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View Full Version : Solid Polymer Electrolytes



keiththevp
01-05-2009, 12:07 AM
Has anyone tried this or know where you can buy some? Sounds interesting from the information I have found so far .... Basically from the little I know you would just use these pieces of special conductive platic in a bath of water and they replace the KOH and 316ss, as well as being solid state so they don't allow any of the electrolyte into the gas stream and are said to last at least 3 years.

Painless
01-05-2009, 11:58 AM
Sounds interesting, wonder if the resistance is higher or lower with the plastic? I've heard that there are some types of neoprene that are conductive.

keiththevp
01-05-2009, 01:35 PM
Still reading and learning but apperantly they mix the plastic with fine particles of metal like LI inorder to make it conductive. A good example of this is the lithium polymer batteries that are avaliable today. But what drives me nuts is there always seems to be an abundance of information on creating electricity from electrolysis but never the reverse, creating the gas.

keiththevp
01-05-2009, 02:05 PM
OK I finally found at least one company that offers this product but WOW is it expensive!!

www.ion-power.com

They have a NAFION polymer originally made by Dupont coated in a catalyst. Apperently the idea is you would take ti or ss screens in place of your plates and then use this membrane in the middle. Then you would drop this into a bath of distilled water NO electrolyte.

Now the rep at ion-power says it produces 7cc of gas per cm2 but I have no idea whether this is a lot or a little? Either way these membranes only come in 5cm x 5cm squares. That would definately be the smallest cell i have made yet.

Now remember the biggest advantage to this tech is there is NO electrolyte added and because the catalyst is a solid state it does not leak into the gas and corode your engine. No need for all those scrubbers and filters to remove the gas. Also I am still looking into the version that has the electrode built in and apparently that polymer only conducts electricity at efficiently at 140 F which is perfect for us.

Let me know what you guys think since I have been trying to figure out a good way to clean the gas that comes out of these dry cells for some time now and the bubblers and filters that need constant flushing or replacement just don't seem like the right answer.