# LiFePO4 LCA



## ZX-E (Aug 31, 2009)

Bump!

I'm really interested in the environmental impact of LiFePO4, however there doesn't seem to be too much information online from what I've seen. Any help would be appreciated .


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## jorhyne (Aug 20, 2008)

What exactly are you asking about? When you say "life cycle" do you mean the resources consumed from manufacture to recycling at the end of the life, or are you talking about how many cycles of charging and discharging the battery can take?


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## david85 (Nov 12, 2007)

LCA....I think you mean LiCO2 = Lithium cobalt oxide. That might have confused some of the others.

LiCO2 cells use cobalt which is a heavy metal and toxic in the same way that lead is. LiFePO4 use Iron Phosphate (FePO4) instead, which is considered less harmful. Its also used in the auto and other industries for metal surface etching prior to paint finishes. It is bio degradable, AFAIK and according to wikipedia legal for use in organic farming. I'm guessing you still don't want to eat it though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron(III)_phosphate

LiCO2 cells generally have a shorter cycle life and are more easily damaged so you need to use more of them during a normal service life of a car or other device in addition to the material hazards. This of course assumes that longer cycle life claims of LiFePO4 cells are accurate.

Now if you are wondering about recycling of large prismatic cells that are used for EVs....well thats something I wonder about too. I don't know if average battery recyclers are equipped to deal with them but I would guess if they can handle LiCO2, then they should be able to. Might be something to enquire about in your area.


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## ZX-E (Aug 31, 2009)

I'm talking about the resources and energy that goes into making a battery. Thanks for asking me to clarify. LCA or Life Cycle Assessment is a term that pops up in my engineering classes pretty often. It's a method to determine environmental impacts by looking at the inputs and outputs of a system. A full LCA would be far more in depth than what I'm looking for, because I'm more interested in just what kind of chemicals are used in manufacturing the cells, what kind of processes are needed and how much energy it takes. 











From what I've read at least in lithium-ion cells (LiCO2) the lithium is extruded into thin sheets from a large billet.


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## ZX-E (Aug 31, 2009)

david85 said:


> LiCO2 cells generally have a shorter cycle life and are more easily damaged so you need to use more of them during a normal service life of a car or other device in addition to the material hazards. This of course assumes that longer cycle life claims of LiFePO4 cells are accurate.


The FePO bond is supposedly stronger than the CoO bond as well so it doesn't explode when damaged either. 

Nice Wikipedia link David. I hadn't seen that yet.


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## david85 (Nov 12, 2007)

Yes they are much safer. Only real disadvantage is the lower storage capacity.

So thats what you meant by LCA, thats a new term to me but I have heard the general idea before. 

Only thing I can offer to answer that is to look at the raw material content that goes into each battery type. I don't have the references on hand, but I remember reading that LiCo2 batteries use by weight about 20% lithium while LiFePO4 use about 5%. This also contributes to the lower manufacturing cost (PO4 is also cheaper than Co2). Pure lithium is not easy to make and the less of it you use, the better.

Cheaper generally means less energy goes into it, but not aways. Haven't heard this one asked before when it comes to lithium but it is a valid concern, sorry I can't be of more help.

Oh, and I just stumbled across that wiki link now. I had no idea that they used that stuff in farming before now.


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