什么是锂？为什么在电池中使用的锂？锂如何影响环境？
Most people don’t know much about the batteries that power their devices. Don’t you want to know more about the battery on your phone?
Today, you’re going to learn all about lithium-ion batteries.
锂来自哪里？
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.
The second place we get lithium from is the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. Salar de Uyuni is the world’s biggest salt flat. Corporations pump brine to the surface. It sits over a period of months as the water evaporates, leaving behind lithium rich salt.
This process is water intensive – using500,000 gallons per tonne of lithium。这是一个巨大的社会和环境问题。65％的地区的水用于这种形式的锂挖掘。许多当地社区必须从其他资源中发货。
How Does Lithium Work?
Batteries don’t actually store electricity. In fact, electricity can’t be stored. Instead, batteries work by converting chemical energy into electrical energy.
Lithium-ion batteries are made up of an anode, a cathode, a solvent, and a barrier. The anode and cathode are at opposite ends of the battery. They pull electrons through the barrier separating the anode and cathode. These electrons cause a chemical reaction that produces electricity.
When you charge your phone, the electrons are pulled back toward the anode. When it’s charged, the electrons are ready to make the trek toward the cathode again.
Why Is Lithium Used in Batteries?
要了解我们为什么使用锂电池，我们需要了解锂离子电池的特权。
There are a lot of pros and a few cons to the lithium-ion battery. Let’s explore that.
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.
减少自放电
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.)
No Priming Required
Many batteries need to be primed before their first use. That’s not the case with lithium-ion. Charge it up all the way and it’s ready to roll!
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
Power Protection Required
锂离子电池在达到他们所充电的方式时非常脆弱。过度收费损坏它们，您不想使用太强大或太弱的当前。
This is all handled by a mini computer and special circuitry. The user never has to worry about it.
老化
啊老化，我们所有人的福音。无论是使用还是没有，锂离子电池往往在2 - 3年后往往会变坏。之后，他们需要更换。这是智能手机征税，但达到电动车时更糟糕。
Cost
Lithium-ion is expensive – about 40% more expensive than nickel-cadmium cells.
Explosive Tendencies
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?
考虑锂离子电池和环境时，有两个主要问题。首先是当我们从我们周围的世界中提取锂时会发生什么。第二个是锂在处理时如何影响世界。我们将看看两个接下来。
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.
Dead Fish and Yaks Clog the River in China
在几次，李奇河旁边的小镇的当地人发现死鱼填满了河流。他们谈到了恐怖的味道。他们说数百岁和牛死于饮用受污染的水。
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.
当地人表示，河流曾经充满了健康，蓬勃发展的鱼。现在有很少。
Locals in Bolivia Struggle for Water – It’s Going to the Salt Flats Instead
如上所述，撒拉德乌Uuni围绕撒拉德·梅努的地区努力获得淡水。许多村庄从其他地区携带水。
65％的可用水用于制造盐平面中的盐水。从那里，水被引入到浅层池中，在那里坐落并在最后几个月蒸发。它留下了富含锂的盐。它使用是因为它有效，简单，成本效益。
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?
What happens to your lithium-ion batteries when they’ve outlived their lives? You may be able to recycle them, but in the UK less than 3% of phones were actually recycled.
And if they are recycled, there’s not much that we can do with them. The lithium is worn out, and it can’t be put into a new phone. Many of the processes used to melt down the metals end up destroying the lithium as is.
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.
由于爆炸性倾向，锂离子特别糟糕。当墨盒开始磨损时，锂离子电池可以爆炸。他们开始难以控制的火灾。
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.
我们对于它可以做些什么呢？
无论好坏，锂离子电池现在都是我们生活的一部分。尽管如此，你还能做一些事情。
Always Recycle Your Batteries and Electronics
Even if we can’t reuse the materials, recycling keeps these toxins out of our landfills.
买重复使用
使用可重复使用的电池将削减每年丢弃多少电池。考虑这些有用的提示下次您考虑购买电池。
Cut Out Batteries Whenever Possible
如果您在电池或没有电池之间取得了选择，请选择无需电池选择。我们无法完全从我们的生活中彻底切断电池，但你可以削减帮助的任何地方。
If you can opt for energy saving options elsewhere in your life.Solar energyis becoming more affordable and viable for the every-day American.
留意更好的选择
It looks like the lithium-ion battery is here to stay for a while. But the scientist that can come up with a better battery is going to go down in history. There’s a ton of research in the battery field right now. When the time comes, consider investing in more environmentally friendly options.
For example, this scientist is looking to build acarbon-based battery棉花 - 所有事情！
尽管环境影响，但电池在这里留下来
We understand why lithium is used in batteries, even if we don’t like it. But for the time being, it still remains the most environmentally friendly battery.
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.
Curious about other energy options? Have you learned howgeothermal energy可能是下一个大事吗？
