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Li-ion battery warehouse fire put out with Portland cement (2021)

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Re: Li-ion battery warehouse fire put out with Portland cement (2021)

#21

Post by testplzignore »

_wldu wrote: post #9

Off topic... What's the best way to easily recycle these batteries? I normally disassemble my old phones and securely dispose of the chips (for my privacy), but the batteries are glued in with a strong adhesive. Just trying to remove them can start a fire. I think most people just throw the old phones in the trash, but I don't like to do that. It's bad for the environment and potentially dangerous to trash workers. I…

My local Best Buy takes old electronics for free. Haven't found any other place. The local dump charges per pound. I'm sure most people just throw it all in the trash. Not a good situation we're in - so many things are labeled as requiring special disposal, but there's this sort of wink wink nudge nudge that the labels will be ignored.

Re: Li-ion battery warehouse fire put out with Portland cement (2021)

#22

Post by londons_explore »

waitwhatwhoa wrote: post #10

This was in 2021; it appears the fire was extinguished by July 11 [1], investigated by Vice later that year [2], and seems to still be being cleaned up by US EPA [3]. 1. https://www.ehs.com/2021/07/morris-lithium-battery-fire-high... 2. https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7vj73/everyone-thought-the-... 3. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-resumes-cleanup-hazardo...

What chemicals are in lithium batteries that are toxic?

I was under the impression that while lithium batteries were dangerous due to explosion/flame risk, the actual ingredients weren't particularly toxic?

Re: Li-ion battery warehouse fire put out with Portland cement (2021)

#23

Post by azernik »

mysterydip wrote: post #17
userbinator wrote: post #4

"When we smothered it with the concrete, we're not 100% sure that this thermal runaway is not continuing," Chief Steffes said. "It is probably continuing and hopefully it is going to consume what is left of the batteries underneath then it will be over. But there is a possiblility that as this continues that it does break through this Portland cement." That sounds more like the fire was isolated or hidden, not actual…

Wonder how long it could go? Could someday we have a Centralia-level event? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia_mine_fire

Not with this depot; there physical scale of geological coal deposits is enormously larger than and warehouse

Re: Li-ion battery warehouse fire put out with Portland cement (2021)

#24

Post by gerdesj »

Why on earth do you move 28 tonnes of cement from southern England to the US to put out a fire!

I am of course joking - badly.

Portland is in Dorset (UK) and is where the eponymous stuff was first extracted along with stone.

This is a novel way to put out fires but a logical one if the temperatures are right. Conc can burn if it's too hot - and it sets/cures with an exothermic reaction. That's why you have to pour it carefully in huge quantities (think dams).

Re: Li-ion battery warehouse fire put out with Portland cement (2021)

#25

Post by hackernewds »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #19

Lithium battery fire cannot be 'put out'- in a normal sense. A fuel tank of petrol needs oxygen to burn, and when you spray foam on it your cut off the oxygen and the fire stops. A battery already contains energy, all the chemicals required for the reaction are already present, and once the energy release starts, sealing it from the environment does not stop the process. Ebike and drone batteries are large enough to…

Firefighters struggle lifting 24.5 lbs?

Re: Li-ion battery warehouse fire put out with Portland cement (2021)

#26

Post by londons_explore »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #19

Lithium battery fire cannot be 'put out'- in a normal sense. A fuel tank of petrol needs oxygen to burn, and when you spray foam on it your cut off the oxygen and the fire stops. A battery already contains energy, all the chemicals required for the reaction are already present, and once the energy release starts, sealing it from the environment does not stop the process. Ebike and drone batteries are large enough to…

The main reaction in a 'lithium battery fire' is the solvent for the electrolyte vaporizing and burning.

So actually a battery can be put out by removing oxygen.

Re: Li-ion battery warehouse fire put out with Portland cement (2021)

#27

Post by cma »

nomel wrote: post #20
janef0421 wrote: post #14

Reminds me of the Chernobyl disaster.

Why? They don't seem related in any way, beyond there being a hot thing.

He might be thinking of where they poured boron sand on it, or built a graphite topped concrete pad underneath. And then the later concrete encapsulation.

Re: Li-ion battery warehouse fire put out with Portland cement (2021)

#28

Post by natch »

londons_explore wrote: post #22
waitwhatwhoa wrote: post #10

This was in 2021; it appears the fire was extinguished by July 11 [1], investigated by Vice later that year [2], and seems to still be being cleaned up by US EPA [3]. 1. https://www.ehs.com/2021/07/morris-lithium-battery-fire-high... 2. https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7vj73/everyone-thought-the-... 3. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-resumes-cleanup-hazardo...

What chemicals are in lithium batteries that are toxic? I was under the impression that while lithium batteries were dangerous due to explosion/flame risk, the actual ingredients weren't particularly toxic?

Oxidization changes the multiple chemicals into different chemicals so the question would have to be what are those resulting chemicals not in the batteries, but after oxidization. Also, you have the other stuff being stored in the warehouse burning at the same time, and firefighters dumping on who knows what else beyond what was mentioned, and how all those chemicals react with each other with heat to form even more chemicals. A lot going on in this story.

Re: Li-ion battery warehouse fire put out with Portland cement (2021)

#29

Post by londons_explore »

_wldu wrote: post #9

Off topic... What's the best way to easily recycle these batteries? I normally disassemble my old phones and securely dispose of the chips (for my privacy), but the batteries are glued in with a strong adhesive. Just trying to remove them can start a fire. I think most people just throw the old phones in the trash, but I don't like to do that. It's bad for the environment and potentially dangerous to trash workers. I…

Just consider the whole phone to be the 'battery case'.
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