Thesis title: Lithium-Ions Battery Fires: Methodologies for the Extinction and the Remediation of Contaminated Sites
The European Green Deal, declared with the Paris Agreement of December 12th 2015, is on track to meet its carbon emissions reduction target by 2050. This objective is to be accomplished by means of a substantial increase in the adoption of electric mobility in the forthcoming years, with a view to partially replacing road mobility reliant upon internal combustion engines, which is presently fed by carbon liquid fuels, with electric. The future outlook for electric vehicles appears promising, with advanced technologies such as high-energy and high-power lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) rendering them competitive with other mobility options. As we embrace this new era of electric mobility, we're also delving into exciting new areas like energy production, storage and distribution, and safety. The central objective of this thesis is to address the safety of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) by examining various methodologies for the extinction of fire and the remediation of contaminated sites in the aftermath of a fire of an electric vehicle garage, of a LIBs energy storage system or storage facility.
The work is divided into three main sections:
SECTION 1: The results of experimental tests on the thermal behavior of LIBs are reported in order to introduce the potential hazard attached with this technology.
SECTION 2: A series of experimental tests were conducted on the LIBs fire extinction, with the objective of identifying the most efficient extinguishing agent. In addition, a phenomenological study was undertaken to investigate and comprehend the actions of each agent.
SECTION 3: The environmental impact caused by solid, liquid and gaseous emissions generated during the fire and the extinction of LIBs is evaluated, and a study on the possible remediation techniques for contaminated soils is proposed.
Following the PhD project and experiences, a series of events came to light, which have the potential to mark and highlight all the important steps related to LIBs accidents and safety. The extinguishing agent that has been determined to be the most efficacious, as determined by experimental testing, will be the subject of this PhD thesis.