Mechanism

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Lead-acid batteries are composed of plates that can be positive or negative and an electrolyte. The positive plate is made of lead with low antimony content, which increases its stiffness and resistance and subsequently is filled with lead peroxide as active material. The negative plate is formed by lead/antimony. These batteries are known as lead-acid because the electrolyte is formed by a solution of 36% sulfuric acid and 64% distilled water when the battery is fully charged.

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Capacities and lifecycle

 

These types of batteries are common and were the first rechargeable batteries to go on the market, nowadays they can be found in many sizes and designs, but the most important feature of these is their characteristics of deep cycle batteries or not. Non-deep cycle batteries provide a large amount of energy in short periods and are capable of withstanding overloads without losing electrolyte, however, they lose their capacity permanently if they are discharged for more than 20% of their capacity. 

 

The deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged several times up to 80% of their capacity, so they are useful for solar and wind energy systems. Although they are designed to withstand deep cycles, their lifespan becomes longer with more superficial cycles. Depending on their use, these batteries have a useful life of 2500 charge and discharge cycles and cost around $ 18 per Wh.

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Aplications

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Among its applications can be mentioned the use in cars, stationary applications such as lighting, alarms, and communication or in photovoltaic installations to store energy in installations that require batteries, such as in isolated solar installations.

 

Advantages

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Among its advantages is that although these batteries have a moderate lifespan, they are not subject to having memory as are the nickel-based systems, and charge retention is better among rechargeable batteries. While NiCd loses approximately 40 percent of its stored energy in three months, lead-acid is discharged at the same amount in one year.

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Disadvantages

Among its disadvantages, it can be mentioned that they have a relatively short life cycle due to the corrosion of the grid in the positive electrode, the depletion of the active material and the expansion of the positive plates. Charging a lead-acid battery is simple, but the correct voltage limits must be respected. Charging a lead-acid battery is simple, but the correct voltage limits must be respected. The choice of a low voltage limit protects the battery, but this produces poor performance and causes an accumulation of sulfation in the negative plate. A high voltage limit improves performance but forms grid corrosion on the positive plate. Another disadvantage is that they produce a high environmental impact if they are not disposed of properly so that with the technological advancements they have been displaced in the market by other less polluting agents.

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Project: Development of lead-acid valve-regulated batteries for new automotive applications.

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