Lithium: A Magic Metal?

I hated chemistry

Chemistry was never my thing in school. I loathed it. It seemed to be an ‘imprecise’ science, mixing up liquids in glass jars. Physics turned me on. I loved the electricity experiments, pendulums and the physics of the world around me. How things worked, why things worked.

Chemistry I viewed as alchemy. But it does have its place, and even when I was ‘mucking around with electricity’ I needed batteries. Chemistry. No getting away from it.

So, curiosity got the better of my antipathy to chemistry and I decided to dig around and take a closer look at this magic metal, but minimising the chemistry, which still baffles me.

Basics

Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that is used in a wide variety of applications. It is the lightest known metal and has the lowest density of any solid element. Lithium has a relatively high melting point and boiling point for a metal, and is highly reactive with water.

In the periodic table, lithium is number 3, meaning it has 3 protons in its nucleus. The atomic symbol for lithium is Li, from the Latin word for lithos, which means stone. It is classified as an alkali metal and so is found in Group 1 of the periodic table, along with sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium and francium (along with hydrogen, of course, number 1). They are all silvery-white metals with low densities, high melting points and boiling points, and react violently with water (not hydrogen).

All new to me, but I do remember a chemistry lesson where the teacher dropped a speck of sodium into water. Yes, it was highly reactive but not enough to turn a young schoolboy into a chemistry fan.

Scientific discovery

Lithium is found in nature always combined with other elements such as oxygen, silicon, and fluorine. In 1817, Johann Arfwedson, working with mineral samples from Sweden, was the first to successfully isolate lithium by electrolysis, isolating it as salt. By 1855, Sir Humphry Davy had also isolated the element using electrolysis.

Where do you find it?

The world’s top four lithium-producing countries from 2019, as reported by the US Geological Survey are Australia, Chile, China and Argentina. The intersection of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina make up the region known as the Lithium Triangle. — Wikipedia

There’s plenty of it, even in the United States.

A deposit discovered in 2013 in Wyoming’s Rock Springs Uplift is estimated to contain 228,000 tons. Additional deposits in the same formation were estimated to be as much as 18 million tons (hard to believe — I discovered that in mining.com).

Statista estimates that annual lithium production reached 100,000 tonnes in 2021. Its mining/extraction/recovery processes are considered by some people to be environmentally ‘dirty’.

Lithium — its uses

Batteries

About 56% of annual lithium production is used for batteries, so these deserve special treatment.

Batteries seem to be in the news every day. Lithium batteries in cars (about 8–10 kg in each car), and now on boats. I haven’t got any on my boat yet (no budget) — I’m still using 6 volt deep-cycle golf cart batteries paired up to make 12 volts which work well for me.

Even on boats, lithium is moving in, big time, but in the less fire-prone, lower energy density form of lithium iron phosphate, Li–FePO₄ (thanks to Casey Boticello for the subscript tip, that’s my chemistry for the day).

Lead acid batteries have only 15% of the re-charge cycles that lithium batteries offer, as well as having much less recoverable energy.

Right now I have a generator running, recharging my boat batteries as I write — I also have five solar panels and I’ll complete installation of a wind generator later this week. But they all re-charge my lead acid batteries. Lead acid batteries are good for about 500 cycles, lithium iron phosphate 3000 cycles.

In summary, the total cost of ownership per usable kWh is about 2.8 times cheaper for a lithium-based battery system than for a lead acid solution. — Powertech Systems.

Lead batteries are heavier too. I’ve just been converted…and digressed again, sorry.

Now at least they’ve stopped planes catching fire because of lithium batteries. It’s highly reactive stuff.

Should be OK on a boat then?

And right now, lithium-ion batteries cost, on average, $132 per kWh.

Maybe I will wait a bit longer…

Other uses of Lithium

Besides batteries, lithium is used in a wide variety of applications, for example: alloys, glass ceramic ware, explosives and pharmaceuticals.

Pharmaceutical lithium

Lithium is used to treat and prevent episodes of mania (frenzied, abnormally excited mood) in people with bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder; a disease that causes episodes of depression, episodes of mania, and other abnormal moods). Lithium is in a class of medications called antimanic agents. — medlineplus.gov

Apparently it can reduce the risk of suicide.

Lithium is a trace element that is essential for human health, but only in very small amounts. It is found in some drinking water, but the amount is usually too low to have any therapeutic effect.

Lithium alloys

It is added to aluminum to make aircraft parts and to copper to improve its electrical conductivity. Lithium-based glass ceramics are used in cookware and ovenware because of their high heat resistance.

Lithium in explosives

It surprised me to discover that lithium is used in explosives, fireworks and flares in the form of lithium nitrate (LiNO₃). Nitrates are generally explosive. As a boy I tinkered with weed killer, ammonium nitrate. A school pal lost half his right hand (I wasn’t involved). Laws and availability have tightened up a lot since then. Just as well.

And finally

Lithium is even in my stern gland….

Yes, the stern gland of my boat, in the form of lithium based grease. And it’s in your ball joints — of your car.

And the chemistry? The grease contains lithium stearate and lithium 12-hydroxy-stearate. This give the grease water resistance and thermal stability. So now you know.

And when I next feel a bit depressed, I know what to take — but not as grease — although I guess it really could work in my stern gland…

That’s not medical advice, so don’t try it yourself.

It’s a fascinating metal for sure, medicinal too, but not magical.

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This story was originally published in Medium on 20 August 2022, canonical link.