Alexander eng ?

12 ChemlsLry nS8PS
age of

Investigate tbe structure and cbemistry of a dry cell and evaluate it in
comparison to a fuel cell in terms of cbemistry, cost and practicality,
impact on society, environmental impact.
Dry {Leclancbe] Cell
Structure
@he poslLlve Lermlnal ls a graphlLe rod Lhrough Lhe
baLLery emerglng aL one end
@he negaLlve Lermlnal ls Lhe zlnc cyllnder (Lhe ouLslde
of Lhe baLLery)
@here ls an lnsulaLlng seal aL Lhe Lop end Lo prevenL Lhe
zlnc cyllnder from comlng lnLo conLacL wlLh Lhe
graphlLe rod
8eLween Lhe rod and Lhe caslng Lhere ls a molsL pasLe conLalnlng manganese dloxlde (MnC
2
)
carbon (C) ammonlum chlorlde (nP
4
Cl) and once Lhe reacLlon aL Lhe anode has begun ever
lncreaslng amounLs of ZnCl
2


Chem|stry
AL Lhe anode Lhe zlnc ouLer caslng oxldlses as ammonlum Lakes elecLrons from Lhe zlnc loslng lLs
bond Lo lLs chlorlde anlon Lo zlnc
Zn
(s)

Zn
2+
(aq)
+ 2e

AL Lhe cathode Lhe pasLe around Lhe graphlLe rod reduces as follows
2MnC
2(s)
+ 2nP
4
+
(aq)
+2e

Mn
2
C
3(s)
+ 2nP
3(aq)
+ P
2
C
(l)
@he overa|| react|on ls
Zn
(s)
+ 2 nP
4
+
(aq)
+ 2 MnC
2(s)
Zn
2+
(aq)
+ Mn
2
C
3(s)
+ 2 nP
3(aq)
+ P
2
C
(l)

@he elecLrolyLe ls Lhe ammonlum chlorlde ln Lhe pasLe @he dry cell has a maxlmum poLenLlal of
148v
uel Cell {witb alkaline electrolyte]
Structure
A fuel cell ls a chamber for Lhe reacLlon of gaseous
reacLanLs lL conLalns porous caLalyLlc anode and
caLhodes made of plaLlnum or nlckel ln Lhe mosL
common fuel cell Lhe hydrogenoxygen fuel cell
oxygen ls reduced aL Lhe caLhode and hydrogen ls
2ocl
2
(op) fotms os o ptoJoct of tbe teoctloo so
moy olso be llsteJ os cooteots of poste

Alexander eng ?12 ChemlsLry nS8PS
age of

oxldlsed aL Lhe anode 8eLween Lhe elecLrodes ls an elecLrolyLlc soluLlon whlch can be elLher acldlc
or alkallne however ln Lhls example ls Lhe alkallne oLasslum Pydroxlde (kCP) @he elecLrodes have
small pores on Lhe lnner slde wlLh surface Lenslon keeplng Lhe soluLlon from flowlng Lhrough Cn
Lhe ouLer slde larger pores are used Lo allow more gas Lo dlffuse
Chem|stry
AL Lhe anode ox|dat|on of hydrogen occurs
P
2(g)
+ 2CP

(aq)
2P
2
C
(l)
+ 2e

AL Lhe cathode reduct|on of oxygen occurs
C
2(g)
+ 2P
2
C
(l)
+ 4e

4CP

(aq)
@he overa|| react|on ls
2P
2(g)
+ C
2(g)
2P
2
C
(l)

@he LheoreLlcal maxlmum emf ls 123 volLs however Lhls ls dlfflculL Lo aLLaln as Lhe CP

lons
released aL Lhe caLhode musL move Lo Lhe anode @he speed aL whlch Lhey do so ls Lhe llmlLlng facLor
for emf
valuation & Comparison
Cr|ter|a Dry Ce|| (Lec|anche) Iue| Ce|| (nydrogenCxygen)
Chem|stry O Zlnc Anode (zlnc oxldlses lnLo zlnc
chlorlde
(aq)
ln Lhe pasLe)
O raphlLe CaLhode (Manganese ln
pasLe around rod Lakes elecLrons
from rod formlng Mn
2
C
3(s)
)
O lecLrolyLe ls Ammonlum Chlorlde
O Maxlmum emf of 148v
O nlckel or laLlnum porous caLalyLlc
elecLrodes
O AL Lhe anode hydrogen gas
oxldlses wlLh hydroxlde lnLo waLer
O AL Lhe caLhode oxygen gas
reduces reacLlng wlLh waLer Lo
form hydroxlde
O lecLrolyLe ls oLasslum Pydroxlde
O Maxlmum emf of 123v (hard Lo
aLLaln due Lo llmlLlng facLors of
speed of CP

mlgraLlon and
reacLlons on elecLrodes
Cost and
ract|ca||ty
O ComparaLlvely cheap
O very porLable
O Dse for low energy appllances eg
clocks calculaLors
O ShorL shelf llfe as Lhe zlnc anode
reacLs wlLh ammonlum lons even
when noL ln use whlch can cause
deLerloraLlon and leakage
O lf currenL ls drawn rapldly nP
3(g)

bullds up causlng a volLage drop
O nonrechargeable shorL llfespan
O ow amounL of elecLrlclLy for lLs
slze
O xLremely expenslve
O CperaLes lndeflnlLely as elecLrodes
do noL undergo chemlcal change
O fflclenL converslon of chemlcal
energy Lo elecLrlcal energy (80
100 efflclency)
O uel (pure hydrogen gas) ls noL
wldely avallable
O roducLlon of excess waLer dlluLes
Lhe elecLrolyLe meanlng Lhe
concenLraLlon of Lhe salL musL be
gradually replaced
Alexander eng ?12 ChemlsLry nS8PS
age of

mpact on
Soc|ety
O ry cells allow devlces requlrlng
elecLrlcal power Lo be easlly moved
and Lo be locaLed away from
permanenL power sources (power
polnLs) Dsed ln Lorches porLable
radlos Loys eLc
O uel cells are used ln spacecrafL
programs due Lo Lhe low mass and
hlgh fuel efflclency necessary for a
launch
nv|ronmenta|
mpact
O @he dry cell ls nonrechargeable
and has a shorL llfespan and musL
be dlscarded once dead @herefore
a large amounL of dry cells end up
ln landflll and lf lmproperly
dlsposed of Lhe zlnc caslng ls a
heavy Loxlc meLal Lo some specles
O eakage can occur as Lhe zlnc
caslng reacLs wlLh Lhe ammonlum
pasLe lf handled Lhls leakage can
be Loxlc
O AlmosL compleLely envlronmenLally
frlendly as Lhe cell lLself ls
compleLely reusable and Lhe fuel lL
uses reacLs Lo form heaL and waLer
whlch are envlronmenLally frlendly

Summary @he dry cell ls a cheap power source LhaL allows many low power appllances Lo operaLe
away from exLernal power sources Powever lL ls envlronmenLally unsound poLenLlally hazardous Lo
healLh and degrades even when noL ln use ln conLrasL Lhe fuel cell ls an expenslve albelL llghL and
efflclenL and envlronmenLally frlendly due Lo lLs reusablllLy and envlronmenLally frlendly producLs
LhaL has allowed man Lo Lravel lnLo ouLer space because of lLs hlgh mass Lo energy ouLpuL raLlo