Karina Beatriz Hueso

The progress in the research and development of high temperature sodium batteries suggests that all-solid-state batteries with inorganic or polymer solid electrolytes are promising power sources for a wide range of applications due to their high thermal stability, reliability, long-cycle life and versatile geometries. The electrolytes play a fundamental role in terms of current (power) density, the time stability, and the safety of batteries and, as a result, their continuous improvement and innovation are indeed critical to success. In fact, inorganic solid electrolytes pave the way for improving the cost-effective development of rechargeable sodium batteries. This review describes a state-of-the-art overview of most of the Na⁺ conductors for use as electrolytes in sodium/sulphur and ZEBRA batteries. The emphasis of this article is on inorganic solid electrolytes, especially, ceramic and glass-ceramic electrolytes as promising alternatives applicable to all solid-state batteries. As part of a continuous effort to find new materials that operate at room temperature and moderate temperatures, NASICON electrolytes will also be considered. Polymer electrolytes based on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) are also very suitable for all solid-state batteries. Hence, the review focuses on ion transport based on the observed conductivity, electrolyte preparation, safety and environmental impact.

Energy production and storage have become key issues concerning our welfare in daily life. Present challenges for batteries are twofold. In the first place, the increasing demand for powering systems of portable electronic devices and zero-emission vehicles stimulates research towards high energy and high voltage systems. In the second place, low cost batteries are required in order to advance towards smart electric grids that integrate discontinuous energy flow from renewable sources, optimizing the performance of clean energy sources. Na-ion batteries can be the key for the second point, because of the huge availability of sodium, its low price and the similarity of both Li and Na insertion chemistries. In spite of the lower energy density and voltage of Na-ion based technologies, they can be focused on applications where the weight and footprint requirement is less drastic, such as electrical grid storage. Much work has to be done in the field of Na-ion in order to catch up with Li-ion technology. Cathodic and anodic materials must be optimized, and new electrolytes will be the key point for Na-ion success. This review will gather the up-to-date knowledge about Na-ion battery materials, with the aim of providing a wide view of the systems that have already been explored and a starting point for the new research on this battery technology.

A sequential injection system to monitor glycerol in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation process was developed. The method relies on the rate of formation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide in its reduced form (NADH, measured spectrophotometrically at 340 nm) from the reaction of glycerol with NAD⁺ cofactor, catalysed by the enzyme glycerol dehydrogenase present in solution. This procedure enables the determination of glycerol between 0.046 and 0.46 g/l, (corresponding to yeast fermentation samples with concentrations up to 50 g/l) with good repeatability (relative standard deviation for n = 10 lower than 2.2% for three different samples) at a sampling frequency of 25/h. The detection and quantification limits using a miniaturised spectrophotometer were 0.13 and 0.44 mM, respectively. Reagent consumption was of 0.45 μmol NAD⁺ and 1.8 μg enzyme per assay, and the waste production was 2.8 ml per determination. Results obtained for samples were in agreement with those obtained with a high-performance liquid chromatography method.