Characterisation of Smoke Particles from Lithium-Ion Battery Fire: Morphology, Size and Composition

Abstract

The electrification of the transport sector is a necessary step to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in the atmosphere in order to mitigate climate change. Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are considered a key enabling technology and are crucially important for the green energy transition. However, LIBs may pose safety concerns, as demonstrated by the recurrent fire accidents involving electric vehicles, according to news reports from recent years. Several studies concentrated mainly on the identification, composition and flammability of vented gases during LIBs thermal runaway and fires. Scarce work about the particle emissions during a LIB fire can be found in the literature. To fill up this research gap, in this study, we characterised smoke particles from Li-ion battery fire using Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) to evaluate their size, morphology, crystallographic and chemical composition. Our results show that battery fire smoke particles contain chemical components and crystallographic phases that are toxic for health and environment. Moreover, we confirm the presence of (ultra) fine particles, reported previously, which due to their small size are inhalable and can therefore pose a serious risk to human health. Recommendations for further experimental studies are outlined to establish e.g. a correlation between smoke particles emissions and battery SOC, chemistry, abuse scenario, etc.