Is lithium the new oil ?

[NeilBlanchard]

Folks -- lithium stays around and you can use it over and over and over...

[Ryland]

I was just reading the www.toxco.com/ web site and was reminded at how careful you need to be with batteries, even if the battery it's self is stable you still have enough stored energy to power a car for many miles... just like any other fuel, short that battery and it creates heat, this is why Lithium batteries should be baned from air planes, the best way to recycle them is to freeze them then shred them this is part of why lead acid is so easy to deal with, to separate a lead acid battery you dump the acid out, filter it, crack the plastic case open, melt the lead down, lead is easy to deal with, I'm sure we will learn how to deal with lithium over time as well, but with it's advantages it has it's own draw backs.

[Cd]

This is a good read : Lithium Supply Fears are Total B.S.

[rgathright]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

It can absolutely be reused/recycled. Worn out lithium batteries are worth a fair bit of money.

I have been thinking about investing in some raw Lithium but I believe it oxidizes as the years go by right?

Imagine opening your safe filled with Lithium only to find dust!

I know... but it was funny.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by rgathright

I have been thinking about investing in some raw Lithium but I believe it oxidizes as the years go by right?

A good deal sooner than that. Try minutes: Lithium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Folks -- lithium stays around and you can use it over and over and over...

So does carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and other elements that bond to make oil. It's not lithium by itself that becomes a battery, but some complicated chemical compound of which lithium is a vital and hard to get part. C, O, H can be recombined into crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas, etc. at the expense of a certain amount of energy. Similarly, extracting lithium from an old battery and turning it into a new one requires energy. I wonder how much energy is needed (in both cases - lithium-to-battery and carbon+hydrogen-to-oil).

[jamesqf]

The difference is that you've got to recombine that carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen every time you want to fill your tank, while you only need to extract the lithium from a battery when it wears out, which is maybe once every 5 or 10 years, if not longer.

[Christ]

I absolutely agree about investments.

I personally feel like you're doing a service to the world if you invest in oil, then take the money you make and spend it on alternative energy.

If you don't, someone else will, and they'll likely put that money right back into a wasteful lifestyle.

I, for one, intend to invest in alternative energy sources as they become available, and are viable.