MOLECULAR REBAR™ INCREASES LIFE OF BATTERIES IN
DEEP CYCLE APPLICATIONS
Dr. Nanjan Sugumaran
Mr. Steven Swogger
Dr. Paul Everill
11
Battery Consultant
Black Diamond Structures, USA
Black Diamond Structures, USA
Factors that impact the Life/Ah Throughput of a Battery
Battery
Design
Charger
Quality
Battery Life
Battery
/ Ah
Throughput
Charging
Algorithm
2
Duty
Cycle
General Failure Modes: With a Good Charger & Charging Algorithm
Active Material
Shedding (Battery)
Acid Stratification
(Charger)
Water-loss
(Charger &
Battery)
Active Material
Loosening
(Charger)
3
Sulphate Growth
(Battery)
Hydration Short
(Battery)
Positive Plate
Corrosion
(Charger)
General Failure Modes: Over-Charging
Active Material
Shedding (Battery)
Acid Stratification
(Charger)
Water-loss
(Charger &
Battery)
Active Material
Loosening
(Charger)
4
Sulphate Growth
(Battery)
Hydration Short
(Battery)
Positive Plate
Corrosion
(Charger)
Charger Induced Failure: Over-Charging
1) Control based on battery
charging voltage
2) Ah input is 130% of
previous discharge
3) CC1- CC2 charger and battery
do not have any role in Ah
acceptance
4) Water loss and corrosion are
the major issues
5) Moderate life for battery
5
Charger Induced Failure: Under-charging
1) Control based on
Battery EMF
2) Ah input is <100% of
previous output
3) Variable current and
battery do not have any
role in Ah acceptance
4) Stratification and
sulphation are the
major issues
5) Very low life for battery
7
MOLECULAR REBAR™ (Pb2100N) in Deep Cycle Batteries
Trial Programs
E-Rickshaw
+
Solar
-
0.16% wrto
Tubular Plate Pb2100N
9
+
-
0.16% wrto
Tubular Plate Pb2100N
Solar Battery Trial Program
•
•
•
•
10
Positive Plate: Tubular
Negative Plate: 0.16% wrto / 56L of Pb2100N
Compared vs. Control without Pb2100N
150Ah Rated Capacity
10
Solar Batteries: Capacity at Various Discharge Rates
Control
Pb2100N
11
11
Solar Batteries: TOC Voltage at C/10 Charging Rate
Pb2100N lowers TOC Voltage by 300 mV at C/10 rate
12
Control
Pb2100N
12
Solar Battery: 60% DOD Cycle Throughput
Hours to Charge 100Ah @ 15V/15A from 60% DOD
Control
Pb2100N
Av. CON = 14.84 h
Av. MR = 9.66 h

13
Inverter (Tubular Plate)
 Recharge times decreased 35%+
 20-30% decreased water loss on cycling
Solar Batteries: Various Life Cycle Tests & Failures
IEC 61427
NF 58510
PPER
QUALIBAT
10% SOC
40% SOC
DRE
Stratification/
Hydration Short
L
H
L
L
H
H
M
Sulfation
M
M
M
M
H
M
M
Corrosion/Water
loss/ Active
Material
Loosening
M
Active Material
Shedding
L
L
M
H
L
H
L
L
M
DRE (Decentralized Rural Electrification) test selected
to exercise all key failure modes
14
14
Solar Batteries: DRE - Life Cycle Test Procedure
Step
Mode
1
Preparation
Protocol
Cycles
1) Fully charge the battery
2) Discharge at C/10 A till 10.5V
1) Charge at C/10A till 14.1V
2
Undercharge
cycles
Potential Failure
2) Rest for 3 hrs
3) Discharge at C/10A till 10.5V
Acid stratification
5
Sulphate growth
4) Rest for 3 hrs
AM shedding
1) Charge at C/10A till 120% Capacity
Corrosion
Active Material loosening
3 Overcharge cycles
2) Rest for 3 hrs
5
Sulphate growth
3) Discharge at C/10A till 10.5V
Active Material shedding
4) Rest for 3 hrs
Waterloss
Repeat sequences 2 and 3 until discharge capacity in overcharge
cycle drops below 70% of C/10 capacity
15
15
Solar Batteries: DRE Capacity Evolution
Control
Pb2100N
16
16
Solar Batteries: DRE Cycling
Control
Pb2100N
Fate of Excess Ah
20.50
Blue = Theoretical
Red = Actual
20.00
Ltrs
19.50
19.00
20.15
18.50
18.00
18.46
18.85
18.57
17.50
dCNT
Pb2100N
17
Control
Pb2100N
1) sp.gr in Pb2100N is higher than in Control
2) In Control, increased sp.gr after 300 cycles by
20pts indicates excess Ah goes to water
splitting as per Faradays law
3) In case of Pb2100N, 21% of excess Ah is getting
converted in to H atom which prevents PbSO4
formation and sulphation formation
Control
Control
17
Solar Batteries: Value Creation of Pb2100N
Battery Manufacturers
Reduction in Warranty Cost
and/or
Increased Warranty
18
Solar Provider /
Distributor
Reduction in CapEx
End-Consumer
Increased Battery Life
e-Rickshaw Trial Program
•
•
•
•
19
Positive Plate: Tubular
Negative Plate: 0.16% wrto / 56L of Pb2100N
Compared vs. Control without Pb2100N
80Ah Rated Capacity
19
e-Rickshaw Battery: Recharge Factor
14.8V/20-hour charging step (16A limit)
Pb2100N increases charge factor by 5% over Control
20
20
e-Rickshaw Battery: Life cycle test procedure
Step
Mode
1
Preparation
2
Discharge
3
Charge
Protocol
Cycles
Potential Failure
1) Fully charge the battery
1) Discharge at 0.15 C for 1 hr
2) Rest for 1 hr
Charge at 14.8 V/0.15C for 6 hrs
5
Sulphate growth
Acid stratification
Repeat sequences 2 and 3 until discharge capacity sustains 3 cycles in step 2.
21
e-Rickshaw Battery: Life Cycle Simulation
• e-Rickshaw Daily Duty Cycle Simulation
• Pb2100N Charges @ 14.8V & Maintains Capacity & End-of-Discharge Voltage
22
e-Rickshaw Battery: Life Cycle Simulation Result Analysis
Unit #
9
Charging Voltage
No. of Cycles
Remarks
Control
Pb2100N
Control
Pb2100N
14.8
14.8
5
5
Control failed in 9th unit
10-140
15.2
14.8
5
5
Control nor Pb2100N provided 5
cycles after 140 units due to very
cold weather; night temp < 10 C
141-157
15.2
14.8
5
5
Continued
157-220
15.2
14.8
4
4
Cycle #s reduced to 4.
Control failed. Water topped.
220-242
15.2
15.2
4
4
Charging Voltage for Pb2100N
changed to 15.2V
Total Water consumption till 242 cycles
Control
1545 ml
Pb2100N
930 ml
1) So far 13,500Ah has taken out from battery which is equivalent to running E-rickshaw
for 225 days
2) Pb2100N battery is much more healthier than Control; in the field it would have give
more Ah output in given days
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e-Rickshaw Battery: Field Trial Results
• Scope
• 3 e-Rickshaw drivers w/ 4ct 80Ah Pb2100N Tubular batteries
• Water consumption, OCV, average charging times and other
parameters monitored bi-weekly
• Voltage meters installed; monitored weekly
• Major Observations by Drivers & Owners using Pb2100N
• Pb2100N batteries DO NOT NEED A DAYTIME RECHARGE;
Standard/Control batteries needed a 2-3 hour recharge
• Water consumptions dramatically reduced
• Drivers’ daily earnings increased ~100 Rs/day
• Due to full 80km use without a 2-3hr recharge
24
e-Rickshaw Field Trial Results: Voltage log data
• Standard batteries go ~5.25 hrs before charging
• Pb2100N batteries go ~11.0 hrs before charging
Pb2100N
• Field chargers used (see above images)
Shaded Area Shows Charge Periods
Pb2100N batteries allow
a full day of use before
needing to recharge
25
Impact of Pb2100N on Energy Cost with Proper Charger
IRs
Energy Cost of Charging/Battery/Annum (12V/80Ah 75% DOD)
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Pb2100N
Existing
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
% Overcharge
• With 5% overcharge, Pb2100N can sustain capacity maintenance while existing batteries
need minimum 15% overcharge; 10% overcharge energy cost can be saved.
• Rs. 200 - 600 can be saved per annum per battery in charging energy cost alone (Unit
cost electricity Rs. 6.50/- Total days per annum = 300)
• For 200,000 E-rickshaw in Delhi alone, with Pb2100N the total savings in terms of
power consumption is 48,000,000 units /Annum. This is major savings for the country.
• The above units is equivalent to total energy consumption of 47,524 persons in India
in a year (1,010 units/person/annum)
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e-Rickshaw Batteries: Value Creation of Pb2100N
Battery Manufacturers
Reduction in Warranty Cost
and
Increased Price Capture
Distributor
27
e-Rickshaw
Owner/Agent
Cost Savings ₨400 per year
e-Rickshaw Driver
₨50+ per day Revenue
and
Increased Battery Life
Conclusions
Problem
Deep Cycle Batteries have two main failure modes: Sulphation and
Active Material Shedding
Solution
Altering Battery chemistry by adding MOLECULAR REBAR™ delays
both the Sulphation and Active Material Shedding phenomena
MOLECULAR REBAR™ (Pb2100N) for Flooded Deep Cycle Batteries:
1. Increases life in Solar Applications by 35% to 50%
2. Increases throughput in e-Rickshaw Applications bu 35% to 50%
3. Reduces warranty costs by >30% for a given time period
4. Reduces overall wasted Energy
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Thanks to Our Friends and Partners:
®
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Thank You for Your Attention
Please see Black Diamond Structures at their Booth
for additional questions, suggestions, or product inquiries.
nanjans@hotmail.com
swswogger@bd-structures.com
peverill@bd-structures.com
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