Lecture

Thermodynamic Energy Conversion: Chemical to Electrical

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Description

This lecture covers the conversion of chemical energy into electrical work, focusing on topics such as open circuit voltage, free enthalpy of reaction, lithium batteries, experimental determination of reaction variables, non-adiabatic systems, lead-acid accumulators, and fuel cells. It also explains the concept of electrical work in the context of batteries and the Faraday constant, electron involvement in reactions, and the derivation of Gibbs free energy in different scenarios. The lecture concludes with a discussion on a sustainable program for higher education in Africa.

In MOOC

Thermodynamics I

Professor J.-Ph. Ansermet from EPFL and his collaborator Dr. Sylvain Bréchet have brought together all the fundamental principles of thermodynamics in four lessons. The second part of the MOOC illustrates the thermodynamic approach through a series of applications presented by specialists from various partner institutions in the RESCIF network. The aim of the course is to help students understand and apply the fundamental concepts of thermodynamics. Following a presentation of the first and second princi

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Energy engineering

Energy storage: Topics in energy storage

Physics

Thermodynamics: Statistical mechanics

Related concepts (32)

Thermodynamic system

A thermodynamic system is a body of matter and/or radiation, considered as separate from its surroundings, and studied using the laws of thermodynamics. Thermodynamic systems may be isolated, closed, or open. An isolated system exchanges no matter or energy with its surroundings, whereas a closed system does not exchange matter but may exchange heat and experience and exert forces. An open system can interact with its surroundings by exchanging both matter and energy.

Gibbs free energy

In thermodynamics, the Gibbs free energy (or Gibbs energy as the recommended name; symbol ) is a thermodynamic potential that can be used to calculate the maximum amount of work, other than pressure-volume work, that may be performed by a thermodynamically closed system at constant temperature and pressure. It also provides a necessary condition for processes such as chemical reactions that may occur under these conditions. The Gibbs free energy is expressed as where p is pressure, T is the temperature, U is the internal energy, V is volume, H is the enthalpy, and S is the entropy.

Electric battery

A battery is a source of electric power consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections for powering electrical devices. When a battery is supplying power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its negative terminal is the anode. The terminal marked negative is the source of electrons that will flow through an external electric circuit to the positive terminal. When a battery is connected to an external electric load, a redox reaction converts high-energy reactants to lower-energy products, and the free-energy difference is delivered to the external circuit as electrical energy.

Chemical energy

Chemical energy is the energy of chemical substances that is released when the substances undergo a chemical reaction and transform into other substances. Some examples of storage media of chemical energy include batteries, food, and gasoline (as well as oxygen gas, which is of high chemical energy due to its relatively weak double bond and indispensable for chemical-energy release in gasoline combustion). Breaking and re-making chemical bonds involves energy, which may be either absorbed by or evolved from a chemical system.

Lithium polymer battery

A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly lithium-ion polymer battery (abbreviated as LiPo, LIP, Li-poly, lithium-poly and others), is a rechargeable battery of lithium-ion technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyte. High conductivity semisolid (gel) polymers form this electrolyte. These batteries provide higher specific energy than other lithium battery types and are used in applications where weight is a critical feature, such as mobile devices, radio-controlled aircraft and some electric vehicles.

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