What is lithium? Why is lithium used in batteries? How does lithium affect the environment?
大多数人对电源的电池不太了解。您不想在手机上了解电池吗？
Today, you’re going to learn all about lithium-ion batteries.
Where Does Lithium Come From?
The lithium in your rechargeable batteries comes from one of two places. The first is from mines in Tibet and China. The best known is the Ganzizhou Rongda Lithium mine. Here, miners extract lithium from the mountains.
我们得到锂的第二名是玻利维亚的撒拉德Uyuni。Salar de Uyuni是世界上最大的盐。公司将盐水泵到表面上。随着水蒸发，它坐在几个月内，留下富含锂的盐。
This process is water intensive – using每吨锂500,000加仑. This is a huge social and environmental problem. 65% of the area’s water is used in this form of lithium mining. Many local communities have to get their water shipped in from other resources.
锂如何工作？
Batteries don’t actually store electricity. In fact, electricity can’t be stored. Instead, batteries work by converting chemical energy into electrical energy.
锂离子电池由阳极，阴极，溶剂和屏障组成。阳极和阴极位于电池的相对端。它们通过隔离阳极和阴极的屏障拉动电子。这些电子导致产生电力的化学反应。
当您为手机充电时，电子将朝向阳极返回。当它充电时，电子准备再次使沿距离沿着阴极。
Why Is Lithium Used in Batteries?
To understand why we use lithium, we need to understand the perks of the lithium-ion battery.
锂离子电池有很多优点和几个缺点。让我们探索这一点。
Pros
High Energy Density
Compared to other batteries, lithium is lighter and holds way more energy. That means it’s easier to power phones and other items where weight and size are an issue.
Less Self-Discharge
Most batteries lose a bit of their power during use. Lithium-ion batteries do too, but much less – only about 5% in the first month and 2% per charge after that.
Low Maintenance
Other batteries need a lot of maintenance to ensure they function properly. For example, they may need to drain completely before they can recharge again. Lithium-ion batteries don’t have that issue. (Actually, you should never completely drain a lithium-ion battery. It won’t recharge afterward.)
不需要初步
许多电池需要在首次使用之前进行灌输。锂离子不是这种情况。一路费，它准备好滚动！
Variety of Options and Uses
Lithium-ion is versatile. It can be used in something as small as a vape-pen to something as big as a car. It has seemingly-endless potential uses.
cons
需要电源保护
Lithium-ion batteries are pretty fragile when it comes to the way they’re charged. Overcharging damages them, and you don’t want to use too strong or too weak of a current.
这完全由迷你计算机和特殊电路处理。用户永远不必担心它。
Aging
Ah aging, the boon of us all. Whether they’re used or not, lithium-ion batteries tend to go bad after 2-3 years. After that, they need replacing. This is taxing enough in a smartphone, but even worse when it comes to an electric car.
Cost
锂离子昂贵 - 比镍镉电池昂贵约40％。
爆炸倾向
You all remember when Samsung had to recall Note 7? There was an issue with the Lithium-ion batteries. It spontaneously caused the Notes to explode. The vast majority of the time, these batteries are totally safe. But a lithium-ion laptop battery holds as much energy as a hand grenade.
How Do Lithium-Ion Batteries Affect the Environment?
There are two main concerns when considering lithium-ion batteries and the environment. The first is what happens when we extract lithium from the world around us. The second is how does lithium affect the world when it is disposed of. We’ll look at both of those next.
As we mentioned above, lithium comes from China, or it comes from the world’s largest salt flat in Bolivia. Neither of these is great for the environment.
死鱼和牦牛堵塞了中国的河流
On several occasions, locals in small towns next to the Liqi river found dead fish filling the river. They talked about the horrendous smell. They said that hundreds of yak and oxen died from drinking the contaminated water.
In their protest, the government temporarily shut down the Ganzizhou Rongda Lithium mine. They promised to address the environmental concerns before allowing the mines to reopen.
But this didn’t happen. Within a few months, the rivers were full of dead fish again.
The locals said the river used to be full of healthy, thriving fish. Now there are few.
玻利维亚的当地人争取水 - 它会前往盐平面
As mentioned above, the area surrounding the Salar de Uyuni struggles to get fresh water. Many villages have water transported in from other areas.
65% of the water available is used to make brine in the salt flats. From there, the water is channeled into shallow pools where it sits and evaporates for months on end. It leaves a lithium-rich salt behind. It’s used because it’s efficient, easy, and cost-effective.
This process has disastrous effects on the locals who struggle to find fresh water. Furthermore, it’s marring the landscape, leaving huge ruts and unnatural formations.
What Happens When My Phone Dies?
当他们的生活中失望时，锂离子电池会发生什么？您可能能够回收它们，但在英国，不到3％的手机实际回收。
如果他们被回收，我们就可以与他们做些太多。锂磨损，它不能放入新的手机中。许多用于融化金属的过程最终摧毁锂。
Nonetheless, recycling is still better than throwing them in the landfill. Batteries that end up in the landfill leach toxic chemicals into the ground. From there, they get washed up into streams, and eventually into the ocean. Crops grown near landfills pick up the toxic chemicals from the ground. The toxins end up in your food.
Lithium-ion is especially bad, due to the explosive tendencies. When the cartridge starts to wear down, lithium-ion batteries can explode. They start fires that are hard to control.
Smoke from the fires and the toxins are leached into the air. This all contributes to the world’s greenhouse gasses and to global warming.
What Can We Do About It?
For better or worse, lithium-ion batteries are a part of our lives now. Still, there are a few things you can do.
Always Recycle Your Batteries and Electronics
Even if we can’t reuse the materials, recycling keeps these toxins out of our landfills.
Buy Reusable
Using reusable batteries will cut back on how many batteries you dispose of every year. Consider theseuseful tipsnext time you think about buying batteries.
Cut Out Batteries Whenever Possible
If you have the option between batteries or no batteries, opt for the battery-free option. We can’t completely cut batteries out of our lives, but any place you can cut back help.
If you can opt for energy saving options elsewhere in your life.Solar energyis becoming more affordable and viable for the every-day American.
Keep an Eye Out For Better Options
看起来锂离子电池在这里留下一段时间。但是可以提出更好的电池的科学家将在历史上下降。现在电池领域有很多研究。何时到来，考虑投资更加环保的选择。
For example, this scientist is looking to build acarbon-based batteryout of cotton – of all things!
Despite Environmental Effects, Batteries are Here to Stay
我们理解为什么锂在电池中使用，即使我们不喜欢它也是如此。但暂时，它仍然是最环保的电池。
Do what you can to cut back on your battery consumption and take care of your electronics. This will help cut yourcarbon footprintwhen it comes to batteries.
对其他能量选择好奇？你学会了如何乐动体育足球 可能是下一个大事件?
