(Press-News.org) While the lithium-ion batteries in disposable electronic cigarettes are discarded after a single use, they can continue to perform at high capacity for hundreds of cycles, according to a study published December 12 in the journal Joule. The analysis, conducted by scientists from University College London (UCL) and the University of Oxford and supported by The Faraday Institution, highlights a growing environmental threat from these increasingly popular vape pens, which are not designed to be recharged.
“The surprise for us were the results that pointed toward just how long these batteries could potentially cycle,” says Paul Shearing, Professor of Sustainable Energy Engineering at the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford and UCL.
“If you use a low charge and discharge rate, you can see that for over 700 cycles, you still have more than 90% capacity retention. That’s a pretty good battery, actually. And these are just being discarded. They’re being chucked on the side of the road.”
Disposable e-cigarettes have skyrocketed in popularity in the UK since 2021, with a survey finding an 18-fold increase recorded between January 2021 and April 2022. Within 15 months, their popularity among 18-year-olds rose from 0.4% to 54.8%. The speedy rise of single-use e-cigarettes has led to pressing new waste problems, with about 1.3 million of the devices thrown away in the nation each week. As a result, about 10,000 kilograms (over 22,000 lbs) of lithium from e-cigarette batteries wind up in UK landfills each year, threatening nearby waterways with toxic nickel, cobalt, and organic solvents.
“Early on, we got the notion that the batteries going into these e-cigs were likely to be rechargeable batteries,” says Shearing, noting that, to his team’s knowledge, previous studies had not assessed how long the lithium-ion batteries in these products are capable of lasting.
To test their hunch, Shearing and colleagues harvested batteries from disposable e-cigarettes under controlled conditions and assessed them using the same tools and techniques that they use to study batteries in electric vehicles and other devices. They examined the batteries under microscopes and used X-ray tomography to map their internal structure and understand the constituent materials. By repeatedly charging and discharging the batteries, they determined how well the batteries maintained their electrochemical performance over time, finding that they could be recharged “sometimes many hundreds of times,” says Shearing.
“As a bare minimum, the general public needs to be aware of the types of batteries going into these devices and the need to properly dispose of them,” he said. “Manufacturers should provide the ecosystem for reuse and recycling of e-cigarette batteries, and also should be moving towards rechargeable devices as the default.”
Shearing and his team are also researching new, more selective ways to recycle batteries that allow individual components to be recovered without cross-contamination, as well as more sustainable battery chemistries, including post-lithium ion, lithium sulfur, and sodium ion batteries.
In order to address challenges across the entire battery supply chain, scientists should consider batteries’ life cycles when thinking about any of their applications, he said.
“That permeates all the work we do, really, whether it’s a vape battery or whether it’s a battery going into an electric helicopter,” says Shearing. “It’s the same kind of thought process where we need to fully understand the life cycle of a battery device.”
###
This work was supported by the EPSRC CASE Award; the Faraday Institution; the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT); and the Royal Academy of Engineering for the Chair in Emerging Technologies; and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).
Joule, Shearing et al. “Up in smoke: considerations for lithium-ion batteries in disposable e-cigarettes” https://cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(23)00482-8
Joule (@Joule_CP), published monthly by Cell Press, is a new home for outstanding and insightful research, analysis, and ideas addressing the need for more sustainable energy. A sister journal to Cell, Joule spans all scales of energy research, from fundamental laboratory research into energy conversion and storage to impactful analysis at the global level. Visit http://www.cell.com/joule. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com.
END
About The Study: In a multicenter observational cohort, a composite adverse pregnancy outcome (small-for-gestational-age birth, medically indicated preterm birth, stillbirth, or hypertensive disorders of pregnancy) was more frequent in pregnant individuals with cannabis exposure ascertained by a urine drug assay compared with unexposed individuals. The risk for an adverse outcome was higher among those who continued to use cannabis beyond the first trimester.
Authors: Torri Metz, M.D., M.S., of University of Utah ...
About The Study: Using metformin plus insulin to treat preexisting type 2 or gestational diabetes diagnosed early in pregnancy did not reduce a composite neonatal adverse outcome in a randomized clinical trial of 794 pregnant adults. The effect of reduction in odds of a large-for-gestational-age infant observed after adding metformin to insulin warrants further investigation.
Authors: Kim A. Boggess, M.D., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed ...
About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that persistent COVID-19 symptoms and, to a lesser extent, previous severe COVID-19 were associated with increased odds of pandemic-related economic hardship in a cohort of U.S. families. The economic consequences of COVID-19 varied according to socioeconomic status; families with lower income before the pandemic were more vulnerable to employment disruptions and earnings losses associated with an adult family member’s COVID-19 illness.
Authors: Nicole L. Hair, Ph.D., of the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health in Columbia, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed ...
About The Study: This study found differential benefits associated with a percutaneous coronary intervention–capable facility (PCI-CF) opening based on patient race and community segregation. Black patients in integrated communities demonstrated the greatest benefits across all outcomes, including a five times greater likelihood of receiving same-day PCI after a PCI-CF opening compared with white patients in segregated communities.
Authors: Renee Y. Hsia, M.D., M.Sc., of the University of California, San Francisco, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.47311)
Editor’s ...
Research from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TDMU) warns that rates of urgent dialysis and death are on the rise over the last decade in people hospitalized for acute high blood pressure.
Tokyo, Japan – High blood pressure is called the silent killer because symptoms can remain hidden until a medical crisis strikes. You might think hypertension is no longer serious because blood pressure medication is widely available, but newly reported trends in people with dangerously high blood pressure ...
Researchers have come one step closer to answering why, in some patients, a type of lymphoma changes from indolent to aggressive, and in particular they are closer to identifying which patients are at high risk of this change happening.
Part of the answer lies in the protein expression in the tumour, explains Associate Professor Maja Ludvigsen from the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University. Maja is one of the authors of a new study on the subject, which has just been published in the scientific journal Blood Advances.
Follicular ...
INDIANAPOLIS – There have been few studies of LGBTQ+ older adults residing in nursing homes. A new article from faculty of Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University explores care of the growing number of LGBTQ+ older adults living in these facilities. The paper highlights the experiences and needs of this population, outlines best facility practices and presents valuable resources for culturally appropriate and inclusive care.
Social isolation, limited community supports, dementia, decreased functional abilities, economic ...
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- By studying how spider silk responds to sound, researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York have developed a patent for a brand-new microphone technology.
Using biomimicry as a model, Binghamton University Distinguished Professor of Engineering Ron Miles worked with then-doctoral student and current Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Jian Zhou to patent a bio-inspired flow microphone — the very patent that has now been commercialized by the Canadian venture firm TandemLaunch and its spin-off company Soundskrit, which has also recently ...
Anesthesiologist and global health expert Dr. Gunisha Kaur and her research team recently won a prestigious National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Catalyst Prize.
The Catalyst Awards are a branch of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition that seeks to expand the human healthspan—usually defined as how many healthy years a person lives—by rewarding cutting-edge ideas to improve the physical, mental, or social wellbeing and health of people as they age. Up to 20 awards are being given this year to United States-based innovators, out of 1,100 applications received from organizations focused on “science, medicine, ...
Our reading skills, and understanding of a text, depend on several factors.
“These include decoding texts, learning the letters of the alphabet, and knowing the different words and how they sound. However, vocabulary is also important,” says Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Department of Psychology.
He is behind a special edition of Frontiers in Psychology together with Professors Heikki Lyytinen from the University of Jyväskylä and Elena L. Grigorenko from the University of Houston.
Most people can learn how ...
