German Sunshine Battery Interprets the Contents of Battery Products in International Maritime Danger Regulations

Technical Guidance for German Sunlight Batteries: Batteries (chemical-only batteries) are electrochemical devices that can release electricity through chemical reactions and are widely used in transportation, electronics, communications and people's daily lives. Batteries are one of the most common dangerous cargo in the international maritime danger regulations because of the dangerous chemicals contained in them and the potential dangers of discharging and heating during transportation.

In this paper, the basic technical information of batteries is popularized by enumerating the types of batteries and classifying the dangers of batteries (including electrolytes and battery-related equipment).

Types of Batteries

Batteries can be classified into five categories according to the chemical properties of the electrolyte, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1 List of common chemical batteries
Interpretation of Battery Products in International Maritime Danger Regulations

Among them, lead-acid batteries are the most widely used battery products with the largest import and export volume. Their electrodes are generally composed of lead and lead oxides, while the electrolyte is sulfuric acid. Lead-acid batteries can be subdivided into ordinary batteries, dry-charged batteries, wet-charged batteries and maintenance-free batteries according to their different structures and modes of use. In recent years, lithium-metal and lithium-ion batteries have been widely used, especially rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, because of their strong storage capacity, long service life and small size.

Classification of Battery Transportation Hazard

The danger of batteries in transportation is mainly caused by the electrolyte contained in the batteries. The danger of the electrolyte determines the danger of the batteries themselves. At present, according to IMDGcode 37-14 edition, the dangers of common battery products can be classified into 8 types of corrosives, 9 types of miscellaneous dangers, 3 types of flammable liquids, 2.1 types of flammable gases and 4.3 types of flammable gases released in water. The corresponding UN number is shown in Table 2.

Table 2 UN Number for Battery Products
Interpretation of Battery Products in International Maritime Danger Regulations

Classification of transport hazards of electrolytes

In actual transportation, besides filling the electrolyte, the alkaline and acidic batteries that can be maintained are separated from the battery shell, and the batteries are not filled with the electrolyte. According to the placement of battery packs and electrolytes, their transport risks can be divided into the following categories, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3 UN Number Applicable to Electrolyte

Classification of Transportation Hazards for Equipment (Containing Batteries)

Due to the wide application of batteries, many electronic equipments and vehicles are equipped with batteries or combined transportation with batteries in international trade. For these batteries, there is also a special UN number in the International Maritime Danger Regulations.

Table 4. Applicable UN Number for Equipment (Containing Batteries)
Interpretation of Battery Products in International Maritime Danger Regulations

Matters needing attention

As mentioned above, battery products can usually choose the appropriate UN number according to the type of products and the specific conditions of transportation. However, when submitting the actual transportation, enterprises should be reminded to pay special attention to the special provisions corresponding to each UN number, such as the special provisions 230 of UN number 3090 and 3091. According to their requirements, lithium metal and lithium ion batteries can only meet the international shipping requirements. Danger Regulation 2.9.4 can only be delivered for transport, and storage batteries can be exempted from general cargo if they can pass the special provision 238 of UN No. 2800.