Lead and zinc due to mineral often associated, and to maintain a high approximate price movements, and thus can be said that the twin brother of the metal industry. The original differences of theTK330 battery two metal use to determine their spheres, but the recent rapid development as the zinc-air battery, the previous loser late or face a final showdown.
Highlight the advantages of zinc-air battery technology
The zinc-air battery, also known as zinc oxide battery, activated carbon adsorption in the air, oxygen or oxygen as the cathode active material and zinc as the anode and electrolyte of a primary cell, ammonium chloride or caustic solution. Conventional batteries, especially compared with the lead-acid batteries, zinc air batteries, there are many advantages.
First of all, green is a bright spot, known as environment-friendly new energy in the 21st century. Zinc air batteries are not toxic heavy metals lead, mercury, cadmium and other heavy and therefore less pollution of the environment, without the risk of explosion, safe and reliable. Second, low cost, storage. Raw materials, mainly oxygen in the air and the low price of zinc, therefore the material easy to get. And its capacity is 3-10 times higher than other batteries. Such as the monomer of the 300 security cylinder type zinc air batteries, the weight of only 0.75kg, the same weight of lead-acid batteries is greater than 8kg. Compared with the currently mainstream lithium car battery, the data show that the 180 kg weight of zinc-air battery can produce 44 kwh of electricity and a range of 350 km, while the same power lithium battery weight of 360 kg. Finally, the charge outstanding advantages. Most of the storage batteries frequently charged shortcomings, particularly the lead-acid batteries can not be long-term depth of discharge, the charge for a long time, causing much inconvenience to the customer. Some models of the zinc-air battery is not the battery, but the use of zinc and air directly to electricity generation. Simply put, the battery is exhausted, the user can simply replace the encapsulated zinc powder, you can re-use, replacement can be completed within three minutes.
The zinc-air battery technology breakthrough, zinc demand structure facing adjustment
Although the advantages of zinc-air battery is more, but after some technical reasons and industrial production did not reach the scale, therefore the zinc-air battery has been only as a concept, the practical application of less. In recent years, with the zinc-air battery technology continues to improve, its getting closer and away from the actual large-scale production applications. Recently, the U.S. EOS storage company in New York (the EOS Energy Storage) claimed that they have developed a more green zinc-air battery. A 0.3-kW battery 2700 times charge-discharge performance degradation. With the ultimate goal is to achieve 10,000 cycles, in the power grid energy storage products to maintain the life of 30 years.
Domestically, in 2011 the first zinc-air electric buses officially off the assembly line, It is learned that this zinc-air battery electric city buses per one charge can travel about 300 kilometers, a top speed of 80 kilometers per hour, and its operating costs traditional lithium battery electric vehicles, a third lower. In addition, the zinc-air battery base, Wuhan Hong Yuan Weili New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. was in October 2010 start, the zinc-air battery products have been put into trial production stage. The company will be the fastest 2012 production of new energy battery, power batteries annually for 10,000 pure electric bus, the production value of up to 3 billion yuan to enter the stage of large-scale production, which marks the zinc-air battery.
According to the Ministry of Planning, the next 10 years will invest over 100 billion yuan of funds used to support the production of energy-saving and new energy vehicles, making China the world's largest producing countries of new energy vehicles. However, the current in the field of new energy vehicle development, battery power used by the pure electric bus is basically a lithium battery. Lithium battery is a battery belonging to the charge nature of the assembly to 12m-class bus every day to the professional charging station Oki, with the large flow of direct current, charging time is spend at least more than three hours, if the AC charge to use at least 5-6 more than an hour. The lead-acid battery is mainly used in electric bicycles, electric vehicles on the application of technology is still immature. From the technical prospects in terms of the zinc-air battery late in the race of the new energy automobile market will prevail. And as the technology is maturing, or implied in the era of zinc-air battery is already open.
Lead-acid battery is the main demand of the downstream of the lead ingots, and in recent years, increasing the proportion of total lead demand structure maintained at about 80 percent in 2011. The main application of our lead-acid batteries in electric bicycles, 97.5 percent of the electric bicycle with lead-acid batteries, lead-acid battery life is short, serious environmental pollution. It is reported that in 2011 more than "blood lead level events and environmental remediation resulted in more than 80% of the lead-acid battery enterprises were shut down or in shutdown state.
The recent developed jointly by the State Environmental Protection Ministry and the Ministry of the lead-acid battery industry access conditions is expected to introduce the access conditions to engage in lead-acid battery production, recycling processing business intelligence, size and financial strength makes provision will be limited to low-level low-tech projects to improve the industry threshold, the 2000-3000 waste battery recycling business may be due to the threshold limit is streamlined to 200 to 300, has shrunk to 90 percent. Another that the Shanghai area, or take other measures, and took the lead out of lead-acid batteries. Development of a total ban on lead-acid battery electric bike on the road of implementation of the program in 3-5 years, and to develop and adopt other new energy, such as lithium batteries, Ni-H batteries, zinc air batteries. Overall lead-acid batteries are not environment-friendly new energy policy has many limitations, so nearly to two years and demand prospects can be imagined.
From historical data, 2006 Lun zinc was higher than the LME Lead more than $ 3,000 / ton, but then by the strength of lead and zinc demand and supply side of change, the rapid rise in LME Lead prices, and exceed the Lun zinc $ 900 / t. But the current fundamental analysis, the recent low zinc prices, smelter operating rates sharply lower part of the new projectreplacement WR050 has been delayed, zinc production capacity expansion was inhibited significantly. In China, during the second five zinc production is limited to around 7.2 million tons, and clearly out of backward production capacity of 400,000 tons. Demand on the Chinese economy as a whole to run high and the process of urbanization will make zinc demand outlook remains optimistic, large-scale production of zinc-air battery market for zinc demand space unlimited imagination. But the lead is because of the pollution of heavy metals, restructuring and environmental governance as the main context of non-ferrous metals in the fifth period in China, the supply and demand material will be subject to certain restrictions. Eroded will cause re-conversion of lead and zinc supply and demand side, lead and zinc weak situation of the post-zinc-air batteries lead-acid battery industry, or rewritten.