Lithium battery fire

[2foot6]

A fire broke out at the Geelong Tesla battery installation yesterday

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-30/ ... /100337488

[BruceS]

I think they might need to install these things inside an air tight 'container' like the engine compartment on Navy ships so they can seal it up & pump it full of carbon dioxide to put out the fire.

[Keith Morris]

I think they might need to install these things inside an air tight 'container' like the engine compartment on Navy ships so they can seal it up & pump it full of carbon dioxide to put out the fire.

"tanks" here---
We are lucky that it was not one of the nuculear power houses that we have not got, and we will only suffer the toxic fumes if we breathe. Pet dogs are not allowed to pee on the trees for the next 24 hours. YEA !! tell that to Mr Major.
Keith

[T1 Terry]

You would think the fire department would know how to contain a lithium battery fire wouldn't you? Dump sand on it, the heat melts the sand into a glass coating, sealing it off, pump nitrogen under the area the sand was dumped so the % of oxygen generated by that particular lithium chemistry is reduced to a level that will no longer sustain the fire .... then it cools down, the fires stop because the temperature drops below the point the chemistry self generates oxygen and the whole mess sits and cools for a few weeks.
Putting water on it is about as silly as spraying petrol on the fire. At the actual fire base, the chemical reaction is actually generating its own oxygen supply so the heat is super intense .... enough to actually split water into hydrogen and oxygen .... the problem just gets worse. You can't drown a fire that generates its own oxygen ....

This is the issue with using unsafe lithium battery chemistries for energy storage. They don't have a weight or size constraint, why not use LTO cells/batteries? Last longer than any other chemistry battery, won't burn or explode etc no matter what you do to them, if they get accidentally over voltage charged they just loose some of their cycle life. The can be discharged to 0v with no damage ....... Just dumb all round .....

T1 Terry

[2foot6]

Terry wrote: You would think the fire department would know how to contain a lithium battery fire wouldn't you

This fire started Friday,so lithium batteries are good for electicity and heating

Terry the fire is still going,here is the warning issued by CFA



Issued Today at 6:36 PM.

This Advice message is being issued for Bell Post Hill, Lovely Banks, Moorabool.

This replaces the Advice issued at 6:07pm on Saturday, July 31.
There is a structure fire not yet under control.
Smoke may be visible from nearby roads and communities.
There is currently no threat to the community, but you should continue to stay informed and monitor conditions.
What you should do:
Keep the roads clear so emergency services can respond.
If you are sensitive to smoke or you live with someone who is sensitive to smoke you should close windows and doors. Turn off heating and cooling systems.
To prevent the smell of smoke entering your home or business you should close windows and doors.
Impacts in your area:
Emergency Services will remain in the area.
This message was issued by Country Fire Authority.

[T1 Terry]

At the 20 sec mark in the video, you can see them dragging the water hoses out, at the 30 sec mark you can see the water hoses between the battery packs and possibly watr being sprayed onto the fire ....... You can't put out a fire with water that is supplying its own oxygen, that is what is happening here with these cells burning, they actually produce oxygen if heated above a certain level.
If you are interested, check this video at around the 5:50 mark https://firefighterinsider.com/the-best ... batteries/ and at the very end where he drops the flat sheet in, the bubbling is the flammable gasses being released, when it's crumpled up it gets hot enough to ignite those gases .... with a fire already active, it doesn't take much thought process to figure out just what is going to happen to the fire all the time water is added to it .... and you can see indications of the heat involved in such a small sample, it actually melts the glass bowl .....
That is intense heat, confine that and the heat increases ..... 2200*C and water splits to hydrogen and oxygen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_spl ... 20and%20OH.

From this article : https://www.envistaforensics.com/blog/e ... Fahrenheit.
"Fire ignition establishes that the cathode of the battery can catch fire. The burning lithium creates a metal fire existing at temperatures of 2,000 degrees Celsius/3632 degrees Fahrenheit. Attempting to douse the fire with water is inadvisable since this could lead to a hydrogen gas explosion!"

Not just me that believes pumping water onto a lithium battery fire is bad idea ....

T1 Terry