Lithium battery
But for other, less critical, applications such as in toys, the lithium battery may actually outlast the toy. In such cases, an expensive lithium battery is not cost-efficient.
Lithium batteries can be used in place of ordinary alkaline cells in many devices, such as clocks and cameras. Although they are more costly, lithium cells will provide much longer life, thereby minimizing battery replacement. However, attention must be given to the higher voltage developed by the lithium cells before using them as a drop-in replacement in devices that normally use ordinary cells.
Small lithium batteries are very commonly used in small, portable electronic devices, such as PDAs, watches, thermometers, and calculators, as backup batteries in computers and communication equipment, and in remote car locks. They are available in many shapes and sizes, with a common variety being the 3 volt “coin” type manganese variety, typically 20 mm in diameter and 1.64 mm thick. The heavy electrical demands of many of these devices make lithium batteries a particularly attractive option. In particular, lithium batteries can easily support the brief, heavy current demands of devices such as digital cameras, and they maintain a higher voltage for a longer period than alkaline cells.
Some other lithium batteries use a platinum-iridium alloy instead of more usual compounds. These batteries are generally not preferred, as their cost is high and they tend to be fragile.
Safety issues and regulation
The computer industry’s drive to increase battery capacity can test the limits of sensitive components such as the membrane separator, a polyethylene or polypropylene film that is only 20-25 m thick. The energy density of lithium batteries has more than doubled since they were introduced in 1991. When the battery is made to contain more material, the separator can undergo stress.
Rapid-discharge issues
Lithium batteries can provide extremely high currents and can discharge very rapidly when short-circuited. Although this is useful in applications where high currents are required, a too-rapid discharge of a lithium battery can result in overheating of the battery, rupture, and even explosion. Lithium-thionyl chloride batteries are particularly susceptible to this type of discharge. Consumer batteries usually incorporate overcurrent or thermal protection or vents in order to prevent explosion.
Air travel
Because of the above risks, shipping and carriage of lithium batteries is restricted in some situations, particularly transport of lithium batteries by air.
The United States Transportation Security Administration announced restrictions effective January 1, 2008 on lithium batteries in checked and carry-on luggage. The rules forbid lithium batteries not installed in a device from checked luggage and restrict them in carry-on luggage by total lithium content.
Lithium batteries and methamphetamine labs
Unused lithium batteries provide a convenient source of lithium metal for use as a reducing agent in methamphetamine labs. Some jurisdictions have passed laws to restrict lithium battery sales or asked businesses to make voluntary restrictions in an attempt to help curb the creation of illegal meth labs. For example a newspaper article from January 2004 reports that Wal-Mart stores limit the sale of disposable lithium batteries to three packages in Missouri and four packages in other states. However, the heavy demand for lithium batteries for use in modern, current-hungry devices such as digital cameras conflicts with such restrictions. Via internet retailers, such restrictions can usually be bypassed with little effort.
Transportation
UK regulations for the transport of lithium batteries were amended by the National Chemical Emergency Centre in 2009.
See also
Lithium-ion battery
Lithium air battery
Lithium-ion polymer battery
Battery recycling
Battery holder
Button cell
References
^ http://www.protomatic.com/markets/alternative-energy/batteries Lithium Battery Production
^ Rayovac – White Papers
^ Lithium sulfuryl chloride battery
^ http://yosemite.epa.gov/OSW/rcra.nsf/Documents/CC7D81DF307086C085256611005AC8EC
^ Lithium Batteries Specifications
^ Lithium/carbon monofluoride (Li/CFx): a new pacema…[Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 1996] – PubMed Result
^ Lithium Poly Carbon Monoflouride http://www.houseofbatteries.com/Howto/LiPolyC.htm
^ http://nyc-amp.cuny.edu/abstracts/view.asp?ID=654
^ “Traveling Safe with Batteries”. Department of Transportation. http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
^ http://www.unknownnews.net/040126waronthinking.html
^ http://the-ncec.com/assets/NewsAndArticles/Final-report-version-2-Lithium-Batteries.pdf
Common back up circuit diagram
External links
The 2009 amendments