Process Metallurgy and Electrochemistry of Molten Salts, Liquid Metal Batteries, and Extra-terrestrial Materials Processing: An EPD Symposium in Honor of Don Sadoway: Prof. Sadoway Honorary Session I
Sponsored by: TMS Extraction and Processing Division, TMS: Hydrometallurgy and Electrometallurgy Committee, TMS: Process Technology and Modeling Committee, TMS: Pyrometallurgy Committee
Program Organizers: Antoine Allanore, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Hojong Kim, Pennsylvania State University; Takanari Ouchi, University of Tokyo; Yasuhiro Fukunaka, JAXA/Waseda University
Wednesday 8:30 AM
February 26, 2020
Room: 14A
Location: San Diego Convention Ctr
Session Chair: Antoine Allanore, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Yasuhiro Fukunaka, JAXA/Waseda University
8:30 AM Introductory Comments
8:35 AM Invited
Better Living through Electrochemistry: A Career of Scientific Solutions and Pragmatism: Luis Ortiz1; 1LAO Consulting
Industry has many examples where the scientific approach has resulted in a pragmatic solution to problems that is unrelated to the original scientific thesis. This study examines instances in process electrometallurgy, battery energy storage and advanced ironmaking. While portraying the importance of the journey as well as the destination in scientific investigation -- it is important to recognize the time horizon it takes to bring materials innovations to market. This enterprise requires diligence and patience to realize progress and that is the hallmark of Professor Sadoway's career.
8:55 AM Cancelled
Electrolytic Metals/Alloys for Liquid Metal Batteries: Xianyang Li1; Huayi Yin; 1Northeastern University
Liquid metal batteries (LMBs) have been considered as a low-cost and large-scale stationary energy storage device. LMBs employ metalloids as the cathode of relatively low melting points, high electronegativity, and a higher density than molten salt electrolytes. Antimony (Sb) and Sb-based alloys shows superior battery performances. As we know, Sb, Pb, Bi are mainly found in the form of sulfides in the earth’s crust. Environmentally sound manners for extracting Sb, Pb, and Bi from their sulfides are the key to making green and sustainable electrode materials for LMBs. Herein, Sb, Bi, Pb and their alloys are directly prepared by the electrochemical reduction of liquid sulfides in high-temperature molten salts or solid sulfides in strong alkaline solutions. The electrolytic Sb and Sb-alloys are then employed as the cathode in LMBs. Therefore, we provide a straightforward electrolysis approach to converting sulfides to metals/alloys acting as the cathode for LMBs.
9:15 AM Invited
Fluid Mechanics of Liquid Metal Batteries: Overview and Outlook: Douglas Kelley1; 1University of Rochester
Donald Sadoway recognized the global need for grid-scale energy storage, and for a decade has led the world in developing liquid metal batteries. Realizing their full potential requires mastering not only materials selection but also mass transport. The fluid layers that make up liquid metal batteries are driven to flow by many mechanisms, including buoyant thermal convection, electromagnetic forces, Marangoni convection, interface waves, and bulk fluid instabilities. I will present an overview of the fluid mechanics of liquid metal batteries, including my team's studies of thermal convection and electrovortex flow, some in collaboration with Sadoway. I will conclude with reflections on technological implications and promising topics for future studies of fluid mechanics of liquid metal batteries.
9:35 AM Invited
Liquid Metal Batteries: From Concept to Commercialization: David Bradwell1; 1Ambri Inc.
The ‘Liquid Metal Battery’ promises to be a low cost and long lifespan battery for grid-scale energy storage applications, and the journey from the lab bench to a commercial product has been rewarding as well as challenging. After demonstrating a Mg||Sb cell chemistry in the research lab of Professor Sadoway at MIT, numerous new cell chemistries were developed and Ambri Inc. was created to finish development and commercialize the technology. This talk will share the journey from the initial concept at MIT, to early scientific studies and academic successes, to commercialization activities, pivots, and highlights from the commercialization efforts at Ambri.
9:55 AM Break
10:10 AM Invited
Know Your Audience: Four Decades of Educational Innovation: Elsa Olivetti1; 1Massachusetts Institute of Technology
From kinetics to solid state chemistry and the nuance of technical communication, this presentation will cover the tremendous impact Donald Sadoway has had on teaching in the scientific domain. Sadoway has pioneered educational approaches that have fully engage generations raised on Sesame Street or by their mobile devices. This presentation will reflect on Sadoway’s capacity to convey concepts to a broad range of backgrounds, integrate history, art and the social sciences into scientific content, incorporate library research skills into large lecture-based courses, and transform each teaching opportunity into an educational innovation from which we all benefit.
10:30 AM Invited
Lithium Metal Battery for Future Energy Storage: Y. Shirley Meng1; 1University of California, San Diego
Inactive lithium (Li) formation is the immediate cause of capacity loss and catastrophic failure of Li metal batteries (LMBs). Using cryogenic electron microscopies to further reveal the micro- and nanostructure of inactive Li, we identified two ways for deposited metallic Li to lose electronic connections with the bulk electrode, thus becoming electrochemically inactive. By establishing a new analytical method, Titration Gas Chromatography (TGC), we accurately quantify the contribution from unreacted metallic Li to the total amount of inactive Li. We identify the unreacted metallic Li, rather than the (electro)chemically formed Li+ in SEI, as the dominating cause for the inactive Li and capacity loss in LMBs, clearing the long-term misconception in the field that the low CE is caused by the continuous repairing of SEI fracture which consumes both electrolyte and active Li. We ultimately propose strategies for highly efficient Li deposition and stripping to enable Li metal batteries.
10:50 AM Invited
Titanium Extraction from Industrial Raw Material to Metal through Carbothermic Reduction and Molten Salts Electrolysis: Hongmin Zhu1; Shuqiang Jiao2; Jun Zhu2; Jiusan Xiao2; 1Thohoku University; 2University of Science and Technology, Beijing
Titanium extraction process from industrial raw material to metallic titanium through carbothermic reduction and molten salt electrolysis was proposed. The industrial raw material includes rutile, concentrate slage and ilmenite. By the carbotheric reduction, the content of iron and titanium in the raw material can be reduced to metallic Fe, and titanium oxycarbide (TiCxO1-x). Iron and titanium oxycarbide can separated through magnetic separation, and acid leaching. Through the electrolysis using titanium oxycarbide as anode, metallic titanium with high purity was obtained.
11:10 AM Invited
Study of Electrode Performance Improvement with Infiltration of Electronic and Mixed-conducting Nanoparticles Employing Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy and I-V Measurements: Uday Pal1; Paul Gasper1; Yanchen Lu1; Srikanth Gopalan1; Soumendra Basu1; 1Boston University
Nickel-Ytrria Stabilized Zirconia (Ni-YSZ) cermets are used as fuel oxidation anodes in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). In this work, SOFCs with Ni-YSZ anodes were infiltrated separately with nanoparticles of nickel, mixed-conducting gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC), and Ni-GDC composites. Their electrochemical performances were evaluated under different conditions employing impedance spectroscopy and I-V measurements and compared with an uninfiltrated Ni-YSZ anode cell. All infiltrated cells showed improved performances compared to the uninfiltrated cell, with the Ni-GDC composite infiltration demonstrating the highest performance improvement under all conditions. The roles of the various infiltrants in the performance improvement process were analyzed in terms of their impact on charge and mass transfer resistances of the anode to explain the results.