Acid storage batteries

The cathode is a carbon rod immersed in a moist paste of Mn02 that also contains NH4CI. The Mn02 is reduced to Mn203 according to the following reaction. 

These two half-reactions produce a voltage of abouf 1.5 volfs. Two or more of fhese bafferies can be connected in series (cathode-to-anode connection) to produce higher voltages. 

The more expensive alkaline batteries employ slightly different halfreactions that use a base (therefore the name alkaline). In an alkaline battery, the reactions are as follows. 

Alkaline batteries have a longer working life and a longer shelf life than their nonalkaline coxmterparts. 

Each cell also contains a lead(IV) oxide cathode where reduction occurs according to the following reaction. 

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Lead dioxide is electrically conductive and is formed ia place as the active material of the positive plates of lead-acid storage batteries. Because it is a vigorous oxidizing agent when heated, it is used ia the manufacture of dyes, chemicals, matches (qv), pyrotechnics (qv), and Hquid polysulfide polymers (42) (see Polypous containing sulfur). 

Lead forms a normal and an acid sulfate and several basic sulfates. Basic and normal lead sulfates ate fundamental components in the operation of lead-sulfuric acid storage batteries. Basic lead sulfates also ate used as pigments and heat stabilizers (qv) in vinyl and certain other plastics. 

The following Is a hypothetical example of how one manufacturer might complete the toxic chemical release inventory reporting Form R. The facility information is purely fictitious and does not represent any known manufacturing facility. The example begins with descriptions of the facility (a lead-acid storage battery manufacturer) and of the production process at the faciiity. The completion of each section of Form R is explained and a copy of Form R, as it would be completed by this facility, follows. 

The historical development of the separator and of the lead-acid storage battery are inseparably tied together. When referring to lead-acid batteries today one primarily thinks of starter batteries or forklift traction batteries, but the original applications were quite different. 

The low-temperature oxidation of hydrogen as in the cap of a lead-acid storage battery is an example of heterogeneous catalysis. It is proposed to model this reaction as if it were homogeneous ... 

This mechanism is followed in particular in the reactions of lead sulfate in the electrodes of lead-acid storage batteries. At the negative electrode. 

An automobile battery is a type called a lead-acid storage battery. Lead-acid storage batteries rely on the chemical reaction between lead, lead dioxide, and sulfuric acid to operate. In a... 

A lead-acid storage battery is only one type of battery, however. Different batteries use different metals and electrolytes to make them work. For example, alkaline batteries (the ones found in flashlights, toys, and portable electronic devices) contain powdered zinc and manganese dioxide as their electrodes. They use an electrolyte made of an alkaline solution of potassium hydroxide. Most alkaline batteries have a finite amount of chemicals in them. Once the chemicals react with one another, they are used up, and the battery goes dead (is discharged) and cannot be recharged. 

The domestic use pattern for lead in 1990 was as follows lead-acid storage batteries, used for motor vehicles, motive power, and emergency back-up power, accounted for 80% of total lead consumption ammunition, bearing metals, brass and bronze, cable covering, extruded products, sheet lead, and solder, represented 12.4% the remaining 7.6% was used for ceramics, type metal, ballast or weights, tubes or containers, oxides, and gasoline additives (USDOC 1992). 

A well-known use of lead is also in the familiar lead-acid storage battery. This device is an example of a storage cell, meaning that the battery can be discharged and recharged over a large number of cycles. The lead-acid battery is familiar as a battery in your car. 

Lead (TV) oxide (PbO ) is also known as lead dioxide. It is a brown substance important in the operation of the lead-acid storage battery. 

To date, the single most important commercial use of lead is in the manufacture of lead-acid storage batteries. However, for most of the twentieth century, the most important environmental source of Pb was gasoline combnstion. It is also used in alloys, such as fusible metals, antifriction metals, and solder. Lead foil is made with lead alloys. Lead is used for covering cables and as a lining for laboratory sinks, tanks, and the chambers in the lead-chamber process for the manufacture of sulfuric acid. It is used extensively in plumbing. Because it has excellent vibration-dampening characteristics, lead is often used to support heavy machinery. 

Lead sulfate occurs in nature as the mineral, anglesite. It is an essential component of lead-sulfuric acid storage batteries and forms during discharge... 

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