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Author: Subject: Anyone here tried to dissasemble NiMH battery?
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[*] posted on 18-8-2013 at 14:45
Anyone here tried to dissasemble NiMH battery?


I would like to obtain nickel from it and dissolve it but it seems rather scary to open it because I heard of them bursting into flames and fuming.

Anyone experienced with what I should expect and safety measures? I mean if it enflames should I put the whole battery into a jar of water?

These are two AA batteries that have lost their positive caps, probably their time has passed..
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confused
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[*] posted on 18-8-2013 at 21:52


MSDS for NiMH battery
http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/nickelmetalhydride_psds.pdf

short version:
contains mix of metals(possibly flammable) and corrosive metal hydroxides
try not to short out the battery when dismantling it
wear glove and goggles when dismantling
in case of fire or fumes flood the area with water(any suitable smothering agent, sand .etc) and let it burn out, ventilate the area.

i dont recomend picking it up when it starts to fume/burn, usually its pretty hot at that point...

[Edited on 19-8-2013 by confused]
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[*] posted on 25-8-2013 at 05:58


My advice would be to do the disassembly outside with good ventilation. You also need face, hand, and body protection. The main problem I've encountered when disassembling batteries is accidentally shorting them out. This causes internal heating which may cause explosion and/or fire. Good luck!



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[*] posted on 25-8-2013 at 21:31


I'll try to get face protection along with a bucket of water and a bucket of dillute acetic acid.

If battery gets on fire ill throw it in a bucket of water, if I get some metal hydride on myself I'm going to wash my hands and put them into vinegar. Will report results.
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[*] posted on 27-8-2013 at 00:21


I have disassembled such a battery. I obtained what I think was nickel metal. It dissolved slowly in acid to give green solutions, but I imagine this will be very impure. When you unroll the battery, there will be two tapes. One is a stainless steel mesh covered in gunk and the other is the nickel. Be careful, because the electrode covered in gunk spontaneously catches on fire!

I found this to be an unsatisfactory source of nickel, so I purchased some nickel electrodes from here:
http://www.haines.com.au/index.php/electrodes-nickel-75-x-25...

Edit: These batteries are a bugger to open! Its almost as if they don't want people to get into them or something. I found the best way to open them was a chisel and some judicial applications of kinetic energy.

[Edited on 27-8-2013 by Oscilllator]




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[*] posted on 3-1-2014 at 03:28


I have opened loads of these batteries, and they have never caught fire etc. They are difficult to get into though, but there a lot of nickel in some form inside them. I dissolve up the innards in acid, then allow the nickel sulphate to crystallise out. What's left (eventually) is a bunch of rare earth salts, which is what I was after in the first place. They are perfectly safe to open.
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[*] posted on 3-1-2014 at 14:56


Quote: Originally posted by eidolonicaurum  
What's left (eventually) is a bunch of rare earth salts, [...].


And I didn't even know that... live and learn.




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[*] posted on 2-2-2014 at 19:33


Use fully discharged batteries.
  Cut with a small saw.
the best source of nickel, are canadian coins 10 c. (1962-1981) 4.5g, and 25 cents. (1969-1999) 5g.
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[*] posted on 2-2-2014 at 19:43


NiMH batteries contain: Lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, and praseodymium.



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