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An Environmental and Economic Analysis of The Near Future of Lithium Ion Batteries

Description

Lithium ion batteries are quintessential components of modern life. They are used to power smart devices — phones, tablets, laptops, and are rapidly becoming major elements in the automotive industry. Demand projections for lithium are skyrocketing with production struggling to keep up pace. This drive is due mostly to the…

Lithium ion batteries are quintessential components of modern life. They are used to power smart devices — phones, tablets, laptops, and are rapidly becoming major elements in the automotive industry. Demand projections for lithium are skyrocketing with production struggling to keep up pace. This drive is due mostly to the rapid adoption of electric vehicles; sales of electric vehicles in 2020 are more than double what they were only a year prior. With such staggering growth it is important to understand how lithium is sourced and what that means for the environment. Will production even be capable of meeting the demand as more industries make use of this valuable element? How will the environmental impact of lithium affect growth? This thesis attempts to answer these questions as the world looks to a decade of rapid growth for lithium ion batteries.
ContributorsMelton, John (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Karwat, Darshawn (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Analysis of Various Renewable Energy Systems as a Potential Replacement to Industrial Diesel Engine Systems [CLOSED DEFENSE]

Description

This thesis explores the investigation of the project “Designing for a Post-Diesel Engine World”, a collaborative experiment between organizations within Arizona State University and an undisclosed company. This investigation includes the analysis of various renewable energy technologies and their potential to replace industrial diesel engines as used in the company’s…

This thesis explores the investigation of the project “Designing for a Post-Diesel Engine World”, a collaborative experiment between organizations within Arizona State University and an undisclosed company. This investigation includes the analysis of various renewable energy technologies and their potential to replace industrial diesel engines as used in the company’s business. In order to be competitive with diesel engines, the technology should match or exceed diesel in power output, have reduced environmental impact, and meet other criteria standards as determined by the company. The team defined the final selection criteria as: low environmental impact, high efficiency, high power, and high technology readiness level. I served as the lead Hydrogen Fuel Cell Researcher and originally hypothesized that PEM fuel cells would be the most viable solution. Results of the analysis led to PEM fuel cells and Li-ion batteries being top contenders, and the team developed a hybrid solution incorporating both of these technologies in a technical and strategic solution. The resulting solution design from this project has the potential to be modified and implemented in various industries and reduce overall anthropogenic emissions from industrial processes.
ContributorsFernandez, Alexandra Marie (Author) / Heller, Cheryl (Thesis director) / Smith, Tyler (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Creating a Lithium Ion Battery Separator for Stretchable Electronics

Description
This thesis research project seeks to provide an investigation to find the most appropriate organogel serving as a lithium ion battery separator that is compatible with stretchable electronics. Separators play a key role in all batteries. Their main function is to keep the positive and negative electrodes apart to prevent…

This thesis research project seeks to provide an investigation to find the most appropriate organogel serving as a lithium ion battery separator that is compatible with stretchable electronics. Separators play a key role in all batteries. Their main function is to keep the positive and negative electrodes apart to prevent electrical short circuits and at the same time allow rapid transport of ionic charge carriers that are needed to complete the circuit during the passage of current in an electrochemical cell [1].Li-ion batteries have become important in the field of electronic industry due to their advantages like compactness, lightweight, high operational voltage and providing highest energy density. Typical Li-ion battery has a cathode (LiCoO2, LiMnO2, LiFePO4 etc.), an anode (graphite, graphene, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, lithium titanium oxides etc.) and a separator [1]. The separator provides an electrical insulation between anode and cathode and allows ion transfer during operation. It also plays a significant role in determining battery performance. The performance of the Li-ion battery separator is determined by several factors such as permeability, porosity, electrolyte uptake capacity, mechanical, thermal and chemical stability. Several commercially available polymers have been used as separators and the most common polymers are poly(ethylene), poly(propylene), poly (ethylene oxide), poly(acrylonitrile), poly (methyl methacrylate) and poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) [3]. In this project, organogels were chosen because of their flexible, semi-permeable and reliable bendable characteristics which becomes useful in stretchable batteries. The first part is to use Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) which belongs to a group of polymeric organosilicon compounds that are commonly referred to as silicones, then mixed with hexane and sucrose solvents to make the required organogel. Different organogels from PDMS and Dragon skin in different amounts and conditions were created and tested to see what works best in stretchable lithium batteries, thus improving the battery’s efficiency and life cycle. Ion conductivity values were obtained after running the Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Test. Graphs produced after this test proved that the most effective combination to use was at a porosity of 0.8, at a ratio of Sucrose: PDMS wt Ratio of 5: 0.764 respectively. The future endeavors of this project will involve working with reduced cell thickness so as to reduce the overall distance traveled by the ions, which also reduces the overall cost of making each separator.
ContributorsMatsika, Clive (Author) / Jiang, Hanqing (Thesis director) / Phelan, Patrick (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Safe Fire-resistant Electrolytes for Lithium-ion Batteries

Description
Lithium-ion batteries that employ an electrolyte consisting of LiFSI and TMP are shown to have better cycle performance than conventional carbonate electrolyte batteries at elevated temperatures. Additionally, an inorganic alumina or silica separator also improves cycling performance at high temperatures. Half-cells of Li metal and Li2TiO3 were constructed with LiFSI/TMP…

Lithium-ion batteries that employ an electrolyte consisting of LiFSI and TMP are shown to have better cycle performance than conventional carbonate electrolyte batteries at elevated temperatures. Additionally, an inorganic alumina or silica separator also improves cycling performance at high temperatures. Half-cells of Li metal and Li2TiO3 were constructed with LiFSI/TMP electrolyte and inorganic separators and cycled at increasing temperatures. Their cycle performance was compared to batteries with the same anode and cathode material that were prepared with conventional components. Half-cells using either the novel electrolyte or inorganic separators were able to continue cycling at temperatures up to 80 ℃, long after the conventionally prepared batteries had failed. A cell with a combination of the LiFSI/TMP electrolyte and silica separator still showed 75% capacity retention after 10 cycles at 85 ℃ as well.
ContributorsHait, Liam Bennett (Author) / Lin, Jerry (Thesis director) / Rafiz, Kishen (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Lithium in EV Supply Chains: Charting a Path for Lithium Into the Future

Description

The project goal is aimed to research the most pressing issues facing the lithium supply chain today. It then is tasked with charting a path into the future through strategic recommendations that will help reduce risk, and make a greener, cleaner, and more ethical supply chain.

ContributorsLeeson, Van (Author) / Kelman, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Wiedmer, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2022-05

The Trade-Offs of Transitioning to Electric Vehicles

Description
This report discusses the trade-offs of electric vehicles at both the macro-level and the consumer-level. The idea of this project is to address the factors that will affect many people, which are the macro-level trade-offs. Consumer-level trade-offs will address the concerns that individual consumers have when buying a car. The…

This report discusses the trade-offs of electric vehicles at both the macro-level and the consumer-level. The idea of this project is to address the factors that will affect many people, which are the macro-level trade-offs. Consumer-level trade-offs will address the concerns that individual consumers have when buying a car. The macro-level trade-offs that are discussed include batteries versus engines, increased weight, and strain on the power grid. Consumer-level trade-offs include price, maintenance, cost of ownership, and safety. Electric cars are the future, and although the report points out a lot of potential issues, it is not meant to detract from the adoption of electric vehicles. There are so many possibilities regarding the future of the car industry and there is a lot to look forward to despite the current and future issues that will be encountered.
ContributorsNewcomb, Matthew (Author) / Carter, Craig (Thesis director) / Arrfelt, Mathias (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2022-12