Posted on 06/26/2023 6:45:50 PM PDT by george76
In the past year, lithium-ion battery fires in electric vehicles have led to blazing wrecks along highways that take firefighters hours to extinguish and buildings that go up like a torch from fires that cannot be swiftly brought under control.
And now, a plant that uses lithium to make components for batteries for electric vehicles has gone up in flames.
A plant belonging to the Livent Corp. was on fire early Monday in the North Carolina town of Bessemer City, according to WCNC-TV in Charlotte.
The company said there were no reports of injuries and that all employees were accounted for.
The fire was declared a three-alarm blaze. Images from the scene showed firefighters not attempting to battle the massive flames, letting the fire burn itself out.
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The fire is in a building where solid lithium metal ingots are produced, according to a release from the company.
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Although no evacuation order was issued, residents near the plant have been told to stay indoors and not drive around roadblocks.
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As noted in a CNN report in March, after blaze in New York City that left six dead, with the rise of lithium-ion technology in transportation devices such as e-bikes, as well as electric vehicles, fires have offered new challenges.
“In all of these fires, these lithium-ion fires, it is not a slow burn; there’s not a small amount of fire, it literally explodes,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh told reporters. “It’s a tremendous volume of fire as soon as it happens, and it’s very difficult to extinguish and so it’s particularly dangerous.”
Dylan Khoo, an analyst at tech intelligence firm ABI Research, told CNN that, “when a fire does happen, it’s much more dangerous,”
someone who figures out how to easily put out a lithium fire is going to make a lot of money.
I have seen a car fire, and they cannot do anything currently.
Someone else is going to make a towtruck with a steel dumpster in the back with a giant claw that grabs the burning car and hauls it up into the dumpster and then the back wall/ramp closes and then drives off with the burning car
(unless somehow the lithium fire is like 9/11 and can melt the steel.)
For us all-——
6/26/2023, 2:40:56 PM · by Jim Robinson
Howdy, everyone! This is the last week of our second quarter FReepathon and we’re running a bit behind. It would be great if we get to at least 94%! That means we need to raise another $4 or $5k in the next 4 days. Please get your donations in today and let’s get ‘er done! Way to go FReepers! Thank you all very much! God bless.
And how much in the way greenhouse gases is this releasing into the atmosphere vs. us driving our gas powered cars? Perhaps more over the next 30 minutes or so alone that we would be able to release in several lifetimes combined?
Officials said there is no danger of toxic gasses or smoke.
Not very smart having so much LITHIUM in one place.
Idiots.
Another Tesla environmental disaster.
“Although no evacuation order was issued, residents near the plant have been told to stay indoors and not drive around roadblocks”
Oh yes no doubt that fire was putting out friendly fumes, I mean it is lithium, what can go wrong? Is Saul Goodman out of jail yet to represent those told to stand in place?
It was a mostly green, eco-friendly, and net-zero fire.
IF it gets hot enough which jet fuel does
A fire burning, even in a regular building can get hot enough to melt a steel beam over a wooden beam. Heard that from several Firefighters.
Does not have to be a certain type of fire.
Yet another lithium-ion battery fire - bkmk
If you want to really worry a group of firefighters, tell them that they are going out to fight a Lithium fire.
Red Adair, Boots & Coots (aka Halliburton) have away but there's gonna be some collateral damage issues involved.
There's actually a way to do it Here.
Rule of thumb. Steel loses 1/2 of its strength at 1000*F.
A true Bessemer converter...
...convincing more folks that LiIon is not such a hot idea.
Many people tell me that class D extinguishers do not really work, but sure if you take my enclosed dumpster idea and fill it with water or some foam stuff that has lots of forever chemicals that could be super great for long time.
You’re not gonna use MY THUMB to check that temperature. 🤪
[Completely off topic. I found this by accident, on an iPhone if you hold the 0 (zero) key for a second then it offers the ° symbol. Don’t know about on Android.]
On a keyboard the ° degree symbol is ALT + 248 by using the Alt key+ the decimal code on the numeric keypad (note that the numbers across the top of your keyboard do not work for this)
Also available in the dropdown or popup SYMBOL CHART in Word Processing software.
Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere—from heavy equipment like forklifts and electric vehicles, to portable devices like laptops and cell phones. They're lighter, stronger, and more efficient than traditional lead-acid batteries. However, they can spell trouble in the event of a fire.
Determining The Type Of Fire
Not all fires are the same—but if you're reading this blog, you probably already know that. Of the 5 classes of fires (A,B,C,D,K), most people would probably guess either class C (electrical) or class D (combustible metal), and that's not entirely wrong. However, since lithium-ion batteries do not contain actual metallic lithium, a class D extinguisher would be the wrong choice in this scenario.
And while the batteries are technically energized electrical equipment, they are not a class C hazard either. Here's why—lithium-ion batteries utilize liquid electrolytes to create a conductive pathway. Therefore, lithium-ion batteries are a class B (flammable liquid) hazard.
Extinguishing The Fire
Now that we've determined the type of fire, we're ready to grab an extinguisher and rush into harms way, right? Not exactly. As fire fighters have discovered in recent years, lithium-ion battery fires are prone to reigniting. That's because the lithium salts in the battery are self-oxidizing, which means that they can't be "starved out" like a traditional fire. So how do you put it out?
Because the lithium has an ignition point of 500°C, the battery has to be cooled to a sub-ignition temperature. That's why it took the fire fighters in Texas 30,000 gallons of water and 4 hours to extinguish the blaze.
Why This Is Relevant To You
As the popularity of electric vehicles and machinery continues to increase, so will the number of fires and other accidents that involve them. For instance, most forklift manufacturers have moved away from traditional lead-acid batteries in favor of more powerful and efficient lithium-ion alternatives. Laptops, tablets, phones, and pretty much all other portable electronics use them as well.
While the chances of a lithium-ion battery catching fire are minimal, it's important that you're aware of the possibility and have a plan of action prepared if it ever happens.
It isn’t a lithium-ion battery fire or any kind of battery fire.
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