Author Topic: An interesting read on Lithium Batteries  (Read 2528 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Bird

  • Once Was Lost, now am found
  • Hard Top Camper User
  • ******
  • Posts: I am a geek!!
  • Thanked: 1818 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Life is far too long....
    • My Place.
An interesting read on Lithium Batteries
« on: June 24, 2019, 04:43:42 PM »
We are all – well, all of us who are privileged enough – existing on a spectrum somewhere between “concerned” and “downright panicking” about human impact on the Lithium giant will 'get rid of biggest headache' in controversial South West waste dump

We look forward to the day our economy transitions to 100 per cent renewable energy, the sun and wind power our homes and lithium batteries store this energy to be used when the wind is not blowing or the sun is not shining.

But here’s the rub: the lithium used to make these batteries must be torn from underground, just like oil, gas and coal.

Western Australia holds some of the world’s richest known lithium deposits and now has an emerging industry to process that lithium here, not just ship it to China as previously done.

It’s part of a plan to make us more than just the world’s quarry; a bigger player in an industry promising big money, and bring jobs and industry to the South West.

But we have run up against a reality, in the very recognisable area of the Ferguson Valley: a reality predictable, yet startling.

Lithium mining will leave its own scars on a landscape already littered with tens of thousands of abandoned mining voids, pits, equipment and piles of tailings – and create its own waste.

In WA’s South West, processing of spodumene ore from the Greenbushes lithium mine will result in 600,000 tonnes per year of waste material being dumped – or ‘stacked’, if you want the euphemism – only 3.5km outside the charming little town of Dardanup.

Let me repeat that: 600,000 tonnes per year.

The existing landfill there, where Cleanaway has applied to take the spodumene tailings to, is already highly visible from the road as you drive towards the region's flagship wineries.

The application has offended the residents who already put up with dust, rubbish and runoff from the existing and already enormous landfill site.

continues -> https://www.theage.com.au/national/enormous-lithium-waste-dump-plan-shows-how-shamefully-backward-we-are-20190621-p52054.html
-
Click to enlarge

Gone to a new home

Offline achjimmy

  • Hard Top Camper User
  • ******
  • Posts: 3254
  • Thanked: 165 times
  • Gender: Male
Re: An interesting read on Lithium Batteries
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2019, 06:17:35 PM »
Lol yup renewables will be one day (if we live long enough ) looked upon as another great con.

I am no renewables expert but I did supply robots that were installed in all the BP solar plants around the world (Maryland , Spain, India) before they bailed on solar . Also supplied other equipment to BP Sydney and Orgin  solar and another plant that escapes me. And always remember my first chat with an engineer. He said 25yrs life of this panel will just about repay the environment back for the destruction a panel causes  ;D. Nasty acids and chemicals , power consumption to the plant the largest over ever seen and that doesn’t count the power used to make the aluminum extrusion or the out glass laminate !

The joke is the panels now aren’t making 25yrs or even a quarter in some cases  :'(
Here for a good time, not a long time!

Jim

Offline Craig Tomkinson

  • Hard Top Camper User
  • ******
  • Posts: 2670
  • Thanked: 470 times
  • Gender: Male
Re: An interesting read on Lithium Batteries
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2019, 07:57:23 PM »
I am hoping they will do the right thing as they have done down through the hunter valley in NSW, there are just dozens of coal mines down that area, and tailing have made mountains everywhere but they have covered them with top soil and treed and grassed them over its hard to tell what is man made and natural
1990 80 series 1HZ hill sniffer rebiult with 2 inch lift
1982 Jayco Jaylark  pop up van rebuilt
1999 5m Quintrex King on heavy duty offroad boat trailer

Offline speewa158

  • Hard Top Camper User
  • ******
  • Posts: 12092
  • Thanked: 558 times
  • Gender: Male
Re: An interesting read on Lithium Batteries
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2019, 08:15:49 PM »
To battery or Not to battery that is the Question   ?,,,,, moving forward or not  as it may or may not be   .                          >:D Stuff the question pay the cost     ???  Your Call ,,,,,   :cheers:
You can go your own way . Treg Up & Make Dust

Offline sharkcaver

  • Soft Floor Camper User
  • ****
  • Posts: 744
  • Thanked: 225 times
  • Gender: Male
    • My ramblings:
Re: An interesting read on Lithium Batteries
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2019, 09:10:36 PM »
There ain't no such thing as a free lunch (that we have discovered yet). And they have the hide to call me a climate change denier. All well and good until you look into all the facts hey.

Using school kids as pawns in the climate change debate for political point scoring - Shame on you.
An NX Paj, a D-Max and an Ultimate X-trk

http://sharkcaver.blogspot.com.au/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoz71vk1CWl6lp6Tv3dXhkQ/videos?sort=dd&view=0&shelf_id=0

Offline l0ckym

  • Sleeping Bag User
  • *
  • Posts: 41
  • Thanked: 2 times
  • Gender: Male
Re: An interesting read on Lithium Batteries
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2019, 09:02:59 AM »
Lithium isn't the only storage solution - Zinc Bromide (RedFlow) is another promising technology, as are some graphene composite catalysts.

Whilst I agree, digging a big hole in the ground to dig up yet another finite resource - and dumping the leftovers in someones backyard, isn't very charitable - the difference in digging Lithium up compared to fossil fuels is you're not then vaporising it into the atmosphere, its stored in a solid state, that can be recycled (albeit expensively at present - but new technologies are being researched to solve that problem).  So it shouldn't necessarily be compared to those from a resource perspective.
2005 Nissan X-Trail ST
2008 Mountain Trail Camper

Offline gronk

  • KKK... Kwik Kool Kamping
  • Hard Top Camper User
  • ******
  • Posts: 7996
  • Thanked: 401 times
  • Gender: Male
Re: An interesting read on Lithium Batteries
« Reply #6 on: June 25, 2019, 10:30:57 PM »
Lithium isn't the only storage solution - Zinc Bromide (RedFlow) is another promising technology, as are some graphene composite catalysts.

Whilst I agree, digging a big hole in the ground to dig up yet another finite resource - and dumping the leftovers in someones backyard, isn't very charitable - the difference in digging Lithium up compared to fossil fuels is you're not then vaporising it into the atmosphere, its stored in a solid state, that can be recycled (albeit expensively at present - but new technologies are being researched to solve that problem).  So it shouldn't necessarily be compared to those from a resource perspective.

A interesting point or two.....on an average $10,000 lithium battery ( like in a plug in hybrid car ) only approx $100 of that is lithium.
And mining lithium is 1/2 as costly by extracting it from brine ( like a salt flat ) as opposed to extracting it from ore out of the ground.
The largest producer of lithium is Chile....which extracts it from the Altacama Salt Flats.

So the recycling problem still exists, whether it be lead acid or lithium !!
2009 200 series Yota
2019 Lifestyle Ultra