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Time line: You will have 2 weeks to complete the on-line discussion as a team. Use this blog to capture your thoughts, perspectives, ideas, and revisions as you work together on this problem. This activity is discussion-based, meaning you will participate through a collaborative exchange and critique of each other’s ideas and work. The goal is to challenge and support one another as a team to tap your collective resources and experiences to dig more deeply into the issue(s) raised in the scenario. Since the idea is that everyone in the discussion will refine his/her ideas through the discussion that develops, you should try to respond well before the activity ends so that the discussion has time to mature. It is important to make your initial posts and subsequent responses in a timely manner. You are expected to make multiple posts during each stage of this on-going discussion. The timeline below suggests how to pace your discussion. This is just a suggestion. Feel free to pace the discussion as you see fit.
Tuesday Week 1 Initial Posts: All participants post initial responses to these instructions (see below) and the scenario.
Thursday Week 1 Response Posts: Participants respond by tying together information and perspectives on important points and possible approaches. Participants identify gaps in information and seek to fill those gaps.
Tuesday Week 2 Refine Posts: Participants work toward agreement on what is most important, determine what they still need to find out, & evaluate one or more approaches from the previous week’s discussion.
Thursday Week 2 Polish Final Posts: Participants come to an agreement on what is most important, and propose one or more approaches to address the issue/s.
Discussion Instructions
Imagine that you are a team of engineers working together for a company or organization to address the issue raised in the scenario. Discuss what your team would need to take into consideration to begin to address the issue. You do not need to suggest specific technical solutions, but identify the most important factors and suggest one or more viable approaches.
Suggestions for discussion topics
• Identify the primary and secondary problems raised in the scenario.
• Who are the major stakeholders and what are their perspectives?
• What outside resources (people, literature/references, and technologies) could be engaged in developing viable approaches?
• Identify related contemporary issues.
• Brainstorm a number of feasible approaches to address the issue.
• Consider the following contexts: economic, environmental, cultural/societal, and global. What impacts would the approaches you brainstormed have on these contexts?
• Come to agreement on one or more viable approaches and state the rationale.
Lithium mining for lithium-ion electrical vehicle batteries
The US government is investing heavily in sustainable resource research and development in order to decrease national oil consumption, and automotive industries around the world are competing in a global race for “sustainable mobility”. There were about 52 million total vehicles produced in the world in 2009, and replacing a significant amount of them with highly electrified vehicles poses a major challenge. The state of California is targeting 1 million electric vehicles (EVs) on its streets by 2020. By that same date, Nissan forecasts that EVs will become 10% of all global sales.
Battery technology is currently the major bottleneck in EV design. In 2009, President Obama announced $2.4 billion in grants to accelerate the manufacturing and deployment of next generation batteries and EVs. Lithium-ion batteries are the first choice for the emerging EV generation, (the Chevy Volt, the Volvo C30, the Nissan Leaf), because they feature high power density, manageable operating temperatures, and are relatively easy to recharge on the grid.
In spite of its potential, lithium may not be the answer to the EV battery challenge. Lithium, which is recovered from lithium carbonate (Li2CO3), is not an unlimited resource. Lithium-based batteries are already used in almost all portable computers, cell phones and small appliances. Utility-scale lithium-based energy storage devices are in the works for smart grid applications, such as balancing energy supply-demand fluctuations. Lithium is also extensively used in a number of processes we take for granted: the manufacturing of glass, grits, greases and aluminum, among others. This makes accurate estimations of future demand in relation to resource availability almost impossible.
According to Meridian International Research, an independent renewable-energy think tank, there is insufficient recoverable lithium in the earth's crust to sustain electric vehicle manufacture based on Li-ion batteries in the volumes required by the mass market. Lithium depletion rates would exceed current oil depletion rates, potentially switching dependency from one diminishing resource to another. The United States Geological Survey reports that the Salar de Uyuni salt pans of Bolivia contain the largest untapped reserve of lithium in the world – an estimated 5.4 million metric tons or almost 50% of the global lithium reserve base. Other estimates put the Bolivian resource as high as 9 million metric tons. Bolivian president, Evo Morales, has consistently rejected bids by Mitsubishi and Toyota to mine lithium in his country and has announced plans to develop a state-controlled lithium mining operation. Prices of lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) have more than doubled since 2004. Lithium batteries are costly, too; battery packs for vehicles cost upwards of $20,000 alone, driving up the overall cost.
Lithium CAN be recycled, but there is little existing infrastructure. In 2009, a California company, Toxco Waste Management, received $9.5 million in grants from the US Department of Energy to help build the first US-based facility for recycling lithium batteries in anticipation of demand.
How much lithium is needed to power an electric vehicle?
Energy requirements………………………..16 kilowatt hours (specified for Chevy Volt)
Lithium estimates per kWh……………….0.431 kg (US Department of Transportation estimate)
Total lithium for one Chevy Volt……….6.86 kg
Total Li2CO3 for one Chevy Volt ......... 36.5 kg
Total Li2CO3 one million PHEVs ..........36,500 metric tons
Sources
Lithium Dreams: Can Bolivia Become the Saudi Arabia of the Electric-Car Era? (March 22, 2010). The New Yorker.
Lithium Largesse? (August 2009). American Ceramic Society Bulletin.
US Department of Energy, Press Release. (August 5, 2009)
Bolivia’s Lithium Mining Dilemma. (September 8, 2008) BBC News.
The Trouble with Lithium: Implications of Future PHEV Production for Lithium Demand. (2007). Meridian International Research.
I would say the most logical idea would be to find a different resource that could do the same job as lithium. That may or may not be plausible for actually making a difference. Another viable option would be to better perfect the technology that uses the battery. Then maybe the companies would need less to actually produce the batteries. It seems that there should be a another way to get the same results of lithium batteries but use a different element or method, but I am not entirely sure how one could accomplish this yet.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Brandon that an alternative solution to lithium would be ideal, but I think other solutions do exist that wouldn’t discount lithium’s immediate use. I think we must identify the problems involved with the use of lithium before we can propose a solution however. The main issue I see is the limited supply of lithium and the current, rising, cost of the metal. The reserves in Bolivia may reduce this cost, but we must consider the impact that the apparently state-run mining operation will have on Bolivian population, especially if the human rights of the workers could potentially be ignored. Furthermore, I feel that disposal of lithium batteries should be a primary concern, as the impact of creating and disposing of batteries can often be just as environmentally detrimental as burning fossil fuels.
ReplyDeleteI think you both have made some good points. In a perfect world we would just find something else that is more abundant than lithium but unfortunately this is not probably going to happen. We need to seriously consider the people of Bolivia when discussing how to move forward with this specific problem. After all it is Bolivia and not the United States where the mass lithium reserves are found.
ReplyDeleteI propose that the major consumer nations of lithium around the world attempt to diminish the impact of hazardous lithium on the environment and the demand on mining the precious reserves in other countries by looking into and spending serious time and money on the recovery and recycling of lithium from products in use today. Lithium is being used in all kinds of electronics from cell phones to car batteries. If we could collect and recycle what has already been mined and then re-process it into a usable resource perhaps this problem could be reduced.
To approach the issue of the scenario given, we must define the problem and gather information to help us generate multiple solutions to analyze the situation. It seems that the problem given in the statement is that mining of lithium for batteries that will be used in electric vehicles is in strong consideration and may be the next alternative to foreign oil.
ReplyDeleteThough electric vehicles may seem to be a good alternative to foreign oil, issues that should be considered with the mining of lithium should be addressed. These considerations should include: location of the mines, labor used in mining, supply of lithium in the world, life span of lithium, disposal or recycling of lithium, stability of the country where lithium is mined, etc.
The main issue that seems to be following the mining of lithium is that it will be similar to the pumping of oil from the ground. Since lithium is not an unlimited resource, demand may one day exceed supply and the price of lithium could be a large factor. Since lithium can be recycled, recycling plants should be set up for this purpose. Also, alternatives to the mining of lithium should always be put into consideration because of the fact that lithium is not an unlimited resource.
In conclusion lithium mining is far from flawless. To consider lithium as a permanent solution to foreign oil is not a good practice and other alternatives should always be researched.
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ReplyDeleteThe underlying problem in this scenario is solving our worlds (or more specifically the United States) dependency on finite energy sources. Considering that research to find alternate sources can take a long time (this would be something to research – how long it takes to develop an alternate energy source), we must realize that in the short term the mining and use of lithium is the main source we currently have to work with.
ReplyDeleteThe primary problem is trying to match the supply with increasing demand for lithium. In the United States, the market for PHEV and EV will be increasing dramatically in the near future. The main focus from a car company’s perspective is to sell as many cars as possible. Therefore, it will be important to educate and inform the general public that lithium-ion battery electric vehicles may not be the best solution.
A secondary problem in this scenario is the potential tension between nations that may arise because Bolivia has the largest deposit of lithium. Similar problems that have been experienced in the Middle East may arise, so it will be important to learn from the mistakes made in that situation.
Another secondary problem is the lack of existing infrastructure for recycling lithium.
Switching from one finite resource to another is only a temporary solution. Lithium, like petrol, has many more uses than just batteries. Putting all of our ducks into the lithium pond will only buy us a few decades, if we're lucky. We will also find ourselves repeating many of our same political mistakes which revolved around oil and the treatment of the nations selling it.
ReplyDeleteThat's not to say that we should ignore lithium completely. Dedicated recycling centers and the possibility of more efficient use could extend the time we get out of lithium. However, there are many alternate battery technologies that have never come to fruition. A hit in battery efficiency could be seen as acceptable if the technology itself is sustainable.
I believe that we need to be frugal with lithium, and look into ways to stretch the time we may have with it, while concurrently investing in alternate battery/energy sources.
Going off of Chris Sanchez, I think he talks about two major points, both the engineering side of the problem and the ethical side. We don't want lithium to start another war, on the other hand, many countries will be wanting this lithium.
ReplyDeleteWe also need to consider the fact that lithium batteries will not be the only car available for purchase on the market. Like Dr. Cill Richards said in class, the electric cars do not need to replace all gas cars, just some of them. Even though the demand for lithium will be increasing, it is not the end all be all of the automotive industry.
Another thing that seems to have been over looked is the recycling of lithium. It has been mentioned, but perhaps finding a better way to recycle it is a better use of our time rather then fuss with other countries about getting all of the lithium. Yes, we will need some, but maybe we can cut it down by quite a bit just by recycling.
@ Adam (Sweenish), I tend to agree with the idea that lithium is a finite resource and is not a permanent solution to our petroleum problem. There are a variety of different emerging battery technologies that are worth investing time and research into. Lithium is not the only material out there that can make batteries and we only have a limited supply. We need to use the time we have before the lithium reserves have been depleted to come up with a more sustainable solution to battery technology.
ReplyDeleteRecycling of the lithium we already have seems a common thread throughout this discussion. I think we can all agree that lithium recycling could be part of the solution to the increasing demand of the metal. Who then should be responsible for organizing the recycling of lithium then? Does it fall to the governments of the countries who have the greatest demand for the resource or should it be left up to private companies like auto manufacturers to collect it?
Tom, I feel that the collection and recycling of old vehicles would be best performed by the auto companies that make the vehicles, similar to current car recovery policies in the EU. Unfortunately, this won’t be a financially profitable for the auto companies, so government intervention would be necessary, and added pressure would inevitably be added to the already fatigued US auto industry. Conversely, forcing companies to recycle (or use a certain percent of recycled materials) on their vehicles would force them to design cars that are easier to recycle, use more recoverable materials, and ultimately be more environmentally friendly.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to say that the finite supply of lithium is not a great concern for me. So long as a free market is in place, the supply of lithium will dictate the price of batteries and cars. When the supply begins to diminish, the price of batteries and EV’s with these batteries will rise, and further alternatives will naturally come to light.
It seems like most, if not all, of the energy resources that we utilize in our daily lives tend to be limited. Going back to economics, which teaches the fundamentals of making decisions based on the limited resources that have been bestowed upon us, we may just have to improvise and go with what is best for our future in terms of resource depletion.
ReplyDeleteUntil renewable fuels sources are developed, these limited fossil fuels and metals for batteries should both be utilized as common fuels. Since the world is already using gasoline, diesel, electrics, and a combination of the three, electric cars should be more emphasized to lower the dependence on fossil fuels. Not to say that gasoline and diesel powered vehicles will disappear completely but there will be less of them out on the road. Referring back to economics, only one type of fuel will monopolize the whole transportation industry but adding more electric vehicles on the road will even the playing field and make less of a demand for these types of fuels. This would keep the demand for oil and lithium stable since both would be in demand instead of just one.
If we assume for a moment that the worlds demand for lithium will remain constant in the foreseeable future, the untapped salt flats in Bolivia will become the playing field for lithium hungry countries and companies. The Bolivian government and the indigenous people are the greatest stakeholders in this situation. “For now, the government talks of closely controlling the lithium and keeping foreigners at bay. Adding to the pressure, indigenous groups here in the remote salt desert where the mineral lies are pushing for a share in the eventual bounty” [1].
ReplyDeleteHowever, in the end I believe it will be in Bolivia’s best interest to give in to the demand. The country will profit greatly from this endeavor, so long as they stand firm in their monetary demands.
As some of you have pointed out, lithium is not the end all be all solution that will replace gasoline. I don’t think it is imperative that the United States pursue lithium batteries at all costs. However in the short term, it will be important for the countries that are in control of lithium sources to benefit while they can. It will be the ethical responsibility of other countries to exercise restraint and respect Bolivia’s entitlement to profit from their lithium deposit.
[1] “In Bolivia, Untapped Bounty Meets Nationalism”, Romero, Simon. nytimes.com, February 2, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2011,
@ Chris, I agree that it will be in Bolivia's best interest to give in to the demand for lithium by the international community. Ultimately I believe that there is no single replacement for fossil fuels. The future of energy will most likely by a combination of several technologies which will probably include lithium batteries to some extent. Bolivia has an unique opportunity to utilize a national resource and benefit from it financially.
ReplyDelete@ Peng, I agree with what you said about supply and demand. As our supply of lithium or fossil fuels are diminished the price for them will go up. We have all seen this in some form or another with gasoline. The days of "cheap" gas are over for fossil fuels. I think what we need to determine is not the fact that lithium is a limited resource but what to do with it for the time being and whats next.
So far it seems that our group has agreement that lithium should be recycled by those that use it, lithium will not take over as the main source of energy in place of fossil fuels, and the people of Bolivia could benefit from exploiting this resource.
It seems as if mining for lithium in Bolivia is not going to be an easy task for the major consumers. Bolivia seems to be taking a smart approach and controlling its lithium reserves by its own state instead of by foreign countries. This could keep the price of lithium on the high end. When the state controlled mining operation starts, it could take a while for prices of lithium to drop enough for electric vehicles to be more affordable for the average consumer.
ReplyDeleteUntil lithium battery powered electric vehicles become more mainstream, as a good percentage compared to their petroleum powered counterparts, a lithium recycling system of infrastructure might be scarce at first. Mining of lithium should prove to be a strong consideration to ease the dependence on petroleum as well as build a solid lithium recycling infrastructure. In the mean time, research on different energy solutions should be strongly considered.
I think it’s important to keep in mind that fossil fuels are a minable source of energy, while lithium batteries are only an energy storage system. That that energy must be generated somewhere.
ReplyDeleteIt indeed looks like there are few negatives to future extraction of lithium in Bolivia. I’m sure our previous posts have sufficiently enumerated on the positive aspects, however I did want to share a few problems I found. According to Dan McDougall from MailOnline in his article “In search of Lithium: The battle for the 3rd element” the lithium in Bolivia is spread over a very large area. Large scale mining would disturb very large tracts of land to obtain large quantities. Furthermore, lithium extraction requires very large amounts of water, which could put great pressure on the water reserves of the area.
Chris you have some good points. Mining lithium only creates a way for us to store energy, not produce it. Lithium does not provide clean energy, just a clean way to use energy produced elsewhere. It is great that we have found a way to reduce our emissions and use less oil. That being said, we need to find another more sustainable power storage solution soon before we rely to heavily on lithium battery technology. Lithium is a limited resource and its price will continue to climb as demand grows and supply becomes more scarce. Money needs to be invested in battery research technology for the future and lithium recycling programs for the time until we get there.
ReplyDeleteEven though lithium may be difficult to mine and would potentially put pressure on the water reserves of Bolivia there seems to be no doubt that mining will take place regardless of the environmental consequences. Unfortunately, as long as there are people with money, influence, and power the desire for a clean environment and the desire of the people who live there will likely take a back seat to mining lithium. It is interesting to me that in order to "save the environment" and reduce our "dependence on foreign oil" people all around the world want to destroy another environment by invasive mining and be slaves to foreign lithium.
Oil vs lithium battery powered vehicles doesn't make a huge difference in the environment. Because, people have to charge their cars from grid, which is produced through the use of coal or natural gas in most places around the world. In the end, it gets right back to coal vs natural gas vs oil. Either way, cars will still be using one of these three energy sources.
ReplyDeleteTo find a solution to this never ending problem of dependence on foreign energy sources, there should be a method of manufacturing renewable fuels instead of pumping them out of the ground. As for the lithium mining, it is still a limited resource that probably should not be exploited for automotive use due to high demand if it becomes mainstream. It was estimated that the supply of lithium could be depleted in 10 to 20 years if it were to go into the production with respect to demand.
ReplyDeleteThere have been some research done on bio crude oil that is produced from organic wastes such as crop residues, organic waste, and paper waste. This process is called Hydrothermal Upgrading (HTU) which biomass is treated with water at high temperature and pressure (300-350°C & 120-180 bar) to produce bio-crude. Another process called Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP), uses oil from dried lignocellulosic biomass to generate high yields of pyrolysis oil.
So there are other methods of creating energy without too much dependence on foreign investments. Not to say that lithium should not be utilized for smaller batteries in cellphones, cameras, and other electronics. Lithium should be used sparingly in the automotive industry due to its scarcity and environmental damage it causes when mined.
I would like to counter an earlier point about responsibility of lithium recycling. If auto companies were responsible, would they be responsible for their own vehicles, or would they work together? If the former, it could potentially cause confusion for the consumers and definitely be redundant as far as recycling sites go. If the latter, it would never work because each company would want as little to do with the recycling as possible (as was stated, recycling isn’t profitable).
ReplyDeleteThis also neglects the other uses of lithium, such as portable device batteries, aircraft parts, submarine air purification, etc. Should each company be responsible for recycling its own lithium only? In the case of batteries, would the battery manufacturer be responsible, or the company whose product is using the battery?
I propose a government sponsored third party which would be responsible for recycling lithium. Government sponsorship would be necessary to get the operation started, and to keep the price in check so that recycled lithium is always a viable option. This sort of widespread recycling of lithium could help us stretch the time that we have with lithium and fossil fuels, allowing us more time to discover, refine, and implement an alternative energy source like those mentioned by Peng.
http://wanttoknowit.com/uses-of-lithium/
http://www.oilgae.com/
Just to argue a point, do we really want the government to be in control of another part of our society? They seem to have their nose in everything else already, can't companies do anything on their own. I would disagree and say that the companies should be work together to recycle the lithium rather then default to the government. This may just be my personal opinion, but it seems that our government has enough problems to deal with currently, so businesses should not put another burden on the US government.
ReplyDeleteI believe that lithium recycling if implemented should be run by the companies that use it. I think the rapidly expanding world population in addition to the massive amounts of waste produced by humans is leading to a future where large products are returned to the company that produced them for disposal. This is already happening in Europe so it is not a new idea. If companies want to use lithium batteries they should use life cycle analysis in the engineering of the product to save the company money by recycling the lithium. Government would be involved in regulating the disposal of lithium as introducing it to the environment in the form of waste could cause damage to the environment.
ReplyDeletePeng, you introduced some good alternatives to lithium and foreign oil. There are other technologies out there which need to be invested in to provide a source of energy when the lithium runs out or becomes too expensive due to high demand and low supply.
The way things are going in terms of electric cars and hybrids, lithium mining seems inevitable. Seems that the scarcity of lithium would make recycling of lithium not just be a requirement but a regulation by the EPA. Since a standard battery in a vehicle can come with a discount when the old battery is traded for the new battery, this should be the case for a replacement lithium so the battery retailer can recycle the used battery. All the government can do is regulate and promote the recycling of batteries with incentives, whereas companies that produce these batteries should be responsible for recycling and remanufacturing of batteries.
ReplyDeleteAs for alternatives to lithium and foreign oil will always be in the horizon. Lithium is the present resource that should ease the dependence on foreign oil. Until the day when dependence foreign oil and foreign lithium become a thing of the past, we will have to utilize these two resources as much as possible.