Measuring voltage current and mass created by magnesium-air batteries (MABs)

By Brandon Navratil, Trevor Jordan, Andrew Allsopp

Abstract
The purpose of this lab was to use magnesium, oxygen and a carbon rod to create an
output of electricity large enough to charge a cell phone. This is known as a magnesium
air battery. To accomplish this we first had to create the battery by first wrapping the
carbon rod in a paper towel to put a barrier between the magnesium and the carbon.
Then the magnesium ribbons were wrapped around it and put into saltwater to activate
the reaction. The results we found were that individually each battery gave off 1.66 volts
and when put into a series they put out 4.93 volts, nearly enough to charge a
smartphone. The final test we did was to put five MABs into a series which put out a
total of 8.25 volts. This shows that these batteries could be implemented for use in
natural disasters or even just an off the grid phone charger.
Introduction

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The purpose of this experiment was to

measure voltage of single magnesium
air batteries and MABs aligned in
series. The goal of the experiment was
to generate enough voltage to charge
smartphone.

water. The purpose of the carbon rod in

the battery is to carry the electrons from
the anode (magnesium) to the cathode
(oxygen). The paper used to cover the
carbon rod acts as an insulator,
separating the carbon rod from the
magnesium ribbon and form hydroxide
ions by reacts with oxygen.

A magnesium air battery is a type of

electrochemical cell. This means that a
flow of electrons is created using a
chemical reaction A MAB requires a
magnesium ribbon, a carbon rod, paper
towel, oxygen, and water. All batteries
require an anode and a cathode (see
Figure 1). An anode, is the negative
terminal of the battery where the
electrical current is entering the circuit
the cathode is the positive end of the
battery, where the electrons are going
into the body of the battery.
Magnesium is a highly flammable,
insoluble, metal with two valence
electrons. Because it has only two
valence electrons, magnesium has a
low electronegativity which means it will
have a positive ionic charge because it
gives up two electrons. Batteries work
by creating a flow of electricity, this
electrical current is caused by a flow of
electrons. In a MAB, the magnesium is
giving electrons up to the non-metal in
the battery and serves as the anode
(negative end). This is called oxidation
because the metal is reacting to oxygen
in the air. The non-metal used to create
a MAB is oxygen when they. Oxygen
has a higher electronegativity than
magnesium and will attract the two
electrons given up by magnesium. The
oxygen serves as the cathode (positive
end). The oxygen comes from the air
surrounding the battery and pulled from

What makes a MAB attractive is that it

could provide clean energy with a small
carbon footprint. The materials needed
to produce a MAB are non-restricted,
which means none of them are rare
metals or toxic. These batteries do not
activate until the electrolyte solution is
added, so they can be stored indefinitely
until ready for use. Which makes this a
good device to have as backup in case
of a power failure when a natural
disaster occurs. A prototype of the MAB
called the Mg box battery was
developed in eastern Japan. The
prototype put out five DC volts, which is
enough to power a cell phone charger
and LED lights at the same time. The
battery will last for only five days once
activated and can be activated by
adding any sort of electrolyte solution
into the battery causing it to have a
reaction with the magnesium creating
carbon footprint free energy. One con of
this product being used as a power
source is that it would take more energy
to create this battery than it gives off,
making it inefficient as a regular power
supply because it only produces five
volts. However in an emergency
situation these batteries would be made
useful by being available in emergency
shelters or stored at home for
emergency use.

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http://www.furukawadenchi.co.jp/english/csr/p
df/2014/05_3.pdf

Methods
We started off by gathering the materials
we needed which were magnesium,
paper towel, carbon rods, jumper wires,
and salt water. We then wrapped the
carbon rod in one layer of paper towel
making sure there were no gaps. We
then wrapped the covered rod with
magnesium strip making sure that the
magnesium strip was always 1mm away
from itself to prevent shorts that could
reduce the power output. Then we
Hazards
There were no hazards associated with
our lab other than magnesium is a minor

soaked the batteries with the saltwater

solution (electrolyte). Then we wired the
batteries in series with the jumper wires
and measured the voltage with a volt
meter. We then added a LED in series
with the battery so we could measure
the amperage the batteries had. Near
the end of the lab we decided to test
whether our batteries were able to
charge a smartphone. We then
disassembled the batteries and
disposed of the magnesium properly.

irritant and can cause issues in large

quantities. All lab materials were
properly disposed of. Rubber gloves and
safety googles where worn at all times
thought the lab.

Results
In this lab we weren't able to measure
the amperage (flow of electrons) long
enough to know its energy density
because it is based on how long the
battery lasted. We did measure the
voltage as we increased the amount of
batteries we added as seen in Figure #2
at this amount we did not see a decline
in power output across the batteries but
it would be interesting to see if there
would be a decline when adding more
batteries. In the lab we were able to
charge a smartphone with the power
produced this shows that the battery
array was able to handle a sizable load.

Because we ran our batteries in series

we were not able to increase the
amperage but only the voltage and this
is why our batteries no matter how many
of them we had would still output 46.3
amps. One problem we did notice was
the fact that the batteries needed a fairly
consistent supply of electrolyte solution
in the form of salt water, this means that
the batteries would not last long if the
supply stopped. Air was also a variable
in how well these batteries performed
because any change in the amount of
air would directly change the power
output of the batteries. These two
dependencies made these batteries act
more like fuel cells.

Figure #2

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Conclusion
The testing from the magnesium
air batteries show that even though the
hand built batteries are much larger and
a bit difficult to deal with when trying to
put the batteries to use charging or
powering something. Although the
batteries have several benefits as well
above other batteries. They are easy to
build and they last for a couple of days
under constant use. Also the batteries
are reusable when a charge is fired
through it the reaction is reversed and

the battery can be used again. Over

time the magnesium on the battery will
need to be replaced. Although the salt
water used to increase the conductivity
will have to be re added the most often
as the water evaporates. This type of
battery is a new and advancing battery
that shows potential to be a battery of
the future. This battery will be very
useful because it uses simple materials
and it is very easy to build. This allows
the battery to be mass produced or
handmade easily and quickly, as well as
being ready for use immediately.

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