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Running out of Lithium...
I just thought I'd share this gem from a statement on how to dispose of a redundant RSA SecurID token (http://www.rsa.com/... (PDF))
Does anyone know where the lithium goes?RSA SecurID tokens are lead free, and use a low voltage 3.3 volt lithium battery. When new, a token has less than .5 grams of lithium. This amount decreases as the token is used. This amount is very small and does not pose any health risk.
It stays in the battery, where it started. Someone is seriously confused.Originally Posted by Nik
A lithium battery is in essence a nuclear reactor. When the battery discharges, lithium fuses with itself, forming carbon and releasing energy.
[/kidding]
Wow, someone at RSA doesn't know mass balances or proof reading- probably meant to say that the "Voltage decreases as the token is used".
On a side note, doesn't the ocean have loads of lithium in it that could be used? Right now the price to do that is 3X higher than mining, but it could be a viable option.
At the current rate of consumption, the currently-known conventional reserves would last almost 400 years. See Lithium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Even if we ever ran out of conventional reserves - and I'm sure there are deposits that haven't been found because people aren't trying very hard - there's a ludicrous amount in seawater. It would certainly cost more to extract, but we're talking 230 billion tons!
There's more than enough lithium available to meet our needs now and for the conceivable future. We're going to run out of other things, I don't know... OIL... long before we run out of lithium.
The world loves to be deceived.
The more sources, the better! Would love to see Elon's estimates for annual battery technology improvement (8 - 10% / year) be seriously conservative.
SolarWorld AG, one of the largest photovoltaics producers in Germany, has acquired an exploration permission to search for Lithium in Zinnwald, Erzgebirge, Germany. Lithium is contained in Zinnwaldite, along with other minerals that may make mining economic. Resources of Lithium are estimated to be between 50,000 tons and 80,000 tons.
Source (in German): Lithium aus dem Erzgebirge | Technology Review
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