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

abc7chicago.com

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

#51

Post by themitigating »

almost_usual wrote: post #43
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…

So what happens after the next big earthquake in a place like SF?

Why would an earthquake directly cause batteries to set on fire? They are already subjected to significantly more vibration and movement in EVs

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

#52

Post by sudosysgen »

themitigating wrote: post #51
almost_usual wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what happens after the next big earthquake in a place like SF?

Why would an earthquake directly cause batteries to set on fire? They are already subjected to significantly more vibration and movement in EVs

Crushing.

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

#53

Post by lazide »

Arubis wrote: post #47
elihu wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the standard procedure in EV car fires is to just dump water on it to conduct the heat away as fast as possible, and to keep dumping water on it until the batteries can no longer self-ignite -- which can take awhile.

Possibly amateurish take: dumping water on an alkali metal seems like not a great idea (unless you want _more_ fire, in which case by all means go for it)

The good news is, water is cold (generally), doesn't combust (generally), and there is a LOT of it.

So spraying water, while it can make it spicier for a bit, allows you to suck away enough heat fast enough that it works okayish. It's the scalable, but not ideal, solution generally.

Current guidance is don't bother with anything else, just spray it until the flames stop.

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

#54

Post by almost_usual »

themitigating wrote: post #51
almost_usual wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what happens after the next big earthquake in a place like SF?

Why would an earthquake directly cause batteries to set on fire? They are already subjected to significantly more vibration and movement in EVs

Big earthquake implies things like UMBs collapsing.

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

#56

Post by userbinator »

Arubis wrote: post #47
elihu wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the standard procedure in EV car fires is to just dump water on it to conduct the heat away as fast as possible, and to keep dumping water on it until the batteries can no longer self-ignite -- which can take awhile.

Possibly amateurish take: dumping water on an alkali metal seems like not a great idea (unless you want _more_ fire, in which case by all means go for it)

Lion (as me and others have come to call them, due to their "ferocious" nature) batteries contain no metallic lithium.

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

#57

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

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

#58

Post by nomel »

janef0421 wrote: post #48
nomel wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Because the heat source was hard to cool down, had to be contained using concrete, and the incident contaminated the surrounding area.

> and the incident contaminated the surrounding area.

This is not comparable, besides the words being the same.

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

#59

Post by Eleison23 »

cronix wrote: post #13
_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…

I take mine to the local dump. They have an electronics recycling drop off, which is free.

My city has a recycling center for household products, but it requires the use of a motor vehicle. I have been unsuccessful in using taxi or ride-sharing services to drop off items. Unfortunately, the inflexible vehicle requirement is a deal breaker for me and many of my neighbors.

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

#60

Post by zelon88 »

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…

I often wonder about this while hiking or riding my dirt bike out on the trails. Gas powered dirt bikes are prohibited almost everywhere due to risk of fire and chemical contamination.

However, more and more I am seeing e-bikes ripping around on hiking trails that would get me and my dirt bikes a hefty fine and impound. The risk of fire and contamination is practically the same. And these e-bikes are typically driven by the same people who would call the cops on a gas powered bike on the same trail. The irony is they ride and do peaceful yoga on trails that were made by motor vehicles whose owners were probably gentrified out of their homes. Go figure.

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