W32PROFESSIONALSAFETYFEBRUARY2010www.asse.orgProgramDevelopmentProgramDevelopmentLithiumBatterySafetyAlookatWoodsHoleOceanographicInstitution’sprogramByRonaldH.Reif,MarkLiffers,NedForresterandKenPealWOODSHOLEOCEANOGRAPHICINSTITUTION(WHOI)usesprimaryandsecondarylithiumbatteriesinavarietyofoceanographicresearchapplications.Primary(nonrechargeable)lithiumbatteriesgenerallycontainlithiummetal,whilemostsecondary(re-chargeable)lithiumbatteriescontainanionicformoflithium(lithium-ion).Becauselithiumbatteriescontainmoreenergyperunitweightorarelativelyhigherenergydensitythanconventionalbatteries,theyhavebecomepopularandwidelyusedinvariousapplica-tions.Thesamepropertiesthatresultinahighenergydensity,however,alsocontributetopotentialhazardsiftheenergyisreleasedatafast,uncontrolledrate.Multipleexternalandinternaleventsinvolvingprimaryandsecondarylithiumbatteries(includinghotcells,fires,rupturedcellsandleakingcells)promptedWHOItodevelopandimplementacom-prehensivelithiumbatterysafetyprogram.Thisarti-cledescribeslithiumbatteriesandapplications,hazards,controls,keyelementsofacomprehensivesafetyprogram,emergencyprocedures,wasteman-agementandtransportationrequirements.LithiumBatteries&ApplicationsPrimarylithiumbatterieshavelithiummetalorlithiumcompoundsasananode.Manydifferentlithiumbatterychemistriesaresuitableforavarietyofoperatingconditions.Advantagesoflithiumbat-teriescomparedtoalkalinebatteriesincludelowerweight,extendedshelflife,highercapacity(asmeas-uredinampere-hours,Ah),higherenergydensity(asmeasuredinwatt-hoursperunitweight,Wh/g)andlowercostpercapacity.TheAhratingorcapacityisacommonbatteryrat-ingthatisthemaximumsustainedamperagedrawnfromafullychargedbatteryoveracertaintime(e.g.,20hours)toapointwherethebatteryisat100%depthofdischarge.Energydensityisaratioofthecapacityofabatterytoweight(Ah/g).Sometimes,energyden-sityisexpressedascapacityperunitvolumeofabat-tery,Ah/cm3.Batteriesalsocanberatedinenergyoutputiftheiraveragevoltageduringdischargeisknown.Energyoutputisdeterminedbymultiplyingcapacityandvoltagewithunitsofwatt-hours(Wh).Secondaryorlithium-ion(Li-ion)batteries,nottobeconfusedwithprimarylithiumbatteries,donotcontainmetalliclithium.Li-ionbatteriesarerecharge-ablebatteriescontaininglithiumintercalationanodematerials,wherethelithiumionmovesfromtheanodetothecathodeduringdischargeandfromthecathodetotheanodewhencharging.AdvantagesofLi-ionbatterieswhencomparedtoequivalentre-chargeablebatteriesincludehigherenergydensity,higheroutputvoltage,lighterweight,nomemoryeffect,lowself-dischargerateandfasterchargerates;inaddition,theydonotcontainhighlytoxicmetalssuchasnickel,cadmium,leadandmercury.Lithiumbatteriescanbeusedinplaceofordinaryalkalinecellsinmanydevices.Althoughmorecostlyinitially,lithiumcellsprovidemuchlongerlife,there-byminimizingbatteryreplacement.Lithiumbatter-iesfindapplicationinmanylong-life,criticaldevices,suchasartificialpacemakersandotherimplantableelectronicmedicaldevices.Smalllithiumbatteriesarecommonlyusedinsmall,portableelectronicdevices,suchaswatches,digitalcameras,remotecarstartersandcalculators,andasbackupbatteriesincomputersandcommunicationequipment.Li-ionbatteriesarecommoninportablecon-sumerelectronics,suchascellphonesandlaptopcomputers,becauseoftheirhighenergy-to-weightratios,lackofmemoryeffectandrelativelyslowlossofchargewhennotinuse.Inadditiontoconsumerelectron...
