On Sep 11, 2006, at 6:36 PM, Marc Nicholas wrote:

> Chemistry seems to remind me that Li is safe under oil?
> I really would sleep better putting this sucker into safe
> containment and doing the Right Thing(tm) with hazmat tomorrow.
>
Typically, the dangerous Li-ion battery reactions are not those
between metallic Lithium and the air; you get thermite-like
reactions between cathode (?) materials like cobalt oxide and
the lithium, and/or simple combustion of vaporized electrolyte
(which is flammable.)  I don't think oil is a good idea (more
flammable stuff.)

I've heard anecdotally that the "proper" disposal for damaged
cells is to throw them in a moderate sized bucket of salt water.
Outside, of course.  This decomposes the lithium that's left,
dissipates any remaining charge,  and cools everything down
to the point where it is unlikely to combust.  This sounds
reasonable to me, except that I'm no sure how dangerous the
resulting solution is (chemically speaking.)

BillW

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