UNIT 2

ENERGY CONVERSION AND STORAGE

CHEMICAL FUELS
Chemical fuel is a combustible substance containing carbon as main constituent which on
combustion gives large amount of heat and light.

Importance of hydrocarbon fuels:

Hydrocarbon fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas are non-renewable energy sources
and are called as fossil fuels. These fuels contain carbon and hydrogen as major constituents. They
are essentially mixtures of various types of hydrocarbon like alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, cycloalkanes,
aromatic hydrocarbons etc. When they are burnt in air, they are oxidised to CO 2 and water and release
large amount of energy in the form of heat. They are extensively used in transportation,
communication, domestic illumination, manufacturing and other applications.

Classification:
According to their occurrence, fuels can be classified in to 2 types
1. Natural or primary fuels which are found in nature as solid, liquid and gases.
Ex wood, coal, petroleum, Natural gas.
2. Artificial or secondary fuels which are derived from natural or primary fuels.
Ex, Charcoal, coke, petrol, kerosene, diesel, coal gas, producer gas
According to their physical state, fuels can be classified into 3 types
1. Solid fuels- ex. Wood, coal, charcoal, coke
2. Liquid fuels- ex. Petroleum, petrol, kerosene, diesel, synthetic petrol
3. Gaseous fuels – ex. Natural gas, coal gas, producer gas, water gas

Characteristics of a good fuel

Calorific value : Should be High
Ignition temperature: Should be Moderate
Moisture content : Should be Low
Ash content : Should be Low
Calorific value:
Calorific value of a fuel is defined as the total quantity of heat liberated when a unit mass of
a fuel is burnt completely in air or oxygen. Under SI system the unit of calorific value is expressed
in terms of Kilo Joules per Kilogram (kJ/kg or kJ kg -1)
Calorific value can be classified into two types.

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1. Gross Calorific value (Higher Calorific value):
It is the amount of heat liberated when a unit quantity of a fuel is burnt completely in air or oxygen
and the combustion products are cooled to room temperature. On combustion, carbon and
hydrogen present in fuels are converted into carbon dioxide and steam respectively. On cooling
the combustion products, steam gets condensed to water and liberates its latent heat. The measured
calorific value includes the heat associated with steam. Therefore it is always higher.

2. Net Calorific value (Lower Calorific value):

It is the amount of heat liberated when a unit quantity of a fuel is burnt completely in air or oxygen
and the products of combustion are allowed to escape into the atmosphere. Hence the net calorific
value does not include the heat associated with steam. Therefore net calorific value is always
lower than the gross calorific value.
Net Calorific value = Gross Calorific value ‒ Heat associated with steam

Determination of Calorific value of a Solid or Liquid fuel using “Bomb” Calorimeter

A known mass of the fuel is taken in a stainless steel crucible and placed in a steel vessel called
‘Bomb’. It has an inlet valve for filling oxygen, and also an electric ignition system consisting of
magnesium wire. The bomb is placed in known mass of water taken in copper calorimeter. The
calorimeter is equipped with a stirrer and thermometer.
The combustion of the fuel is initiated by passing electric current through the magnesium filament in
contact with fuel sample. The temperature of water is measured before and after combustion.

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Observation and Calculation
If Q is the gross calorific value, then
Mass of fuel = ‘m’ kg
Initial temperature of water = t1 0C
Maximum temperature of water = t 2 0C
Raise in temperature of water = (t 2 ‒t1) 0C
Mass of water in the calorimeter = w1 kg
Water equivalent of Calorimeter = w2 kg
Specific heat of water = S kJ/ kg/0C

Heat liberated by the combustion of ‘m’ kg of a fuel = Heat absorbed by the water +
Heat absorbed by the Calorimeter
= w1 x S x (t2 ‒t1) + w2 x S x (t2 ‒t1)
= (w1 + w2) x S x (t2 ‒t1)
(w1 + w2) x S x (t2 ‒t1)
Heat liberated by the combustion of 1 kg of a fuel = kj/kg
𝑚
(𝐰𝟏 + 𝐰𝟐) 𝐱 𝐒 𝐱 (𝐭𝟐 ‒𝐭𝟏)
GCV (Q) = 𝐤𝐣/𝐤𝐠
𝐦

NCV = GCV ‒ 0.09 x % H x 587 x 4.187 kJ/kg

NCV = GCV ‒ (0.09 x % H x 2458 kJ/kg)
%H - Percentage of hydrogen in the given sample

Petroleum cracking:

Cracking is a process of breaking (decomposing) of higher molecular hydrocarbons (high

boiling point) into lower molecular hydrocarbons (low boiling point).
𝐶𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑠𝑡
Ex. C10 H22 → C8 H18 + C2 H4
Decane heat Octane ethylene
The main objective of cracking is production of gasoline or petrol.
There are 2 types of Cracking
Thermal cracking and Catalytic cracking

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Fluid bed catalytic cracking process:
The heavy oil is preheated to about 3000C and sprayed from the bottom into the cracking
chamber containing fine particles of catalyst Al2O3+ SiO2. Here the oil vapours mixes with fluidised
catalyst. At a high temperature of 5500C and just above atmospheric pressure, cracking takes place
on the surface of the catalyst. The cracked vapours are passed through a fractionating column for
separation in to various fractions.
After a few operations the catalyst becomes inactive due to adsorption of oil vapours and
deposition of carbon on it. The spent catalyst particles are drawn into regeneration chamber where
the excess oil is removed by steam and carbon deposited on catalyst is burnt off using a blast of hot
air at 600 0C. The regenerated catalyst is mixed with fresh heavy oil and returned to the cracking
chamber and the process is continued.

Advantages:
 The extent of mixing between catalyst particles and oil vapours is very high and hence it gives
a larger percentage of gasoline.
 Gasoline has better antiknock characteristics.

Reformation of petrol:
Reforming is a process of bringing about structural modifications of hydrocarbons
without any change in the number of carbon atoms.

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This process increases the quality of petrol i.e., improves the octane rating. In reforming straight
chain hydrocarbons are converted into branched chain hydrocarbons and non-aromatic hydrocarbons
into aromatic hydrocarbons. In general, branched and aromatic hydrocarbons have high-octane
number than straight chain hydrocarbons. Reforming is brought about by passing straight chain
gasoline over platinum coated alumina catalyst heated to about 5000C in the presence of
hydrogen.
Reforming reactions that occur are,

1. Isomerisation: Straight chain hydrocarbons are converted into branched chain hydrocarbons.
CH3
CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH3 CH3- CH - CH2 - CH2 - CH3
n-hexane 2-methyl pentane

2. Dehydrogenation: conversion of cycloalkanes into aromatic hydrocarbons undergoes cyclization

followed by dehydrogenation to produce aromatic hydrocarbons.

+ 3H2

Cyclohexane Benzene

3. Cyclisation and dehydrogenation: Straight chain hydrocarbons undergo cyclisation followed by

dehydrogenation to produce aromatic hydrocarbons.

C6H14 + H2 + 3H2

n-hexane Cyclohexane Benzene

Knocking :

Undesirable rattling sound produced in a petrol engine which reduces the efficiency is called as
knocking.

Mechanism of knocking:

 The power output and efficiency of an IC engine depends on the compression ratio. Higher the
compression ratio, higher is the efficiency of the engine.
Initial volume of fuel and mixture at the end of suction stroke
Compression ratio =
Final volume of mixture at the end of compression stroke

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 Under normal conditions, in an IC engine when a mixture of petrol and air is injected and ignited
by an electric spark, this mixture should burn smoothly; gases will expand, pushes the piston and
rotate the wheel and the vehicle moves.
 All these steps i.e., injection, ignition, combustion, expansion of gases and movement of the
piston should occur uniformly and simultaneously.
 Under normal conditions, there is a smooth combustion of fuel with oxygen as follows:
C2H6 + 7/2 O2 2 CO2 + 3 H2O (Normal combustion)
 But because of certain hydrocarbons present in petrol, like n-heptane, part of petrol air mixture
undergoes rapid oxidation and explodes with rattling sound known as knocking which brings
down the efficiency of IC engine.
 In knocking condition, explosive combustion takes place, i.e., the hydrocarbon molecules
combine with oxygen to form peroxides. The unstable peroxides formed decompose explosively
giving a number of gaseous products. This gives rise to sudden pressure waves, which knock
against the engine walls.
C2H6 + O2 CH3‒ O ‒ O ‒ CH3
(Dimethyl peroxide)
CH3‒ O ‒ O ‒ CH3 CH3CHO + H2O Explosive combustion
CH3CHO + 3/2 O2 HCHO + CO2 + H2O
HCHO + O2 H2O + CO2
 The overall reaction is the same under both the conditions.
 Under normal conditions, the energy is released at a uniform rate. Under knocking conditions,
the energy is released slowly at first ( formation of peroxides) and finally the energy is released
at a very fast rate (decomposition of peroxides)
Adverse effects of knocking:
 Produces undesirable rattling sound.
 Increases the fuel consumption.
 Results in decreased power output.
 Causes mechanical damage due to overheating to engine parts such as spark plug, piston and
engine walls.
Prevention of Knocking :
 By using high octane gasoline.
 By using optimum compression ratio.
 By using anti-knocking agents such as TEL.
 Modifying engine design.

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Octane number :
 Quality of gasoline is measured in terms of octane number.
 It is the percentage of isooctane present in a mixture of isooctane and n-heptane which has the
same anti-knocking properties as the gasoline fuel under examination.
 n-heptane which has poor combustion properties and knocks badly, is given octane number zero.
While isooctane, which has excellent combustion properties and very little tendency to knock is
given octane number 100.
CH3
CH3 – CH2 – CH2 – CH2 – CH2 – CH2 – CH3 CH3– C – CH2 – CH – CH3

CH3 CH3

n-heptane O.No. = 0 Isooctane O.No. = 100


 Higher the octane number of gasoline fuel, higher is its anti-knocking properties and hence better
is the fuel. If the octane number of a gasoline is 80, it means that its knocking characteristics are
similar to that of a mixture of 80% isooctane and 20% n-heptane.
Cetane number:
 Quality of diesel fuel is measured in terms of cetane number.
 It is the percentage of cetane present in a mixture of n-cetane and α-methyl naphthalene which
has the same ignition properties as the diesel fuel under examination.
 n-cetane has low ignition lag and its cetane number is fixed as 100, while α-methyl naphthalene
has long ignition lag and its cetane number is fixed as zero.

CH3-(CH2)14-CH3
n-Cetane C.No. = 100 α- Methylnaphthalene C.No. = 0

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOURCES:

Hydrogen as fuel – Advantages, Production and Storage
Hydrogen is the simplest element on Earth and also the most plentiful gas in the universe. Each atom
of hydrogen has only one proton. Despite its simplicity and abundance, hydrogen does not occur
naturally on Earth. It is always found in combination with other elements. Water, for example, is a
combination of hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is also found in many organic compounds, notably

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the “hydrocarbons” that make up fuels such as gasoline, natural gas, methanol, and propane.
Therefore, getting hydrogen in its pure form is a challenge.
The two most common methods used to produce hydrogen are
 steam reforming
 electrolysis (water splitting)

Steam reforming: a high-temperature process in which steam reacts with a hydrocarbon fuel to
produce hydrogen. Many hydrocarbon fuels can be reformed to produce hydrogen, including natural
gas, diesel, renewable liquid fuels, gasified coal, or gasified biomass. Today, about 95% of all
hydrogen is produced from steam reforming of natural gas.

Electrolysis: a process that splits hydrogen from water using an electric current. Electrolysis does
not produce any emissions other than hydrogen and oxygen. However, if the electricity used in the
process is produced from fossil fuels, then there are pollution and carbon dioxide emissions indirectly
associated with electrolysis. However, the electricity used in electrolysis can also come
from renewable sources like wind and solar.
Advantage:
 High Energy Density Improves Productivity
 Hydrogen fuel cells do not produce any CO2 emissions during operation,
 The refuelling process for hydrogen fuel cells is easy and takes about three minutes, compared to
the longer in batteries.
 The hydrogen fuel cell refuelling process has an advantage. Because, the energy
density of hydrogen fuel cells is very high.
 Hydrogen fuel cells and lithium-ion battery energy densities are very similar, making them great
choices for busy operations who need equipment to last a full shift.
Disadvantage:
 While it is true that hydrogen fuel cells do not emit harmful gases during operation, the same is
not true for the production process to make hydrogen fuel, it takes almost as much energy to
produce as what it produces.
 Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements on earth, but it is typically bonded to other
elements and must be isolated to be used for energy purposes.
 Because the hydrogen fuel production process is so complicated, it makes using hydrogen fuel
cells more costly than other forms of energy.
 Hydrogen can be stored as either gas in high-pressure tanks or as a liquid in cryogenic
temperatures, but it must be in the gas form to be used for lift truck fuel cells.
 Hydrogen storage involve an inherent loss of energy.
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 Hydrogen gas is highly flammable and can easily escape containment. If hydrogen gas escapes
containment, it can corrode metals. This, in turn, can make these contaminated metals brittle and prone to
breaking.
Biofuels – Production of biodiesel
Biodiesel:
Biodiesel is produced from renewable sources viz, vegetable oils and animal fats. Oils are
triglycerides of long chain fatty acids with high coefficient of viscosity. Biodiesel is produced by
Transesterification of vegetable oils upon treating with alcohol in presence of base catalyst.

CH2-O-CO-R1 CH2-OH
CH -O-CO-R2 +3 CH3OH → CH - OH + R1-CO-O-CH3 + R2-CO-O-CH3 + R3-CO-O-CH3
CH2-O-CO-R3 CH2-OH
Triglyceride Methanol Glycerol Mono alkyl esters
where R is the long chain fatty acid.
The reaction is carried out just above the boiling point of alcohol for 4 hours. The mixture is
allowed to settle and glycerol is separated from the bottom. The upper layer of methyl esters is
washed with water and purified. This can be used as such or blended with diesel.

Advantages:
 Renewable: as it is derived from vegetables.
 Non-hazardous and non-toxic.
 Compared to diesel, harmful emissions like CO, NOX, HC’s are less.
 It has a higher cetane number compared to diesel.
 Use of biodiesel reduces greenhouse gases.

PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL
Photovoltaic cells are semiconductor devices that convert sunlight directly into electricity. They can
be used to charge batteries, operate motors and power electrical devices
The voltage produced by a single solar cell is very small i.e., about 0.5 V. hence the cells are
connected in series or parallel to form a module, which generates a useful voltage.

Construction and Working of silicon based Photovoltaic cell (PV cells):

Principle: PV cells rely on Photoelectric effect i.e., the ability of certain elements to emit electrons
when electromagnetic radiation of sufficient energy falls on it. The photon possess certain amount of
energy as evident from the Planck quantum equation

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 𝑐
𝐸=ℎ
λ

Where h is Planck’s constant

C is velocity of light
λ is the wavelength of the radiation
Photovoltaic cells are semiconductor devices that convert sunlight directly into electricity. When
semiconductors such as silicon are illuminated by photons (from sunlight), electricity is generated.
 A typical photovoltaic cell is composed of an ultra-thin wafer of phosphorus doped silicon (n-
type) on the top of a thicker layer of boron doped silicon (p-type). A p-n junction is formed when
n-type and a p-type semiconductor are brought together to form a metallurgical junction. This
region is called as depletion region.
 The electrons from n-type moves towards the p-type semiconductor and the holes move towards
n-type semiconductor. They form electron-hole pairs, after a certain potential is created, further
movement is not possible.
 The diode has two electrodes, one of which is in the form of metallic grid which allows sunlight
to pass through and the other is a metallic layer on the back, completely covering the surface
which forms the external circuit.
 An antireflective layer of silicon nitride is applied between grid lines to increase the amount of
light transmitted through the front to the cell.
 When sunlight falls on the p-n junction, the electron from the electron-hole pair in the depletion
region is knocked out which flows through the external circuit and reaches the p-side generating
current.

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Advantages:
 Solar energy is unlimited and inexhaustible.
 Power obtained from solar energy using photovoltaic cell is pollution free. Therefore they are
environment friendly.
 Photovoltaic cells provide power for rural and remote areas where grid extension is not feasible
and economical.
 Photovoltaic cell provides power for spacecraft and satellites in space.
 They need no recharging.
 They do not corrode.
 They have no movable parts and hence do not suffer from wear and tear.
Disadvantages:
 Initial investment is high.
 Solar power can be produced only during day time.
 Power efficiency is very low.

ELECTROCHEMICAL ENERGY SYSTEMS:

Introduction to batteries:
A battery is a device consisting of two or more galvanic cells arranged in series or parallel which
converts chemical energy to electrical energy and can act as a source of portable electrical energy.
Oxidation and reduction reactions occur at anode and cathode respectively. A spontaneous redox
reaction taking place in the battery is responsible for the generation of electrical energy. Batteries are
used in calculators watches, electric cars, UPS, emergency lighting, fire alarms, space crafts,
submarines, electronic devices, telecommunication equipments, computers, military applications etc.
Components of battery:
A battery consists of the following
1. Anode (negative electrode): It is the electrode at which oxidation takes place and liberates
electrons to the external circuit. The anode must have low reduction potential, act as reducing
agent with high columbic output (Ah/g) and good conductivity
2. Cathode (positive electrode): It is the electrode at which reduction takes place and accepts
electrons from the external circuit. The cathode must have high reduction potential, act as
oxidizing agent, stable when in contact with electrolyte with useful working voltage.
3. Electrolyte: It provides the medium for transfer of ions inside the cell between anode and cathode.
It must have good ionic conductivity, should be non-reacting with electrode materials. Ex:
Aqueous solutions of an acid or alkali.

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4. Separator: It is a barrier between anode and cathode. It permits the movement of ions, but do not
conduct electrons. They must be inert in the total environment. Ex: polyethylene, PVC nylon,
cellulose etc.,
5. Container: It should be resistant to corrosion in the working environment.

Operation of a Battery during Discharging and Charging:

The battery acts as a galvanic cell by converting chemical energy to electrical energy during
discharging and acts as an electrolytic cell by converting electrical energy to chemical energy during
recharging process. Discharging occurs when the battery is connected to external circuit and the
circuit is closed. The anode undergoes oxidation and electrons liberated flow through the external
circuit to cathode. At the cathode, electrons are accepted and active species get reduced. This
produces electric current.
During recharge the current flow is reversed by supplying electric current from an external
source. While recharging the negative terminal of the power supply is connected to the negative
electrode (cathode) of the battery and positive terminal to the positive electrode (anode)of the battery.
During recharging the active species formed at the anode undergoes reduction and at the same time
oxidation occurs at the cathode liberating active species. Thus the electrode reaction occurring during
recharging are exactly opposite of the reactions occurring during discharging.

Battery Characteristics:

The use of a battery for a particular application is decided by certain characteristics. They are:
1. Voltage: According to Nernst equation
2.303 𝑅𝑇 [𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡]
E = 𝐸0 − ln
𝑛𝐹 [𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡]

2.303 𝑅𝑇
E = [𝐸0𝐶𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑑𝑒 − 𝐸0𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑒 ] − log 𝑄
𝑛𝐹
[𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡]
Where Q is the reaction quotient equal to
[𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡]

The EMF of a battery depends on E0cell i.e., the difference in standard electrode potential of
the two electrodes. As E0cell increases, EMF of the battery also increases. When current is drawn from
the cell, the concentration of products increases and hence Q increases. Increase in Q value decreases
the EMF of the battery. Increase in temperature also decreases EMF. The voltage of the battery
depends on the free energy change of the net cell reaction as given by -∆G = nF E0cell. A high negative
free energy change gives rise to a high EMF.

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2. Current:
It is the rate at which the battery is discharging. The rate of discharging is higher when large
quantities of active species are used. Rapid electron transfer reactions increases the current. Cell
should have large amount of electro active species.

3. Capacity:
It is the total quantity of electricity that can be obtained from the battery and is measured in Ah
(ampere hour). It depends on the size of the battery and is given by Faraday’s relation
C=WnF/M
where W = weight of the active species.
M = molar mass of the active species
n = number of electrons transferred per mole of reaction and
F = Faraday’s constant.
capacity increases with increase in discharge rate.

4. Power Density:
It is the power per unit weight of the battery and is given by iE cell/kg. The ratio of the power
delivered by a cell or battery to its weight, W/kg, is also known as the power density of a battery.
During the discharge of a battery, the power density decreases.

5. Energy Efficiency:
It is the ratio of energy released on discharge to the energy required for charging of the battery.
𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞
Energy efficiency = 𝐱 100
𝑬𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠

Higher the energy efficiency better will be the battery. It holds good for secondary cell only.
6. Cycle Life
Cycle life is the total number of charge–discharge cycles that are possible for a battery before
failure occurs. It is applicable only for secondary battery. It depends on the usage of the cell. The
cycle life of a battery must be high. Very fast discharging and quick charging will reduce the cycle
life of a battery.

7. Shelf Life:
It is essential for most of the batteries to be stored sometimes for many years without self-
discharge or corrosion. If a battery is able to retain the ability to give a specified performance even
after long storage, then it is said to have a longer shelf life.

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Classification of Batteries:
There are three types of batteries,
1. Primary battery: In this the cell reaction is not completely reversible and hence is not
rechargeable. Ex: Dry battery or Zn-MmO2 battery, alkaline battery, Mg-MnO2 battery, Zinc-air
battery,
Li-MnO2 battery etc.
2. Secondary battery: In this the cell reaction is completely reversible and hence is rechargeable.
The battery can be recharged by supplying current form an external source which is higher than the
EMF of the battery. These batteries can be reused and hence they are also called as storage batteries.
A secondary battery act as a galvanic cell by converting chemical energy to electrical energy during
discharging process and also as an electrolytic cell by converting electrical energy to chemical energy
during recharging.
Ex. Lead-acid battery, Ni-Cd battery, Ni-MH battery etc.
3. Reserve battery: In this one of the component is separated from the rest of the battery and it is
added just before the use. The component of the battery that is added prior to activation is electrolyte.
Thus self-discharge or chemical degradation is prevented and the battery can be stored for longer
period of time.
Ex: Zn-Ag2O battery, Mg-AgCl battery, Li-V2O2 battery etc.

Sodium Ion Batteries:

Even though Lithium Ion Batteries are widely used in electric vehicles, there are few
problems associated with them. The supply of battery- grade Li2CO3 is limited. It is
available only in 12 selected locations of the world. Li mining is not environmentally
friendly. By contrast, Na is inexpensive, more abundant than Li by 2–3 orders of
magnitude and its processing is more environmentally benign. Thus, lot of research is
going on about Sodium Ion Batteries (SIBs) which are prototypes of LIBs. Equivalent
weight of sodium (23 g/mol) is very much higher than Lithium (6.9 g/mol). Therefore,
specific energy and energy density of Sodium Ion Batteries is very much less than
Lithium ion batteries. Even then, in future sodium ion batteries can replace Lithium ion
batteries, will have an important commercial role to play in future due to cheaper and
safer sodium metal.
Construction, Working and Application of Sodium ion batteries:

Construction and working of a typical sodium ion battery is very similar to lithium ion
battery. Anode material used in sodium ion battery is hard carbon. Cathode material is

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sodium inserted in layered metal oxide. CoO2 or MnO2. Recently Mixed metal oxides like
NaNi0.88Mn0.06Al0.06O2 , showing better performance are used instead of single metal
oxide. Electrolyte used is a sodium salt like NaPF6 dissolved in binary organic solvent
mixture such as ethylene carbonate-dimethyl carbonate. Lithium easily forms alloy with
Aluminium whereas Sodium does not. Thus in Sodium ion batteries, cheaper Al foil is
used as current collector. Whereas, costly Copper metal foil is used as current collector in
lithium ion batteries.

During discharging
At anode: 𝐶 − 𝑁𝑎 𝑁𝑎+ + 𝐶 + 𝑒−
Electrons flow from anode to cathode through external circuit. Sodium ions move through
the electrolyte and separator to reach cathode.
At cathode: 𝑁𝑎+ + 𝑒− + 𝑀𝑂2 𝑁𝑎 − 𝑀𝑂2
Sodium ions are reduced to sodium atoms and are inserted in to the layered structure of
metal oxide. Reactions are reversed during charging of the battery.

Advantages:
 Provide energy efficient power with fast charging
 stability against extreme temperatures.
 safety against overheating or thermal runaway.

Uses :
Sodium-ion batteries can offer greater stability to the power supply.
The data and telecommunications sectors.

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Questions
Chemical fuels:
1. What are Chemical Fuels? Give the classifications fuels with examples.
2. Define the term calorific value of fuels. How is calorific value of a solid fuel determined
experimentally?
3. What is cracking of petroleum? Explain fluidized catalytic cracking process.
4. What is knocking of petrol? Explain its mechanism. What all its adverse effect.
5. Write a short note on Octane number and Cetane number.
6. What is reforming? Explain the reactions involved in reforming process.

Hydrogen fuel cell:

1. Explain production and storage of hydrogen as a fuel. What are its advantages?
2. What is Biodiesel? Explain the method of producing biodiesel. List out the advantages?
Solar cells:
1. With a neat sketch explain the working of a photovoltaic cell? Mention its advantages and
disadvantages
Batteries:
1. Define a battery .Explain the classification of a battery.
2. Explain the characteristics of a battery.
3. Explain construction and working of Sodium ion battery. Mention its applications

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