In this work, electrochemically recyclable lithium is analyzed as high energy density, large scale storage material for stranded renewable energy in a closed loop. The strongly exothermic reaction of lithium with carbon dioxide (CO2) yields thermal energy directly comparable to the combustion of coal or methane in an oxygen containing atmosphere. The thermal level of the reaction is sufficient for re-electrification in a thermal power plant compatible process.

The reaction of single lithium particles, avoiding particle-particle interactions, is compared to the combustion of atomized lithium spray in a CO2 containing atmosphere. Particle temperatures of up to 4000K were found for the reaction of single lithium particles in a CO2, nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2) and steam gas mixture. Furthermore the combustion of atomized lithium spray in both dry CO2 atmosphere and CO2/steam gas mixture was analyzed. The identified solid reaction products are lithium carbonate, lithium oxide and lithium hydroxide. The formation of carbon monoxide (CO) as gaseous reaction product is demonstrated. Carbon monoxide is a valuable by-product, which could be converted to methanol or gasoline using hydrogen.

One of the major barriers to the adoption of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is the short lifetime of the fuel cell stacks. A stack consists of a number of cells in series separated by an interconnect. Due to the high temperatures necessary for SOFCs, typical commercial interconnects are ceramic. Great attention has been paid to decreasing the operating temperature of SOFCs in order to extend the life and decrease the cost of the stack. As operating temperatures decrease below 1000°C, alternative interconnect materials become viable. Stainless steel interconnects are more cost effective than ceramic interconnects but the high temperatures and the oxidizing environment of the cathode leads to the formation of a chromium oxide scale that increases the stack resistance. Chromium from the stainless steel can also enter the vapor phase and redeposit on the cathode thereby blocking the electrochemically active sites. One method to neutralize these effects is to coat the metallic interconnect in a ceramic such as La.8Sr.2MnO3 (LSM). The coating acts as a diffusion barrier both against chromium diffusing into the cathode and oxygen diffusing into the interconnect. In this study LSM has been deposited using plasma spray and tested in a dual atmosphere setup using impedance spectroscopy to analyze the performance of the coatings at various temperatures. The area specific resistance and chemical composition of the scale was examined in order to determine the affect of the LSM coating.

We present preliminary results on a processing protocol by chemical activation that transforms organic waste product such as coconut husk into high surface area activated carbon. Dried raw materials of the coconut husk were carbonized anaerobically into char. The char was impregnated with KOH of different ratios and were activated at 800°C and 900°C. The transmission electron microscope was used to acquire structural and morphological information of the activated carbon, and the surface area and porosity analysis were performed using Micromeritics ASAP 2020 analyzer. The activated carbons show both micropores and mesopores with specific surface area as high as 2900m2/g.

A novel type of nitrogen-doped hierarchically 3D macroporous CMG films electrode (NCMG) was prepared through a facile ultrafiltration method using graphene oxide (GO) and polystyrene (PS) as precursors, then annealed in N2 atmosphere at 1000°. This NCMG electrode exhibits high specific capacitance (150 F g-1), excellent rate capacity and good cycle life (98% of initial capacitance), which can be a good candidate for supercapacitor application.

In this work, the exothermic reaction of the chemical energy storage material for stranded renewable energy, lithium is analyzed in carbon dioxide (CO2) and air. Spectroscopic techniques were used to characterize the reaction of bulk lithium pellets of up to 1 g weight. In comparison, power plant applicable combustion of atomized lithium spray was analyzed.

Electrical high voltage spark was used to overcome to activation energy of the combustion for the experiments with bulk lithium. The lithium spray was successfully ignited by pre-heating the reaction gases (air and CO2).

Radiation temperature of the bulk lithium during reaction in air was calculated to 2260 K. The observed green and red emission of the lithium combustion could be demonstrated in the spectral analysis.

In CO2 atmosphere the reaction products were found to be lithium carbonate with little lithium oxide. Beside, lithium carbide could be detected in the reaction product of the combustion of bulk lithium. The gaseous reaction product carbon monoxide (CO), which could be further converted with hydrogen from renewable sources to valuable methanol or gasoline, was detected online by gas analysis.