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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lithium -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Archie Meeties who wrote (45)	6/9/2009 7:46:46 PM
From: Condor	Respond to of 1146

Good point. It would be interesting and important to know the recovery economics of Lithium in electronic gadget batteries (presumably, small and expensive to items to crack and recover it from) as opposed to electric automobile batteries.

To: Archie Meeties who wrote (45)	6/10/2009 5:06:42 AM
From: Condor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1146

This item on Lithium recycling will interest you. C +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Why is Lithium Battery Recycling Effective June 8, 2009 by admin Filed under: Battery Recycling First of all, batteries are a simple mechanism, which can be made out of almost anything that can produce the specified chemical reaction. For example, you can make a lithium battery out of potatoes or lemons. The trick is that these vegetables and fruits contain liquids that are based on ions, and the lithium battery needs and electrolyte. All that’s needed next are two electrodes. But there would be no point in making a battery out of a fruit, as it would last too little and manage to power something as small as a led for a few seconds. This is exactly why lithium batteries are considered to be the most efficient ones. As lithium is a metal that reacts even with open air, because air is moist as well, it manages to turn this chemical reaction into a reachable amount of energy. Also, lithium is the metal that weights less than any other metals, so this is also a plus for making batteries out of lithium. The only thing that makes lithium disastrous is the fact that lithium battery recycling is not always done as it should be and because the fact that it’s highly reactive, it can burst into flames quite easily at any temperature variation and is also able to capture any sparks from the environment and use them to produce a fire that can not be put out that easily. Since lithium battery recycling mostly reflects to batteries used in laptops and cell phones, it is better not to leave the devices over-heat, after they are already used and should be changed. Also, do not store lithium batteries in the home if they are unusable. Even if it takes much longer to damage a lithium battery and to decrease its energy levels, they do have a life expectancy, and they do fail at some point. It is essential to store then out of sunlight and away from heat, and then take them to a lithium battery recycling center. Specialized centers that deal with lithium battery recycling are usually placed inside stores that sell electronic devices. In most countries, producers and resellers of electric equipment that use lithium batteries are obliged by law to also recycle these batteries. From here, batteries must be transported to lithium battery recycling corporations, which are the ones that deal with actually extracting the lithium from used batteries. The metal is not affected when a battery is consumed, it can be reused, just that the electrolyte environment it was placed in is not usable. So the lithium is extracted and then used to make new batteries or in other purposes. Because lithium can be recovered in a proportion of almost 100%, lithium batteries are considered to be the best recyclable batteries. Since they also last longer and need less changing, they are the best choice for the environment as long as they are kept and managed properly. However, there are a few companies in the world able to extract lithium form batteries, because this is an expensive process that should be conducted with great care and with the help of the newest technologies.