Batteries in Our “Green” Future…
I began part one of this article by referring to the habit of putting batteries in my kids Christmas stockings for all the little things that need batteries in our lives. And I used this memory as a stepping off point to discuss the importance of batteries in our Green Future. But the holiday is over, and the New Year is here, literally. So now it’s time to face the music and take a hard look at our Green Future and why batteries take such a strong (and weak) position in this future. What did I call them? The “Achilles Heel” of our Green Future. A Generalized “Green Future” The need for a Green Future, which could be generally agreed as a future with: is becoming more and more apparent as a necessity. The global weather patterns have been changing dramatically over the last few years, the matter of waste management is apparent as we have “plastic islands” in the oceans, and the basic need for cleaner air and water for our communities health are all news-worthy examples of the need for a greener future. These are generalized statements I am comfortable making without reference. I will also add that I discussed a few of these ideas with some depth in my first article, Brother Bob’s 50 Year Apocalyptic Plan. But let’s stay on topic: how do batteries themselves play such an important role in our Green Future? Seeing as part one hit on the history of batteries and their construction needs, let’s get into some greener topics in this article. Batteries Have Lagged in Advancement Let’s keep in mind the technological advancements that we have made, in terms of electrical circuitry, have been HUGE since the creation of the first computers in the 1940’s, by the trillions in terms of computational speed. Contrast that change to the minute changes in the battery. A “Tesla lithium-ion battery stores only roughly six times as much charge, per pound, as a lead acid electric car battery of 1920.” This HUGE contrast in advancement is causing issues for our future technology. “Battery technology may be the keystone of the energy transition, facilitating the decarbonization of the transportation sector while providing a critical backstop for intermittent solar and wind generation in power generation. But the widely used lithium-ion battery may not be up to the task of carrying the future of the global green economy.” Why Batteries? WHY are batteries so important in a global “greener” economy? After all, electric cars are not “new”, having been around almost as long as the battery has, and the use of wind and water for energy sources has been around for millennia as windmills and dams. So, again, WHY are batteries so important for our greener future? The electricity we use in our homes, businesses and production facilities comes from a continuous source on our archaic power grid, see part one. Any and all of our electrical appliances require this steady supply of flowing electrons to “work”, whatever that work is. So, we need a power source to supply that. We discussed batteries previously as “small chemical reactors, with the reaction producing energetic electrons, ready to flow through the external device.” This is small scale. Standard Power Plants For large scale electricity supplies, we rely on standard power plants. Today’s power plants, which ironically also hail from the 1880’s, commonly use fossil fuel products to generate electricity, which can then power entire cities. Dat’s a’lotta electricity! There are other common sources for large scale power plants, such as hydroelectric and nuclear, but these are not “new” sources that are considered overly green. Dams have effects on the rivers and the surrounding environment, and nuclear has the nasty problem of radioactive waste once the rods are spent… And let’s not forget the possibility of a nuclear melt-down. Ask the Russians and Japanese about that. Oh yeah… Ask the Pennsylvanians as well. Green Power Plants? All of the power plants mentioned above can supply a steady source of electricity, depending on the demand. Can the “greener” solar and wind power provide large scale energy? We know about homes and businesses with solar panels and the random collection of large windmills spread across the country, but how about supplying for large cities? There’s a problem, though, with solar and wind as a continuous source of electricity… They’re not continuous. The sun shines for a maximum of 12 hours per day, location dependent, and the wind blows sporadically. Therefore, other power sources are needed OR you need a large enough battery to store power while your energy source is offline. In terms of large solar farms, electricity can be sent directly to the local power grid, thereby providing part of the energy mix for the local utility. But emphasis on “part”. The solar farm would provide nothing at night. Wind farms work the same basic way; the wind turbines generate the electricity when the conditions are right, which is then sent on to the power grid. Offshore Wind Farms Can! The only exception to the inconsistency of solar and wind farming is offshore wind farms. Because of the pressure differences between air masses over land vs sea, winds along the coastlines tend to be very consistent and can therefore provide consistent “greener” electricity. Battery Power or Power Plant? So it seems that we are back to the initial problem of needing a battery to store energy for our greener energy sources… Unless you live near a shoreline that can provide you with consistent wind energy, you will need some sort of power source for when the greener solar and wind supply is down. Ergo, you need a battery, or remain attached to the power grid. Are Batteries a “Green” Power Source? Since batteries seem to be required for the greener energy sources described above, and not just for our transportation, communication, toys, etc… Are the batteries themselves actually all that green? No, they’re not. As of right now, fossil fuels
Batteries in Our Christmas Stockings…
Batteries in Our Future… Stocking Stuffers When I was a single mom, raising my kids, I used to love to put fun things in their stockings. Candy, candy dispensers, small toys, gag gifts, etc, and I would always include a bundle of batteries. Back then, there were so many things that could use AAs that it made functional sense. I would imagine that is still somewhat the same today. My daughter, even as an adult, still enjoys filling the stockings for loved ones, and she will include batteries. Nostalgia is such a fun part of the holidays. Technological Mismatch… But for all the fun that batteries can provide, there is a small amount of irony in our technological society that has smart phones, smart homes and smart cars. With all the technological advances that we have had made in the last few decades, using the simple comparison of computers that would fill a room to computers that fit into the palm of your hand… Or smaller! The advances in storing energy have changed very little from their historical beginnings and may prove to be our “Achilles heel” in some of the more innovative green power advancements down the road. History of Batteries To begin with, battery “construction” has not changed much. “A battery is essentially a device that stores chemical energy that is converted into electricity. Basically, batteries are small chemical reactors, with the reaction producing energetic electrons, ready to flow through the external device.” Depending on who you read, the history of batteries varies a little as to who lead the way on the actual creation of a battery… The ancient Baghdad Battery from approximately 2500 years ago, the Leyden Jar of 1744, or the Voltaic Pile in 1800 which was the first “wet cell” battery. Regardless of who made the first “official” battery, Benjamin Franklin is given the credit for naming them “batteries” in 1749. Interesting Anachronisms For all our advancements in technology, it is interesting to note that modern day combustion engines are still being started with the basic rechargeable battery that was created back in 1859. I could carry this use of anachronisms further by mentioning that our electrical power system is basically unchanged from the early 1880’s. I love their creative use of space in their logo! Yep. We are still using a system that is about 140 years old for our homes and cars. Strange to think that my grandmother, who was born in the1890’s, would have seen the advent of “modern electricity” and it’s expansion across the nation… And yet for all of our technological advancements? We’re still working with an archaic power system based off the 1880’s. We’ve put men on the moon and satellites into deep space, yet our electricity is still being delivered on systems that are old, so old that if not maintained there can be dire consequences. California wildfires come to mind. While this line of thought is both entertaining and disconcerting, I will keep my focus on batteries and their potential limitations. Battery Construction Batteries have needed the same basic materials since their inception: two different metals, to make electrodes, within an electrolyte. The materials used have varied over time, but the basics are still the same. The lead-acid battery of your car is literally lead, lead oxide, sulfuric acid, powdered sulfate and water. A dry cell battery, like your AAs and AAAs, are made of zinc, carbon, a cardboard divide and a jelly paste of aluminum chloride or manganese dioxide. The common dry cell battery is referred to as a Primary or single use battery because you can only get one use out of them. “This is because the battery actually destroys itself over a discharge—either depleting electrodes as they discharge, or building up reaction products on the electrodes preventing the reaction from continuing. Once this happens, the battery ends up in the bin.” With the advent of cell phones in the early 1980’s, batteries needed to be able to last longer and to recharge for ease of use and reliability. To recharge a battery, all that is needed is the appropriate choice of electrode materials, thereby allowing the reversal of the chemical reaction that occurs during discharge. Common electrode materials used in rechargeable batteries are Nickel, Lithium, Silver, and Zinc. How Many Batteries?!? With all this talk of batteries, exactly how many do we buy here in America, in one year? It was not surprising to find out, based off the number of battery displays throughout local stores… that we Americans buy over 3 billion dry cell batteries alone each year. Gracious! Where are we getting the materials to make all these batteries? Where Do Battery Parts Come From? Batteries are made from metals, as well as other materials, due to the fact that metals can conduct electricity. To obtain the needed metals for any battery, the metals must be extracted from their source… The earth’s crust. “The metal we use to make buildings, computers, cars and trucks, and many other products (like batteries) come from underground deposits of mineral ores containing high metal concentrations. The first step in metal alloy manufacturing is extracting the raw ore from the ground.” Mining But the mining process to extract these needed metals, or any metal that we use on a daily basis, is a large scale, wasteful process that has environmental repercussions. A catch-22 for our technologically dependent society. For a better understanding of mining practices and potential repercussions, here are a few of the different techniques used to mine metals. Surface Mining Techniques: Surface mining is a method of mining that involves removing the soil and the overlying rock on top of the mineral deposit. Strip Mining for surface ore, commonly used for coal and lignite. Open Pit mining, creating a large pit or burrow. Mountain Top Removal, for coal seams under mountains. Dredging, suctioning up material from the bottom of oceans, lakes and rivers. Panning for gold is the small scale version of this
