016 06 25 Japanese ulvac uc co jp jfs 2007 09 23 Japanese Companies Test System to Stabilize Output from Wind Power Japan for Sustainability Retrieved 2010 04 12 Can Batteries Save Embattled Wind Power Archived 2011 09 27 at the Wayback Machine by Hiroki Yomogita 2008 2008年 ニュース 日本ガイシ株式会社 in Japanese Ngk co jp 2008 07 28 Archived from the original on 2010 03 23 Retrieved 2010 04 12 Xcel Energy to trial wind power storage system BusinessGreen 4 Mar 2008 Retrieved 2010 04 12 The world s largest virtual battery plant is now operating in the Arabian desert Quartz 30 Jan 2019 Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd Press Release 2014 Development of sEMSA a New Energy Management System for Business Establishment Plant Applications global sei com R O Ansell and J I Ansell Modeling the reliability of sodium sulfur cells Reliab Eng Syst Saf 17 127 1987 10 1016 0143 8174 87 90011 4 Y Dong I W Chen and J Li Transverse and longitudinal degradations in ceramic solid electrolytes Chemistry of Materials 34 5749 2022 10 1021 acs chemmater 2c00329 a b L C De Jonghe L Feldman and A Beuchele Slow degradation and electron conduction in sodium beta aluminas Journal of Materials Science 16 780 1981 10 1007 BF02402796 A C Buechele L C De Jonghe and D Hitchcock Degradation of sodium b alumina Effect of microstructure Journal of the Electrochemical Society 130 1042 1983 10 1149 1 2119881 D C Hitchcock and L C De Jonghe Time dependent degradation in sodium beta alumina solid electrolytes Journal of the Electrochemical Society 133 355 1986 10 1149 1 2108578 Y Dong I W Chen and J Li Transverse and longitudinal degradations in ceramic solid electrolytes Chemistry of Materials 34 5749 2022 10 1021 acs chemmater 2c00329 L C De Jonghe Impurities and solid electrolyte failure Solid State Ionics 7 61 1982 10 1016 0167 2738 82 90070 4 D Gourier A Wicker and D Vivien E S R Study of chemical coloration of b and b aluminates by metallic sodium Materials Research Bulletin 17 363 1982 10 1016 0025 5408 82 90086 1 D C Hitchcock Oxygen depletion and slow crack growth in sodium beta alumina solid electrolytes Journal of the Electrochemical Society 133 6 1986 10 1149 1 2108548 M Liu and L C De Jonahe Chemical stability of sodium beta alumina electrolyte in sulfur sodium polysulfide melts Journal of the Electrochemical Society 135 741 1988 10 1149 1 2095734 Z Munshi P S Nicholson and D Weaver Effect of localized temperature development at flaw tips on the degradation of na b b alumina Solid State Ionics 37 271 1990 10 1016 0167 2738 90 90187 V Aquion Energy to build microgrid battery system in Hawaii spacedaily com Walawalkar R Apt J Mancini R 2007 Economics of electric energy storage for energy arbitrage and regulation in New York Energy Policy 35 4 2558 doi 10 1016 j enpol 2006 09 005 Stahlkopf Karl June 2006 Taking Wind Mainstream IEEE Spectrum Retrieved 2010 04 12 Mitsubishi Installs 50 MW Energy Storage System to Japanese Power Company 11 March 2016 Retrieved 22 January 2020 The facility offers energy storage capabilities similar to those of pumped hydro facilities while helping to improve the balance of supply and demand World s largest sodium sulphur ESS deployed in Japan 3 March 2016 Retrieved 22 January 2020 Koenig A A Rasmussen J R 1990 Development of a high specific power sodium sulfur cell Proceedings of the 34th International Power Sources Symposium p 30 doi 10 1109 IPSS 1990 145783 ISBN 0 87942 604 7 S2CID 111022668 Auxer William June 9 12 1986 The PB sodium sulfur cell for satellite battery applications Proceedings of the International Power Sources Symposium 32nd Cherry Hill NJ Electrochemical Society A88 16601 04 44 49 54 Bibcode 1986poso symp 49A hdl 2027 uc1 31822015751399 Garner J C Baker W E Braun W Kim J 31 December 1995 Sodium Sulfur Battery Cell Space Flight Experiment OSTI 187010 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Venus Landsailing Rover Geoffrey Landis NASA Glenn Research Center 2012 Landis G A Harrison R 2010 Batteries for Venus Surface Operation Journal of Propulsion and Power 26 4 649 654 doi 10 2514 1 41886 originally presented as paper AIAA 2008 5796 6th AIAA International Energy Conversion Engineering Conf Cleveland OH July 28 30 2008 Cogan Ron 2007 10 01 Ford Ecostar EV Ron Cogan Greencar com Archived from the original on 2008 12 03 Retrieved 2010 04 12 a b Wang Yanjie Zhang Yingjie Cheng Hongyu Ni Zhicong Wang Ying Xia Guanghui Li Xue Zeng Xiaoyuan 2021 03 11 Research Progress toward Room Temperature Sodium Sulfur Batteries A Review Molecules 26 6 1535 doi 10 3390 molecules26061535 ISSN 1420 3049 PMC 7999928 PMID 33799697 a b c d Tang Wenwen Aslam Muhammad Kashif Xu Maowen January 2022 Towards high performance room temperature sodium sulfur batteries Strategies to avoid shuttle effect Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 606 Pt 1 22 37 Bibcode 2022JCIS 606 22T doi 10 1016 j jcis 2021 07 114 ISSN 0021 9797 PMID 34384963 External links edit AEP S Appalachian Power unit to install first U S use of commercial scale energy storage technology News Releases American Electric Power 19 September 2005 LaMonica Martin 4 August 2010 Giant battery smooths out variable wind power CNET Advanced Energy Storage for Renewable Energy Technologies Low cost battery built with four times the capacity of lithium The University of Sydney Retrieved 2022 12 13 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sodium sulfur battery amp oldid 1184492238, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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