Abstract:
A battery device utilizing oxidation and reduction reactions to produce electric potential includes a battery jar unit, an electrocatalytic unit, a buffer battery unit, and a rectifying and charging unit. The battery jar unit includes a salt solution as electrolyte, an anode formed of a metal not chemically reacting with the electrolyte, and a cathode formed of an electrically conductive carbon material having breathing pores, so that the carbon material breathes air and releases negative hydroxide ions when the air dissolves in the electrolyte. The electrocatalytic unit provides an electrochemical damping effect that catalyzes generation of electricity in the battery jar unit, and the rectifying and charging unit converts the generated AC current into DC current and charges the same to the buffer battery unit, so that an electricity-generating battery based on electrical resonance effect is formed. With these arrangements, a poison-free, waste-heat-free, noise-free and zero-emission self-power-generating battery is achieved.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a battery device utilizing oxidation and reduction reactions to produce electric potential, and more particular to a battery device that employs electrocatalytic technique to use positive electrochemical damping effect to cause oxidation reaction and generation of electricity, and use negative electrochemical damping effect to cause reduction reaction, so as to form a closed-loop physical resonance circuit in the battery to achieve one-hundred percent zero-pollution and zero-emission green energy source. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A fuel cell is a device that uses chemical reactions to generate electricity. In the fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen are directly combined to produce water, and energy released in the chemical reaction of forming water from hydrogen and oxygen is electric energy. Batteries can be generally divided into acid batteries and alkaline batteries. According to the Arrhenius Theory of acids and bases, a compound is alkaline if its water solution in an ionization process creates hydroxide ions (OH − ) without producing other anions. That is, an alkaline compound provides hydroxide ions (OH − ) or absorbs hydrogen ions (H + ). The ionization is a physical process of converting an atom or molecule into an ion under an energy effect. On the other hand, a compound is acid if its water solution has a hydrogen ion (H + ) concentration larger than that in pure water. That is, an acid compound, when dissolves in water, will release cations that all are hydrogen ions (H + ). Or, a compound that is an electron (e − ) acceptor is an acid compound. Thus, the oxygen ion (O 2   − ) is the conjugate base of the hydroxide ion (OH − ) as represented below: 
         [0000]      O 2   − +H 2 O→2OH − 
 
         [0003]    Please refer to  FIG. 2 . To use hydrogen and oxygen as the fuels in the electrochemical process of a fuel cell, first electrolyze pure water  20 . At this point, the anode releases electrons as an oxidation reaction and the cathode receives electrons as a reduction reaction. This process is referred to as an electrolysis reaction. In  FIG. 2 , the anode is formed of zinc oxide (ZnO)  21  and the cathode is a carbon rod  22 , and the arrow  23  indicates the charge flow direction. The reactions are represented by the following chemical equations: 
         [0000]      Anode: 2H 2 O→O 2 +4H + +4e − 
 
         [0000]      Cathode: 2H 2 O+2e − →H 2 +2OH − 
 
         [0000]      Overall electrolysis reaction: 2H 2 O→2H 2 +O 2  
 
         [0004]    In a reverse electrolysis reaction, hydrogen is added to the anode and oxygen is added to the cathode to produce pure water, electromotive force and heat (i.e. steam), as is found in a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell stack. The reactions are represented by the following chemical equations: 
         [0000]      Anode: H 2 →2H + +2e −  Ea: 0V
 
         [0000]      Cathode: O 2 +4H + +4e − →2H 2 O Ec: 1.22PV
 
         [0000]      Overall reverse electrolysis reaction: 2H 2 +O 2 →2H 2 O+heat Ec−Ea=1.22PV
 
         [0005]    The electrolysis is a chemical reaction indicating a process in which oxidation and reduction reactions occur at cathode and anode when an electrolyte is under an energy effect. In causing electrolysis in a metal-air fuel cell stack, when different metals are used as two electrodes, the battery is an acid battery; and when only one type of metal is used as one of the electrodes, the battery is an alkaline battery. Please refer to  FIG. 1 . The electrolysis process occurred in an alkaline zinc-air fuel cell stack is represented by the following chemical equations: 
         [0000]      Anode: Zn+2OH − →ZnO+H 2 O+2e −  Ea: 0V
 
         [0000]      Cathode: O 2 +2H 2 O+4e − →4OH −  Ec: 1.22PV
 
         [0000]      Charge reaction: 2Zn+O 2 →1ZnO Ec−Ea=1.22PV
 
         [0006]    In the above chemical reactions, there are produced electromotive force as well as pure water and heat; the electrolyte  10  is potassium hydroxide (KOH), and absorption of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) will occur in the process to cause failure of the fuel cell. In  FIG. 1 , the anode is a zinc plate  11 , and the cathode is a carbon rod  12 . In  FIG. 1 , the cathode is denoted by letter ‘K’ while the anode is denoted by letter ‘A’, and the arrow  13  indicates the electron flow direction. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a battery device that utilizes oxidation and reduction reactions to produce electric potential. The battery device includes a battery jar unit, an electrocatalytic unit, a buffer battery unit, and a rectifying and charging unit. 
         [0008]    The battery jar unit includes a salt solution as an electrolyte, an anode formed of a metal not chemically reacting with the electrolyte, and a cathode formed of an electrically conductive carbon material with breathing pores, so that the carbon material breathes air and releases negative hydroxide ions when the air dissolves in the electrolyte. 
         [0009]    The electrocatalytic unit is a catalyst producing an electrochemical damping effect and is used to catalyze oxidation reaction and reduction reaction in the battery jar unit. The electrocatalytic unit includes a pulse generator, an electron release circuit, and a charge release circuit. The pulse generator is able to generate positive and negative pulses; the positive pulse activates the charge release circuit to release charges, and the negative pulse activates the electron release circuit to release electrons. When the electrocatalytic unit releases electrons into the battery jar unit, a reverse electrolytic reduction reaction occurs in the battery jar unit to cause a potential difference between the anode and the cathode of the battery jar unit, and when the electrocatalytic unit releases charges into the battery jar unit, an electrolytic oxidation reaction occurs in the battery jar unit to cause a potential difference between the anode and the cathode of the battery jar unit. 
         [0010]    The buffer battery unit is a rechargeable battery that can be repeatedly charged and discharged. 
         [0011]    The rectifying and charging unit is capable of converting AC potential output by the battery jar unit into DC potential, and supplies the DC potential to the buffer battery unit for charging same. 
         [0012]    In implementing the present invention, the chemical damping effect of the electrons released by the electrocatalytic unit causes oxidation reaction and generation of electricity, and the chemical damping effect of the charges released by the electrocatalytic unit causes reduction reaction and generation of electricity. 
         [0013]    In the present invention, the charges and the electrons released by the electrocatalytic unit have a 180-degree phase difference between them. 
         [0014]    In the present invention, the electron release circuit of the electrocatalytic unit includes a transistor for converting frequency into electrons, an electrical damping resonant tank, and a booster transformer. 
         [0015]    In the present invention, the charge release circuit of the electrocatalytic unit includes a transistor for converting frequency into charges, an electrical damping resonant tank, and a booster transformer. 
         [0016]    According to the present invention, the metal for forming the anode of the battery jar unit is selected from the group consisting of copper, zinc, and lithium alloy. 
         [0017]    According to the present invention, the carbon material for forming the cathode of the battery jar unit is selected from the group consisting of graphite, carbon rod, carbon nanotubes, and carbon fibers. 
         [0018]    According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the electrolyte in the battery jar unit is neutral seawater. 
         [0019]    In an embodiment of the present invention, the buffer battery unit is selected from the group consisting of a rechargeable acid battery and a rechargeable alkaline battery. 
         [0020]    In another embodiment of the present invention, the buffer battery unit is selected from the group consisting of a rechargeable acid battery, a rechargeable alkaline battery, and a resonant battery formed by parallelly connecting a rechargeable acid battery and a rechargeable alkaline battery. 
         [0021]    In an embodiment of the present invention, the rectifying and charging unit is an AC to DC converter. 
         [0022]    And, in the present invention, the electrocatalytic unit obtains its operating power from the buffer battery unit. 
         [0023]    In brief, the battery device of the present invention utilizes oxidation and reduction reactions to produce electric potential. The battery device of the present invention employs the negative electrochemical damping effect produced by the electrocatalytic unit to cause the reduction reaction, so that a closed-loop physical resonance circuit is formed in the battery jar unit. Since chemical changes are replaced by physical reactions in the battery of the present invention, a one-hundred percent zero-pollution and zero-emission renewable or green energy source can be achieved. Moreover, the AC potential produced in the present invention through oxidation (charging) reaction and reduction (discharging) reaction can be converted by the rectifying and charging unit into DC potential, which is then supplied to the buffer battery unit for charging same, allowing the present invention to provide increased benefit of self-power generation. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0024]    The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein 
           [0025]      FIG. 1  is a conceptual diagram of zinc-air fuel cell stack; 
           [0026]      FIG. 2  is a conceptual diagram of a conventional hydrogen-oxygen generator; 
           [0027]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a battery device according to the present invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 4  is a conceptual diagram of a battery jar unit included in the battery device of the present invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 5  is a circuit diagram of an electrocatalytic unit included in the battery device of the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 6  is an equivalent-circuit diagram of a rechargeable acid battery; 
           [0031]      FIG. 7  is an equivalent-circuit diagram of a rechargeable alkaline battery; and 
           [0032]      FIG. 8  is an equivalent-circuit diagram of a resonating battery. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0033]    Please refer to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The present invention relates to a battery device that uses a metal-air fuel cell stack to generate renewable energy, and more particularly to a battery device that utilizes oxidation and reduction reactions to produce electric potential. As shown, in  FIG. 3 , the battery device according to the present invention includes a battery jar unit  30 , an electrocatalytic unit  40 , a rectifying and charging unit  50 , and a buffer battery unit  60 . 
         [0034]    The battery jar unit  30  includes a salt solution as an electrolyte  31 , an anode  32  formed of a metal that does not chemically react with the electrolyte  31 , and a cathode  33  formed of an electrically conductive carbon material having breathing pores. The carbon material is able to breathe air and to release hydroxide ions when the air dissolves in the electrolyte  31 . 
         [0035]    Please refer to  FIG. 5 . The electrocatalytic unit  40  is a catalyst producing electrochemical damping effect, and is used for catalyzing oxidation reaction and reduction reaction in the battery jar unit  30 . The electrocatalytic unit  40  releases electrons and charges into the battery jar unit  30 , so as to catalyze the oxidation reaction and reduction reaction in the battery jar unit  30 . When the electrocatalytic unit  40  releases charges into the battery jar unit  30 , an electrolytic oxidation reaction occurs in the battery jar unit  30  to cause a potential difference between the anode  32  and the cathode  33  of the battery jar unit  30 . And, when the electrocatalytic unit  40  releases electrons, a negative electrochemical damping effect occurs, enabling a reverse electrolytic reduction reaction to occur in the battery jar unit  30  and cause a potential difference between the anode  32  and the cathode  33  of the battery jar unit  30 . Due to the negative electrochemical damping effect that causes a reduction reaction, a closed-loop physical resonance circuit is formed in the battery jar unit  30  to thereby achieve a one-hundred percent zero-pollution and zero-emission renewable or green energy source. Wherein, the charges and electrons released by the electrocatalytic unit  40  have a 180-degree phase difference between them. 
         [0036]    The buffer battery unit  60  is a rechargeable battery that can be repeatedly charged and discharged. The rectifying and charging unit  50  converts alternating current (AC) potential output by the battery jar unit  30  into direct current (DC) potential, and supplies the DC potential to the buffer battery unit  60  for charging same. 
         [0037]    In the case of the known zinc-air fuel cell stack, the reverse electrolytic oxidation reaction shown in  FIG. 1  is a charge reaction as below: 
         [0000]      2Zn+O 2 →2ZnO Ec−Ea=1.22PV
 
         [0038]    And, the electrolytic reduction reaction showing in  FIG. 2  is a charge reaction as below: 
         [0000]      2H 2 O→2H 2 +O 2  
 
         [0039]    The present invention combines the above two charge reactions for them to occur in the same one battery jar unit  30 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . The electrolyte  31  is changed to neutral seawater, and the chemical oxidation and reduction reactions (i.e. electrolysis) are changed to ionization that is a physical reaction. That is, the charge phase and the discharge phase have a 180-degree phase difference between them, and are effected in the same one battery jar unit  30 . In the case of the known zinc-Air fuel cell stack, the anode  32  is zinc metal and the cathode  33  can be a carbon material capable of inhaling oxygen (O 2 ). When the battery jar unit  30  receives electrons, a reverse electrolytic reduction reaction occurs in the battery jar unit  30  to cause a potential difference between the anode  32  and the cathode  33  of the battery jar unit  30 . The reactions are represented by the following chemical equations: 
         [0000]      Anode: Zn+2OH−→ZnO+H 2 O+2e− Ea: 0V
 
         [0000]      Cathode: O 2 +2H 2 O+4e−→4OH− Ec: 1.22PV
 
         [0000]      Charge reaction: 2Zn+O 2 →1ZnO Ec−Ea=1.22PV
 
         [0040]    On the other hand, when the battery jar unit  30  receives charges (positive electricity), a reverse electrolytic oxidation reaction occurs in the battery jar unit  30  to cause a potential difference between the cathode  33  and the anode  32  of the battery jar unit  30 . The reactions are represented by the following chemical equations: 
         [0000]      Anode: ZnO+H + →Zn+H 2 O+2c +  Ea: 1.22PV
 
         [0000]      Cathode: O 2 +H 2 O+c + →H +  Ec: 0V
 
         [0000]      Charge reaction: 2ZnO→Zn+O 2  Ec−Ea=−1.22PV
 
         [0041]    As having been mentioned above, the electrocatalytic unit  40  is able to release electrons or charges into the battery jar unit  30  to thereby activate the oxidation reaction or the reduction reaction in the battery jar unit  30 . Thus, the electrons and the charges released from the electrocatalytic unit  40  are catalysts of the above-mentioned reduction reaction and oxidation reaction, respectively. 
         [0042]    Electricity is discharged in the catalytic processes of both the above-mentioned discharge reaction and charge reaction; the electricity discharged in the discharge reaction and the electricity discharged in the charge reaction are opposite in polarity; and there is a 180-degree phase difference between the charge phase and the discharge phase, which is controlled by the electrocatalytic unit  40 . That is, AC current is produced. The produced AC current is then converted by the rectifying and charging unit  50  into DC current, which can be supplied to the buffer battery unit  60  for charging same. 
         [0043]    Since the present invention places emphasis on physical reaction (i.e. ionization), an ion generator is required to complete the reaction. In the present invention, the electrocatalytic unit  40  is the required ion generator. The electrocatalytic unit  40  is able to release charges (i.e. positive ions) into the battery jar unit  30  to cause a charging effect in the latter. The electrocatalytic unit  40  is also able to release electrons (i.e. negative ions) into the battery jar unit  30  to cause a discharging effect in the latter. The electrocatalytic unit  40  can be referred to as an electrochemical damper. In the present invention, the electrocatalytic unit  40  includes a pulse generator  41 , a charge release circuit  42 , and an electron release circuit  43 . The pulse generator  41  is able to generate positive and negative pulses. The positive pulse activates the charge release circuit  42  to release charges, and the negative pulse activates the electron release circuit  43  to release electrons. The electron release circuit  43  includes a transistor  431  for converting frequency into electrons, an electrical damping resonant tank  432 , and a booster transformer  433 . The charge release circuit  42  includes a transistor  421  for converting frequency into charges, an electrical damping resonant tank  422 , and a booster transformer  423 . The transformer  433  of the electron release circuit  43  can output electrons at a negative ion output terminal  434 , and the transformer  423  of the charge release circuit  42  can output charges at a positive ion output terminal  424 . And, the transformers  433 ,  423  both output a neutral potential at a common neutron potential terminal  44 . Since the charging in the oxidation reaction and the discharging in the reduction reaction in electrochemistry must achieve charge conservation to be equivalent to the resonance effect in physics, it is necessary to apply the technique of infinite-order resonant tank, which is disclosed in Taiwan Patent No. 098128110 entitled “Super Inductor for Infinite-order Resonant Tank” granted to the same applicant, to the resonant tanks  422 ,  432  in the present invention for them to complete the positive electrochemical reaction and the negative electrochemical reaction. This process is referred to as electrocatalysis. Power needed by the electrocatalytic unit  40  can be supplied from points P and N of the buffer battery unit  60 . Electrons output by the electrocatalytic unit  40  can serve as a strong oxidizing agent and the charges output by the electrocatalytic unit  40  can serve as a strong reducing agent. The electron (negative ion) output terminal  434  and the charge (positive ion) output terminal  424  of the electrocatalytic unit  40  are extended into the battery jar unit  30 , and an electrode  34  made of carbon nanotubes, which are a dielectric material emitting intense electron current, is connected to the electrocatalytic unit  40 . When the positive and the negative booster transformer  423 ,  433  are off, an anti-electromotive force is induced. The induced anti-electromotive force resonates via the resonance tanks and the pulse generator  41  that generates positive and negative pulses, so that the quantity of ions produced can be controlled. Meanwhile, the resonance tanks  432 ,  422  can absorb the anti-electromotive force produced by the pulse generator  41  to enable stable operation of the electron release circuit  43  and the charge release circuit  42 . 
         [0044]    The buffer battery unit  60  can be a rechargeable acid battery  61  as shown in  FIG. 6 . The rechargeable acid battery  61  is composed of an equivalent inductor  611  and a capacitor  612 , and is of a parallel resonance circuit. Alternatively, the buffer battery unit  60  can be a rechargeable alkaline battery  62  as shown in  FIG. 7 . The rechargeable alkaline battery  62  is composed of an equivalent inductor  621  and a capacitor  622 , and is of a series resonance circuit. And, the buffer battery unit  60  may also be a resonant battery  63  formed by parallelly connecting the rechargeable acid battery  61  of  FIG. 6  and the rechargeable alkaline battery  62  of  FIG. 7 , a shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0045]    The charging and discharging behaviors in the known zinc-air battery all are chemical behaviors and that is why electrolysis and reverse electrolysis could not occur in the same one battery jar unit at the same time. In the process of oxidation and reduction reactions, an electrolytic solution, such as potassium hydroxide (KOH), directly participates in the reactions. In the case the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) occurs, poisoning and failure of the fuel cell stack would occur. Or, in the case the electrolytic solution is directly changed to a sodium chloride solution, chlorine, which is a poisoning gas, and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) will be produced in the process of electrolysis. However, in the oxidation (charge) reaction and the reduction (discharge) reaction according to the present invention, the electrolyte  31  is only used in physical reaction and does not participate in any chemical reaction. The electrolyte  31  does not include pure water, but can be neutral seawater solution. No hazardous gas would be produced in the oxidation and reduction reactions because the electrolyte  31  does not involve in any chemical reaction (i.e. electrolysis). The cathode  33  can be made of a material that does not participate in the reactions, such as graphite, carbon rod, carbon nanotubes, carbon fibers, etc. The metal anode  32  can be made of a metal material other than lithium, which easily chemically reacts with seawater. For example, the metal anode  32  can be made of copper or zinc. Alternatively, the metal anode  32  can be partially made of a lithium alloy. In the case of using physical reactions in the battery, the capacity density of the battery is determined by ions. Thus, so long as the ion solubility increases, the capacity density also increases even if the battery volume is reduced. 
         [0046]    In brief, the battery device of the present invention utilizes oxidation and reduction reactions to produce electric potential. The battery device of the present invention employs the negative electrochemical damping effect produced by the electrocatalytic unit to cause the reduction reaction, so that a closed-loop physical resonance circuit is formed in the battery jar unit. Since chemical changes are replaced by physical reactions in the battery of the present invention, a one-hundred percent zero-pollution and zero-emission renewable or green energy source can be achieved. Moreover, the AC potential produced in the present invention through oxidation (charging) reaction and reduction (discharging) reaction can be converted by the rectifying and charging unit into DC potential, which is then supplied to the buffer battery unit for charging same, allowing the present invention to provide increased benefit of self-power generation. 
         [0047]    The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.