Lithium Smoked into water ?

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awbrew

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 21, 2011
Messages
87
Ok Guys, I've been on you tube, and just seen a Lithium battery just smoke into water
(even catching on fire sometimes). So what just happened here? Did the the Lithium go into solution?. or into the at atmosphere? or Both? is the Lithium still recoverable? or is it gone? I Know this is a little fare off the subjects here... but to be honest, you guys are the only one I know that can answer this question? So thanks in advance on this one...
 
awbrew said:
Ok Guys, I've been on you tube, and just seen a Lithium battery just smoke into water
(even catching on fire sometimes). So what just happened here? Did the the Lithium go into solution?. or into the at atmosphere? or Both? is the Lithium still recoverable? or is it gone? I Know this is a little fare off the subjects here... but to be honest, you guys are the only one I know that can answer this question? So thanks in advance on this one...
Click to expand...

Hey awbrew - lithium metal is very reactive and reacts with water to produce hydrogen, lithium hydroxide, heat, and steam, hence the smoke.

Lithium hydroxide behaves very similar to sodium hydroxide, both absorb atmospheric CO2 producing lithium carbonate. Both metals need to be stored under parafin oil

A fully charged lithium battery will react more than a uncharged dud.

Hope that answers your question.

cheers

Deano
 
They will also split the water into hydrogen and oxygen until they discharge. Both gases are flammable.
 
cool Deano, So how would one go about recovering, precipitating, Lithium back. or would it be more stable in this second form as far as recovery and selling back into the market. Some time into the future, I see these batteries making it into the automotive industry and by the look of things, they may be there already.(the 6 cell dry batteries that they cell at advance auto) not sure about those dry cell batteries. Thanks for the previous answer.
 
Thanks Glondor, for the reply. just curious about the future? I thought we may have been able to recovery and sell the LI. But after seeing these Vids, it probably be safer to sell them the way they are cased. And they may not make it into any big size battery, for exp. Electric cars. Even if they make it in the size of a regular car battery size, I would wont a bunch of these stacked together, like we do regularly with acid type car batteries?
 
P.s. Guys, How does LI exist in nature, if something as simple as water is so reactive with it? is it in a salt (naturally) or something that binds it and makes it safe?
 
ok I found a link that answers some of my concerns http://www.mpoweruk.com/lithiumS.htm but still not sure about LI in the natural form. is it just so spread out over other material (dirt) that is isn't so reactive?
 
Lithium is widely distributed but does not occur in nature in its free form. Because of its reactivity, it is always found bound with one or more other elements or compounds. Found in trace amounts in the minerals; spodumene (LiAl(SiO3)2), amblygonite (Li,Na)AlPO4(F,OH)), lepidolite (KLi2Al(Al,Si)3O10(F,OH)2). Most commercial lithium is recovered from brines sources in Chile. Also obtained by passing electric charge through melted lithium chloride.
Around 39 thousand tons are produced every year.
---------------------
this is from periodic table posted on the forum...(i cant remember who)
 
Thanks Rucito, for the reply, that makes sense to me now. I have a small auto salvage yard, I thought that Recycling Li batteries would be very profitable in the future. But after seeing how unstable Li is. I dont believe recovery will be some thing that we could do on a small scale.
 
Lithium handling is out of most people's reach. While it's not as reactive as the heavier alkali metals, it has its own set of challenges. For one: it floats on oil as it is the lightest metal known. For two, it can't be handled as a liquid with quartz or any ceramic containing oxygen--the attack by lithium is rapid. Very aggressive when liquid, quite unlike cesium in that regard. It takes a lot of lithium by volume to make a pound!!!

I've handled every alkali metal. Lithium I appreciate most but it is ugly!
 
Lou said:
Lithium handling is out of most people's reach. While it's not as reactive as the heavier alkali metals, it has its own set of challenges. For one: it floats on oil as it is the lightest metal known. For two, it can't be handled as a liquid with quartz or any ceramic containing oxygen--the attack by lithium is rapid. Very aggressive when liquid, quite unlike cesium in that regard. It takes a lot if lithium by volume to make a pound!!!

I've handled every alkali metal. Lithium I appreciate most but it is ugly!
Click to expand...

Lou Thanks for your response, I read (and learned from) so many of the threads you've wrote on here. And what you say carries a lot of weight with me, As I'm sure as with many others. you know we would stack the old acid battieries on a pallet (around 40 to 50), to be recycled. I not sure how safe i would feel if they were Li Battieries. Keep up the good work! :lol:
 
awbrew said:
P.s. Guys, How does LI exist in nature, if something as simple as water is so reactive with it? is it in a salt (naturally) or something that binds it and makes it safe?
Click to expand...

Most metals exist in nature, in their mineral form. Very few metal crystals actually find each other and create lumps of metal. Gold is one of the few.
 
Lou said:
Lithium handling is out of most people's reach. While it's not as reactive as the heavier alkali metals, it has its own set of challenges. For one: it floats on oil as it is the lightest metal known. For two, it can't be handled as a liquid with quartz or any ceramic containing oxygen--the attack by lithium is rapid. Very aggressive when liquid, quite unlike cesium in that regard. It takes a lot if lithium by volume to make a pound!!!

I've handled every alkali metal. Lithium I appreciate most but it is ugly!
Click to expand...

I took Li out of batteries, folded the strips then put them in a glass container, in mineral oil. It seems to be keeping nicely. It does tarnish as soon as it's exposed to oxygen however, and becomes dull and ugly before you can even handle it.
 
Thanks SBrown for the response. So it takes a certain amount of the Li in pure form to be this reactive? Kind of like when Hoke speaks of Platium spong glowing under Gas, But only in the finely divided state.
 
Ok Guys, So where did the LI go? into the atmosphere correct... into the heat of the reaction also.. but not into the water correct...
 
When you expose Li to air, it immediately reacts with nitrogen to form lithium nitrite, which causes the tarnish you see when it's exposed, you can actually watch it happen. If you cut the Li you can expose the shiny part where it was cut, then watch as it tarnishes. When Li reacts with H20 it produces hydrogen as a gas and lithium hydroxide or LiOH (I believe, please correct me if I am wrong). It also generates heat.
 

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