Magnesium Air Fuel Cells

Magnesium batteries are batteries with magnesium as the active element

at the anode of an electrochemical cell. Both non-rechargeable primary
cell and rechargeable secondary cell chemists have been investigated.
Magnesium primary cell batteries have been commercial and have found
use as reserve and general use batteries.

Magnesium secondary cell batteries are an active topic of research,

specifically as a replacement for or improvement on lithium ion based
battery chemistries - as a Li-ion replacement magnesium cells may be
possible with a solid magnesium anode, allowing a higher energy density
than that with lithium, which requires an intercalated lithium anode.
Insertion type anodes ('magnesium ion') have also been
researched.Magnesium air cell has magnesium anode metal as fuel and
air as oxidizer and saltwater or seawater as an electrolyte.

The principal advantage of the Mg-air cells, safe saltwater electrolyte,

allows the easiest technical development, as emergency powers, and
already displayed on markets. It has some disadvantages, large water
requirement, and resulting low wet energy density, excessive heating at
large current, large volume of magnesium hydroxide slurry, and low
current density with hydrogen evolution from corrosion reaction,
although there may be some chemical additives called hydrogen inhibitor
alleviating the reaction.

Accordingly, the position of Mg-air cells is limited as a small emergency

power packs with dry storage and then filling water for activation. It is
expected also as maritime power systems using seawater electrolyte.

The cell is useful as an emergency backup power because it can be dry

stored without any internal discharge, and then generate full energy after
the water introduction.
Below is the electron flow in Magnesium air fuel cell:

ELECTRON FLOW

Oxygen
Magnesium
Hydrogen ion

Hhh Water

Anode (Electrolyte) Cathode

Anode Reaction: Mg Mg2+ + 2e- (ξ = -2.360v)

Cathode Reaction: O2+ 4H+ + 4e- 2H2O (ξ= 1.229v)

Full reaction:

2Mg + O2 + 4H+ 2Mg2+ + 2H2O

Emf of cell ,ξ = ØR-ØL
= 1.229－(-2.360)
= 3.589v