Ventilering av brännbara gaser vid batteribränder

Sammanfattning: The use of lithium-ion batteries is something that is becoming more common in today’s society. They are found in a variety of electronic equipment such as mobile phones, laptops and tools. Several incidents have been reported due to lithium-ion batteries ending up in a state called thermal runaway. This in combination with the increasing demands for environmentally friendly and sustainable energy in the form of e.g. wind turbines and solar panels, can therefore lead to unforeseen consequences. Residual energy from wind or solar power can be stored in an energy storage, often a battery system of several interconnected lithium-ion batteries. In case of an incident in these storages where a large quantity of these batteries is located, there is a risk that an explosion will occur. This further leads to the interest if it’s possible to prevent an explosion with the help of mechanical ventilation.  The purpose of this report has been to investigate the reasons why these batteries are being able to cause an explosion, what gases are emitted in the event of a thermal runaway and how explosive they are. With the results given it’s possible to then perform calculations on ventilation capacity needed to maintain a non-explosive atmosphere. This was carried out through a literature study of currently available research combined with information from various authorities, hand calculations and calculations in Excel.  With the results of the literature study, it can be stated that the battery cell consisting of the cathode material lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide (NMC) is most reactive. The most common gases emitted from these cells during thermal runaway are hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, ethylene and ethane. These gases are also the most common gases during thermal runaway when the battery consists of a different cathode material, but the distribution may look different. All of these gases, with the exception of carbon dioxide, are flammable and can contribute to an explosive atmosphere.  Three different scenarios are developed where thermal runaway is assumed to take place at a battery cell inside battery storages of different sizes: two container-based energy storage and one battery storage for home use located in a garage space. In these respective scenarios, a certain number of cells are assumed to be in thermal runaway. The lower flammability limit for the ventilated gas mixture is determined to 8,53% based on the amount of emitted gas and the distribution of it due to thermal runaway. With the knowledge of the lower flammability limit of the emitted gas mixture, as well as other available data from each scenario, the desired capacity for ventilation is calculated at 0,23 m3/s for the two container-based battery storages and at 0,035 m3/s for the battery storage located in the garage space. If this capacity of the ventilation is present when thermal runaway occurs, it means that the concentration of combustible gases should remain below the lower flammability limit. It is worth noting that these calculations were performed to some extent based on assumptions and may therefore be judged more as approximate rather than exact.  The conclusions drawn by the performed calculations are that mechanical ventilation is a potential alternative to ensure that the atmosphere in a battery storage doesn’t become explosive if a thermal runaway occurs in the battery cells.