Lithium-ion Battery Thermal Runaway In A Methane-air Environment - SME Annual Meeting 2022

As lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) become more prevalent in the mining industry, new hazards of battery fire and explosion are emerging. Efforts must be taken to ensure that workers are safe from these new hazards, such as batteries undergoing thermal runaway in underground areas that may have explosive methane-air mixtures. Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigated overpressures generated within a sealed battery enclosure filled with an explosive methane-air mixture and a single cell lithium-ion battery driven into thermal runaway using an accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC). For both iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion cells, the explosion overpressures remained unchanged with varying percentages of methane concentration in the atmosphere surrounding the cell. It’s likely that the gases released from the battery undergoing thermal runaway caused an inert atmosphere within the sealed canister. The results from this study will help mining equipment manufacturers develop proper measures to keep miners safe while working with lithium-ion batteries in underground gassy mines