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Products for the Battery Industry:
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MICROPOROUS RUBBER SEPARATORS
AMERACE MICROPOROUS PRODUCTS L.P., of which TERMAR
Srl is the exclusive International Sales Representative,
is currently supplying three types of microporous rubber
separators serving the lead-acid battery industry:
- ACE-SIL ® vulcanized
hard rubber
- FLEX-SIL ® flexible
rubber
- CELLFORCE ®
rubber polyethylene
These rubber separators share similar electrochemical performance
characteristics in lead-acid batteries which can be attributed
to the composition of natural rubber or similar elastomeric
polymers, but not found in any other type of separators.
Yet each of these types of separators has its own unique
physical properties and areas of applications stemming from
the physical design characteristics of the separators.
Copies of various specific technical papers illustrating
the products as well as papers on the testing of the influence
of separator types on battery life, energy consumption and
operating cost are available upon request. For any further
information, please contact us filling the FEEDBACK
FORM in this web site.
1. ACE-SIL®:
 This
classic microporous hard rubber separator has been the industry's
leading premium quality separator for over 60 years, and is
the best for industrial batteries such as STATIONARY, MOTIVE
POWER and SUBMARINE batteries.
The basic technology of combining processed rubber with
silica and then calendering and vulcanizing this compound
into a separator material with a uniform pore structure
has not required changes during this long period.
While the basic technology has not changed, there has been
steady and constant refinement and improvement to the processes
themselves. In addition, there has been consistent upgrading
of product uniformity due to the monitoring and control
of these processes.
More recent process refinements have enabled us to produce
these separators with thinner backwebs thereby lowering
their electrical resistance. Outstanding and permanent wettability
gives low resistance instantly upon exposure to acid (this
is achieved without the use of surfactants). ACE-SIL®
separators offer superior physical characteristics for extended
life:
- resist chemical and oxidation deterioration including
high gravity acid.
- withstand severe abrasion, vibration and buckling; are
not damaged by overcharging
- remain dimensionally stable under varying temperature.
- will not warp or split and can readily be rewet. Do
not require or use "electrical agents".
- outstanding compressive strength will not loose porosity
or increase resistance with plate growth.
- retard the transfer of antimony and the growth of dendrites
(the phenomenon known as treeing). This is of particular
importance when constructing long-life cells.
- are heat resistant and this property combined with the
ability to withstand high gravity acid make them ideal
for use in premium "dry-charged" batteries.
- separators’ overall thickness available from 0,9mm
up to 5,7mm,
| Typical Properties |
|
BACKWEB THICKNESS
0.66 mm (0.026 inch) to 0.89 mm (0.035 inch) |
|
ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE
Preboil test:
0.238 ohm - cm2 (0.037 ohm - in2)
Acid soak test:
0.341 ohm - cm2 (0.053 ohm - in2) |
|
VOLUME POROSITY
55% |
|
ACID WETTING TIME
15 seconds |
|
MEAN PORE DIAMETER
0.20 micron |
|
TOTOL POROSITY
0.85 ml/g |
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2. FLEX-SIL®:
 This
flexible microporous rubber separator is at present the
leading GOLF-CAR battery separator in USA, where
it has proven to have increased the battery life by over
40% and has shown an excellent performance record in DEEP
CYCLING batteries.
Because of similarity in composition with ACE-SIL®,
FLEX-SIL® it offers similar electrochemical characteristics
as:
- it retards antimony transfer, thereby preventing depolarization
hydrogen evolution and self discharge caused by local
action.
- it draws less current during charging and requires less
water addition than the batteries insulated with other
types of separator material.
These characteristics favor FLEX-SIL® to be
used in deep cycle services as GOLF-CAR, WHEEL CHAIR,
FLOOR SCRUBBER, LEISURE and DEEP CYCLE MARINE
batteries.
Presently FLEX-SIL® is being used in over 98%
of golf-car batteries manufactured in USA (over 3,5 million
built in 2003). It has proven in field use that golf-car
batteries made with FLEX-SIL® required less current
for charging, showed less gassing, required less water addition
and showed longer life than batteries made with other types
of separator.
3. CELL FORCE®:
 It
is a rubber/polyethylene separator designed specifically
for industrial traction and deep discharge cycling lead
acid battery applications, including MOTIVE POWER, GOLF
CAR, AND FLOOR SWEEPERS.
This highly flexible rubber/polyethylene separator
has been developed primarily to meet the new requirement
of the battery industry, as more and more automated assembling
operations require flexible separators.
Utilizing their expertise with polymer chemistry and manufacturing,
AMERACE Microporous Products L.P. has combined into
CellForce® the strength and handling characteristics
of typical polyethylene material with the electrochemical
advantages and reliability of the proven rubber separators.
This enables the battery assembly process to be more flexible
with optional use of sleeves, envelopes or leaf type separators,
while enhancing battery cycle life by positively
affecting top-of-charge (TOC) voltages and reducing normal
in-service maintenance. Additional features are:
- Retards antimony transfer
- Highly flexible
- Wide variety of patterns
- Attached Glass Mat available
- Ultra fine pore structure
- Available in Roll or Leaf Stock
- Compatible with all automatic assembly equipment
Due to new manufacturing methods and processes developed
by AMERACE Microporous Products L.P., CellForce®
will be offered at competitive pricing and with the excellent
quality expected by our valuable customers. Slitting and
cutting machines are available on request. For additional
information please contact us.
In conclusion, rubber separators have a unique ability
to provide electrochemical properties other separators
do not have. They retard transfer to antimony, provide
good on-charge voltage characteristics and exhibit favorable
TAFEL curve and float characteristics.
New mechanical design features of rubber separators will
enhance battery performance and broaden the applicability
of current rubber separator products.
More exhaustive information about Cellforce is available
on demand "Evaluation
of Hybrid Rubber-Polyethylene Industrial Battery Separators
- 8ELBC, Rome, by R. Wimberly, Jamie Miller and George Brilmyer."
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