Charge-Discharge Behavior of the C.G.E. Circulating Zinc-Air Vehicle Battery

THE PRIMARY UNIT of the C.G.E. zinc-air electric vehicle battery has been described in previous publications. It consists of a constant cross-section tubular fuel cell using zinc powder in circulating 12 N KOH solution. All the reaction product (zincate) is maintained in colloidal solution. The system is capable of lifetimes in excess of 1,800 hours and will be of low cost. The present paper deals with the technical aspects of recharge of the system, which, in contrast to the primary cell, is still in the laboratory engineering stage. The limitations of the system are discussed and the overall performance based on different parameters is given. A number of different economic options are examined.