Magnesium Oxide Electrolyte Binder for Reserve Thermal Batteries

A single, highly controllable, reliable production process is needed for the production of MgO with unique properties which is used to bind the electrolyte in activated reserve thermal batteries. In the Phase I program, EMF successfully demonstrated such a process for the preparation of Mg(OH)2, the essential precursor to the desired MgO. The Phase II program will complete the optimization of the precursor process as well as the calcination processes to yield the final product MgO. Design of Experiments (DOE) software will be used extensively during the project. Surface area by B.E.T., laser light scattering particle size analysis, and mercury intrusion porosimetry techniques will be used to characterize the materials. The optimum amount of MgO will be determined, using electrolyte-binder (EB) pellet deformation as a metric. LiSi/ EB /FeS2 cells and a 10-cell battery will be tested using the Phase II MgO product to demonstrate its efficacy.