ABSTRACT
With an electrolyte solution the consumer delivers the spent electrolyte back to the ‘filling station’ where it is re-charged by either local power generation or the national power network. Just pump the spent electrolyte out and pump in freshly charged electrolyte literally, liquid electricity. The discharged liquid is also reusable: it can be recharged and then pumped into other vehicle, which makes it an eco-friendly solution. The MIT researchers have named their new battery design the semisolid flow cell. The battery stores electric energy as a liquid called Cambridge Crude. When the energy in the liquid is exhausted, all users have to do is head to a charging station to pump out the old liquid and pump in a new batch of fully charged liquid. Recharging of this liquid will take place at the refueling station using special recharging equipment that will be part of the overall system. Liquid electricity takes the form of a vanadium redox battery technology. We can change the electrolyte in these type of batteries.
INTRODUCTION Transportation is one of the fastest growing energy demand sector. We currently spend huge amounts of time and energy getting oil . While electric vehicles (EVs) are stated to be the vehicles of the future, a number of factors are holding people back from switching over from regular vehicles right now. Researchers from MIT have developed a new battery that is said to solve these problems. We just need to swap the electrolytes in these batteries. The discharged liquid is also reusable: it can be recharged and then pumped into other vehicle, which makes it an eco-friendly solution. Liquid electricity is a fictional liquid substance that often appeared in comedy short films of the silent film era. It is the "distilled essence of electricity" in liquid form, a (usually) glowing substance easily stored in bottles. It provides fantastic energy and super-speed when used as a fuel for automobiles, aircraft, and machines of all sorts. One variant of liquid electricity could be drunk by humans, who often did so for humorous effect in silent film comedies. The use of "liquid electricity" as a comedic plot device was often used by filmmakers as a way to present "speeded-up motion" and demonstrate the use of this special effect in film. The motion picture industry was in its infancy in the early 20th century, and the use of slow motion and fast motion effects
were
a
new
novelty
to
movie-going
audiences.
In
1987's Spaceballs, a similar substance called "Liquid Schwartz" is used to power a spaceship in the same manner as liquid electricity. Comcast's commercials for its "high-speedInternet" service portrayed a similar
substance (a mercury-like substance that could be rubbed onto machines, shoes, or even drunk) that was used, again, for a comedy punchline. The use of liquid electricity is seen as an early form of science fiction in film, and a number of the early short films that used this substance (most of which have been lost) are classified as "science fiction" films
CONCEPT A vanadium redox battery consists of an assembly of power  cells.  in which the two electrolytes are separated by a proton exchange membrane. The electrolyte in the positive half-cells contains VO2+ and VO2+ ions, the electrolyte in the negative half-cells, V3+ and V2+ ions. The
electrolytes
may
be
prepared
by
electrolytically
dissolving.  vanadium pentoxide  (V2O5) in sulfuric acid (H2SO4). In vanadium flow batteries, both half-cells are additionally connected to storage tanks and pumps so that very large volumes of the electrolytes can be circulated through the cell. When the vanadium battery is charged, the VO2+ ions in the positive half-cell are converted to VO2+ Similarly in the negative half-cell, V3+ ions into V2+. This circulation of liquid electrolytes is somewhat cumbersome and does restrict the use of vanadium flow batteries in mobile applications. Liquid electricity provides us a chance to leave behind the technology involving the emission of fine dust, carbon dioxide and noise. offer almost unlimited capacity simply by using larger and larger storage tanks, It
provides a means to supplement farmers income by providing them a chance to utilize the space on their properties to build wind turbines,solar collectors or bio mass plants. It would end the use of food plants such as corn and sugarcane to produce ethanol, a practice that is already driving the price of food almost beyond the reach of the worlds poorest populations Reduce the expenditure of huge amount of time and energy getting oil from various locations, refining and transporting it to local fuel stations. It’s very eco-friendly than conventional vehicles. That’s because only 20% of the energy from gasoline or diesel actually reaches the wheels, whereas in an electric car its 60%. Price of the petroleum products gets reduced. Davidson was one of many individuals to propose solutions to alleviate overstressed grids and to address the shortage of properly sited generation. Four hundred attendees debated the near-term impact of electricity derived from solar power, wind energy, fuel cells and microturbines. But what really caught and held my attention was a technology developed and commercialized by National Power, which enables utilities to store significant quantities of off-peak electricity in large storage tanks. Listen to Davidson's story. Ten years ago, he was an engineer in the Technology Strategy Department of the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). Regulators soon split up the CEGB and sold it off in sections. Davidson found himself working in newly formed National Power, one of three privatized generating companies. Competitive pressures resulted in
downsizing that boggles the mind. The staff at National Power was reduced from 12,000 to 4000. Ouch, that hurts. But, somehow, in the midst of this downsizing, National Power management acknowledged they could not survive the long term if they focused solely on cutting costs. New high-margin products and services were needed. Therefore, engineers and scientists were selected and charged with creating a new future for National Power. One team focused on building a bigger, better energy storage system. National Power's chemists set out to investigate electrolytes, ultimately selecting sodium bromide and sodium polysulfide. To charge what is, in effect, a reversible fuel, sodium ions are transferred through an ion exchange membrane. Charged fluids are stored in individual tanks, which are sized according to a customer's energy needs. Electricity is extracted by reversing the process. The open circuit voltage of individual cells is approximately 1.5 V dc. A commercial 100-kW module comprised of 200 cells will thus output 300 V dc. Modules are linked hydraulically in parallel, electrically in series to give the desired voltage. Approximately 16 m superscript 3 (21 yd superscript 3) of each electrolyte is needed for each megawatt-hour of storage. A powerconditioning unit provides the interface between the grid and the direct current modules. Systems can be designed to respond within 20 msec, which enables load shaping and voltage shifting. Systems also can be designed with large tanks to provide megawatt-hours to be dispersed over hours or days. After four
years of tests at National Power's Aberthaw Power Station, the company completed the design of a 15-MW/120-MWh utility scale energy storage plant that will be placed alongside a 680-MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station at Little Barford, Cambridgeshire, U.K. Construction is expected to take about 18 months. This installation will provide black start for the turbine and also will be used for frequency and voltage control as well as electricity trading (arbitrage). Davidson expects this technology to play a sig-nificant role in supporting T&D grids. In addition to supplying power during peak loads, the system can inject or absorb megavars to improve power system stability and increase line capacity. Early applications are predicted to have an installed cost of US$1500 per kilowatt of peak power. Subsequent installations are expected to cost in the range of US$750 per kilowatt. Several utilities in the United States have shown strong interest in this technology. In fact, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S., has just announced its interest in installing National Power's Regenesys Energy Storage System. Let's face it, until regulators and legislators figure out how to properly provide incentives for utilities to construct new facilities, we will continue to see generation, transmission and distribution facilities stressed. We must find and exploit alternatives such as the regenerative fuel cell so that we can reliably supply power to our customers.
CONCLUSION
Liquid electricity provides us a chance to leave behind the technology involving the emission of fine dust, carbon dioxide and noise. This project has very bright chances regarding being technically and economically feasible someday. Let’s hope the future automobile will run on electricity and not gasoline and we get everybody to convert to Electric Vehicles, which is better for our planet.
REFERENCES
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