Produzione di membrane elettrolitiche per sistemi di accumulo elettrico ZEBRA

ZEBRA batteries (Zero Emission Battery Research Activities), due to their high energy and power density, are one of the best solutions to the actual energy demand for stationary application and to the sustainable mobility with electric and hybrid cars. These systems are based on nickel-sodium chloride cells operating at high temperatures (about 270°C-350°C), enclosed in a thermal container and uses a ceramic ?"-alumina tube as solid electrolyte. The ceramic process needed to produce the electrolytic compartment has a key role to enhance and adapt the batteries performances to the specific requirements for stationary regime applications. Each minimal composition or process deviation strongly influences the final properties of the device. Aim of this activity was the ad-hoc study of the productive process, from the powders synthesis to their forming and sintering needed to obtain ?"-alumina membranes with suitable morphological-structural characteristics. The research was deeply focused onto the analysis of the materials sintering behavior, on the study of reactive sintering processes and how the thermal treatments could influence the chemical-structural properties of the material. The optimization of the entire ceramic process leaded to the production of a full density material with chemical-microstructural properties suitable for high efficiency batteries