Lithium-Ion Battery Recycle Plant Explodes in Missouri

Lithium-Ion Battery Recycle Plant Explodes in Missouri

Another dramatic example of the hazards associated with lithium-ion batteries occurred in one exploded battery processing plant near Fredericktown, Missouri. The incident prompted local evacuation.

Residents of a southeast Missouri town were forced to evacuate their homes Wednesday when a fire erupted at a nearby battery recycler.

Madison County 911 posted on Facebook around 2 p.m. on behalf of the county sheriff’s office telling residents north and west of Fredericktown to leave the area.

“If you can see or smell smoke in this area, you need to evacuate!” the post says.

In a separate post later in the afternoon, Madison County 911 and the Fredericktown Fire Department said only residents on Madison County Road 277 needed to evacuate. The county urged other residents to shelter in place. The post said the city of Fredericktown was not affected by the order.

“Close windows, doors and turn off window AC systems,” the post says. “…Again, if you see smoke, stay indoors.”

Fortunately, there were no casualties that were reported. The company, Critical Mineral Recovery, a massive lithium-ion battery recycling facility.

On its website, the company says the 225,000-square-foot plant is used to “recycle lithium-ion-battery-related materials from battery manufacturers, automotive OEMs, battery dealers, recyclers, and processors worldwide,” and describes it as “one of the largest lithium-ion battery processing facilities in the world.”

I suspect the cause of the explosion was thermal runaway, which is a a major concern with lithium-ion batteries. It occurs when a battery cell overheats, causing a chain reaction that spreads to other cells. The reaction also yields oxygen gas, which adds to the intensity of the fire.

The battery’s temperature rises slowly at first and then all at once, spiking to its peak temperature in about one second.

Another factor that makes lithium-ion battery fires challenging to handle is oxygen generation. When the metal oxides in a battery’s cathode, or positively charged electrode, are heated, they decompose and release oxygen gas. Fires need oxygen to burn, so a battery that can create oxygen can sustain a fire.

Because of the electrolyte’s nature, a 20% increase in a lithium-ion battery’s temperature causes some unwanted chemical reactions to occur much faster, which releases excessive heat. This excess heat increases the battery temperature, which in turn speeds up the reactions. The increased battery temperature increases the reaction rate, creating a process called thermal runaway. When this happens, the temperature in a battery can rise from 212 F (100 C) to 1,800 F (1000 C) in a second.

Now the state and environmental authorities are investigating the impacts of the explosion on the region.

Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources sent two people to the scene Wednesday evening to assess air quality, water runoff and other potential environmental impacts.

“Our responders will help consult on fire-response actions, take environmental samples during the event as needed and oversee cleanup measures afterward,” information officer Brian M. Quinn wrote in an email. “Environmental contractors will do the actual cleanup, and our job is to make sure it is conducted correctly.”

The federal Environmental Protection Agency will also be involved in air monitoring. Until the agencies have a better idea of the impacts, Quinn said people should avoid direct contact with the smoke and follow safety instructions from local authorities.

Legal Insurrection readers may recall that the lithium-ion battery fire at a San Diego facility took weeks to suppress. Interestingly, the nearby school remained evacuated…because further fire-suppression activities were anticipated.

Fredericktown R-1 Schools kept students indoors Thursday, according to the district’s Facebook page, but canceled classes Friday. The district said in a post Friday morning that it did not close because of air quality concerns, but rather “out of an abundance of caution” because further fire suppression efforts were expected.

Clearly, Americans are beginning to awaken realities of the “new green energy utopia”…which apparently entails a lot more chemistry and fire response than originally promised.

And the emissions from these fires is a bit more than zero as well.

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