Do li-ion cells contain mercury?

[jimbo231]

Do any lithium ion batteries contain mercury? Even the cheaper ones from deal extreme?

 

[Robin24k]

I doubt it...Li-Ion should be non-hazardous.

 

[Mdinana]

Even if they did, I don't see what the problem is. You're not eating them. I mean, if you were planning a snack, then yeah, I'd frown upon it.

I'd be curious as to the battery's in pacemakers, given they're in place 5+ years.

 

[DM51]

Wrong forum. Moving it to Batteries...

 

[CaseyS]

According to this:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"Lithium (metal) batteries contain no toxic metals[/FONT]..."

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-20.htm

 

[jimbo231]

I was wondering in case the protected cells vent when charged releasing the mercury. Do they even vent?

 

[Robin24k]

I think that if they vented, potentially leaking some mercury isn't going to be one of your top concerns.

 

[Ragiska]

Do they even vent?

explosively,with flame

 

[jimbo231]

Oh so under normal charging there is no gas released? Thats what I was worried about.

 

[Robin24k]

No, under normal circumstances, Li-Ion is quite safe.

 

[Apollo Cree]

I was wondering in case the protected cells vent when charged releasing the mercury. Do they even vent?

Li-ion cells do sometimes vent (or explode.)

If the cells vent or explode, RUN!

Here's the "MSDS" Material Safety Data Sheet for a few different Li-on cells.

http://www.rathboneenergy.com/batteries/material_saftey_data_sheets/liion/msds_liion_fr_uk.pdf


http://www.rathboneenergy.com/batteries/material_saftey_data_sheets/liion/sanyoliion.pdf

The MSDSs seem to be written by lawyers rather than offering much useful advice other than "Run and call the fire department."

Read them yourself.

They're not real good on distinguishing between venting and exploding and giving you a clue about whether it's a real hazard or a "just don't eat the stuff" hazard. They mention hydrogen fluoride, which is really nasty in large enough quantities. There are some other chemicals as well.

It's clear that you should get away until the dust settles, and try not to breathe, ingest, or get the material on your skin or eyes.

 

[Apollo Cree]

Oh so under normal charging there is no gas released? Thats what I was worried about.

I'm not real sure that no gas at all is released under normal charging, but it shouldn't be enough of anything really nasty to worry about. The materials inside the battery aren't that terribly toxic in small quantities.

The battery can't be releasing much material on a recharge cycle or it would use up whatever material it's venting.

My impression is that the cell is designed to contain any gasses produced in normal charging operation, and that it only vents when something abnormal happens and gas builds up and pressure gets high. I suppose it could be designed to slowly leak a small amount of gas when charging or that there's some degree of gas diffusion through some porous material of some kind.