# Constructing an Aluminum-Air Battery



## allen_idaho (Oct 21, 2009)

Alright, as requested, I have decided to include a good little pdf file which will explain the basics of an aluminum-air battery far better than I ever could. It can be used for your experimentation into the matter. 

You will notice that these fuel cells are very simple to make and can probably be made out of junk lying around your house right now. 

Another version of this can actually be made out of empty aluminum cans. It was developed as a project to provide cheap energy to third world countries. I think they were calling it the six pack battery or something along those lines.

If you have any questions, I will try to answer them as best as I can.


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

Allen, the pdf you have linked to is a typical simple wet cell battery, if you are refering to a 'air' battery I believe it would be this: http://www.exo.net/~jyu/activities/Al-air.pdf or this one How to create a simple aluminum air battery from a soda can - Go Green - SustainLane
this also alairbattery
Please correct me if wrong. 
BB


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## allen_idaho (Oct 21, 2009)

They are both pretty much the exact same thing. The only difference is that the pdf I posted does not use charcoal as a part of the cathode. The aluminum annode still needs to be exposed to air in both of them. 

The exception to this would be if you were to add bleach to the saltwater. In that case the aluminum would not need to be exposed to air and would produce a much higher output of electricity.


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

*Metalcell battery*

allen idaho, you might find this PDF file very interesting:
http://www.segnow.com/ProductsPage/Radio_Equipment/Radio_Products/Metalcell.pdf
I'm going to research this some more, I know you like new technology on power sources.


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## allen_idaho (Oct 21, 2009)

Wow. That thing is great. Sounds like a real space saver. I wonder if there is any benefit to using magnesium rather than aluminum in the cell.


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