Fire pillows and dry ice for transporting lithium-ion batteries
If a fire occurs during the transport or storage of lithium-ion batteries, fireproof containers from RETRON with sheet steel and thick insulation protect against the spread of fire. However, as a thermal runaway generates hot, sometimes toxic gases under high pressure, this alone is not sufficient for safe storage and transport. For this reason, all RETRON containers are supplied with additional fire pillows. The filling and cover of the fire protection cushions are made of non-flammable glass fibres. The batteries are embedded in the cushions for transport or storage: one cushion underneath, one on top.
The fire protection pillows fulfil several tasks at the same time:
- By placing them between the fire pillows, shocks that affect the steel containers during transport are absorbed, thus reducing the mechanical stress on the lithium-ion batteries.
- A fire pillow under a battery can absorb leaking chemicals (e.g. electrolytes, melted plastic). This makes disposal easier and prevents the containers from leaking even if they fall over.
- The cushion on the battery can filter the gases produced during thermal runaway.
Compared to loose fire protection granules fire pillows have the advantage that handling is much easier and cleaner. With large containers such as the RETRON 4000 in particular, storage facilities would otherwise have to be kept for large quantities of bulk material and the granulate would have to be laboriously removed after transport. Smaller lithium-ion batteries would also be more difficult to find in loose granulate.
Transporting lithium-ion batteries with dry ice
RETRON containers with correctly inserted fire protection cushions offer sufficient protection against the spread of fire when lithium-ion batteries suffer a thermal runaway. However, this is only the last line of defence for the safe transport of defective lithium-ion batteries. In the case of particularly dangerous batteries (e.g. in the event of severe damage), it may therefore make sense to additionally cool the freight with dry ice before transporting it for disposal. As chemical reactions take place more slowly at low temperatures and sometimes come to a standstill, the risk of a fire even developing can be minimised in this way. For new lithium-ion batteries or those still in use, on the other hand, the use of dry ice is out of the question, as the batteries can be damaged or age more quickly due to the intense cooling.
