Electrical Cells and Battery

Electrical Cell:Electrical Cell is a power generating device which converts the stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Is it the combination of electrodes and electrolytes , where a difference of certain electric potential is established between the electrodes as a result of the chemical reaction between the electrodes and electrolytes.

The difference in the electric potential between electrodes in an electrical cell depends upon the types of electrolytes and electrodes used.
In electronic circuits and diagrams an electrical cell is denoted by the following symbol:


Some examples of electrical cells are: Nickle-Cadmium cell, Lead-Acid cell, Fuel cell etc.

Types of Cell:

The Electrical Cells can be divided into the following four categories based on their packaging and shapes:

And based on the Electrical properties of the cell, Cells can can divided into following four categories:

Cylindrical Cell:
Button Cell:
Prismatic Cell:
 Pouch Cell:

1. Primary Cell:

An Electrical cell which is powered by the irreversible chemical reaction is called Primary Cell. Since the primary cell is powered by irreversible  chemical reaction , It cannot be recharged after being used so it can be used only once and need to be disposed off after single use. Most of the primary cell contains their electrolytes in solid form absorbed within some absorbent material so these kind of cells are also called Dry Cell.

2. Secondary Cell:

The Electrical Cell which can be electrically recharged after being used is called secondary cell. These kind of cells are powered by reversible chemical reaction and the state of Electrodes and Electrolyte can be reversed to it’s original form by applying external power source after being used. Secondary Cells usually have high discharge rate performance compared to Primary cell, and can be used with high loads that requires good discharge rate performance.

3. Reserve Cell:

The types of cells where one of the key components of the cell is separated from the rest of the components until activated manually or by some automatic means is called reserve cell. These kinds of cell remains deactivated and nonfunctional until it is activated manually or by some means like heat , water or other means. One example is thermal cell where the electrolyte remains inactive in it’s solid form until the heat applied melts the electrolyte to activate the cell.

4. Fuel Cell:

A Fuel Cell is the kind of cell where the chemical energy from a fuel fed into the cell is converted into electrical energy through a chemical reaction with oxidizing agent. The fuel that is fed into a fuel cell can be Hydrogen , Hydrocarbons, Natural gas etc. A fuel cell can produce electricity as long as the fuel and the oxidizing agent is fed into the fuel cell.

Battery:

A single unit of electro-chemical generator is known as Electrical Cell, While the combination of several such units connected electrically is known as a Battery. Several cells are combined and connected electrically in series or parallel to form a battery which have two main terminal electrodes one Positive and one Negative. The electrical potential difference between the two main electrodes depends upon the numbers of cells , types of cells and the types of combination used to form the battery.
In electronic circuits and diagrams an electrical battery is denoted by the following symbol:

Types of Battery:

Based on the electric properties batteries can be classified into two main groups:

Primary Battery:

Primary battery is the type of battery which is made up of primary cells. The energy is inherently present in the cells of Primary Battery. These kind of batteries are non-rechargeable and are for single time use. Examples of primary battery are: Leclanche  battery, zinc-chlorine battery, alkaline-magnese battery, metal air battery etc.

Secondary Battery:

Secondary battery is the type of battery which is made up of secondary cells. The energy is induced in the chemicals of the cells of the secondary battery by applying external energy or sources prior to using it. Examples of secondary battery are: lead-acid battery , nickel cadmium battery, nickle-iron battery etc.
Secondary cells are used in a variety of places due to it’s chemical and physical properties. The secondary batteries can also be classified into following types based on their use:

1. Automotive / SLI / Portable Batteries.

These kind of batteries are used in automobiles and portable systems. The battery is used for Starting , Lighting & Ignition ( SLI ) in automobiles. Examples of Automotive or SLI or Portable batteries are: lead-acid batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries etc.

2. Vehicle Traction / Motive Power / Industries Batteries.

These kind of batteries are used to power battery powered vehicles or to power various high power devices in industries. These kinds of batteries have high energy density in the range of 100-120 WattHour / Kilo Gram. Batteries like Lead-acid batteries, nickle-iron batteries silver-zinc batteries etc falls in this kind and also various high-temperature batteries are under development which also falls under this kind of batteries.

3. Stationary Batteries.

These kinds of batteries are used in stationary systems, Such as standby power systems and load-leveling systems. These kind of batteries are used to store power when load is low or extra power is available and provide extra power to the system when load is very high or no power is available.