Process and apparatus for refuelling zinc-air batteries

摘要

The invention provides a process for removing discharged active zinc-containing material from a mechanically rechargeable zinc battery anode, containing the same, the anode being of the type comprising a skeletal frame, including conductive metal and having a portion of a surface area thereof formed as open spaces, and an active zinc anode component compacted into a rigid static bed of active anode material of tight interparticulate structure encompassing the skeletal frame, and having two opposite major surfaces, the process comprising introducing the anode in which the active zinc has been at least partly oxidized, between a pair of spaced-apart first and second crusher plates, each of the crusher plates being provided with a plurality of pointed projections of varying heights and a plurality of recesses of varying depths substantially complementary to the projections, the crusher plates being aligned with each other to the effect that tips of projections of the first crusher plate substantially mutually occlude with recesses provided on the second crusher plate and tips of projections of the second crusher plate substantially mutually occlude with recesses provided on the first surface; abruptly reducing the space between adjacent crusher plates while impacting at least indirectly on said anode bed positioned there-between to deform and crack said anode bed; moving said crusher plates away from each other and from said deformed anode bed and then displacing said deformed bed, along at least a first axis, by at least half the distance between adjacent projection tips of at least one of said crusher plates; once again abruptly reducing the space between adjacent crusher plates while impacting on and fragmenting the displaced anode bed; and repeating the last two steps until the fragmentation of the bed and the dislodgement of the resulting fragmented particles from the skeletal frame are achieved.