Battery Recycling Technologies

In the recent past most lithium batteries were either put into a landfill or incinerated. Many of the larger lithium primary systems had no known method of disposal, much less recycling. The older large primary lithium batteries were, many times, so reactive that open detonation was used as an effective disposal method. 

1) It is veiy economical especially when batteries are blended with other waste streams. Recycling costs are similar to incineration costs. 

2) Flammable eleetrolytes pose no threat and may actually add to the efficiency of the process by supplementing the fuel source. 

3) Some marketable metal, cobalt, and/or electricity are usually gained from the process. 

1) The process produces large volumes of ash and air emissions similar to any large smelting operation. 

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S. Unnasch, M. Montano, and P. Franklin, Reclamation of Automotive Batteries Assessment of Health Impacts and Recycling Technology, Task 1 Assessment of EV Battery Recycling Technology, Acurex Enviromnental Corporation, March... 

Existing battery recycling technologies have important deficiencies that need to be revised and adapted to meet the most restrictive environmental regulations and to reach a sustainable growth model for the secondary lead industry in the new century. The most relevant shortcomings of currently applied technologies are as follow ... 

Overview and Analysis of Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Technologies.495... 

Table 21.5 Qualitative Comparison of Battery Recycling Technologies...

FIGURE 23.14 Umicore battery recycling technology. (For color version of this figure, the reader is referred to the online version of this book.)... 

At a former battery recycling site in Wisconsin, the technology was used to stabilize 55,000 yd of soil contaminated with lead. The total treatment costs were 50 per ton of soil treated, in 1994 dollars. This figure includes remediation costs, analytical costs, and consulting fees. The chemicals used during the demonstration cost approximately 12 per treated ton of soil. It is estimated that disposal in a hazardous landfill would have cosf more fhan 200 per ton (D144850, p. 1227). 

Wiaux J-P. (2000) Sorting Spent Batteries A Review of Current Technologies. EPBA Meeting on Battery Recycling, Brussels, May 2000. EPBA. 204 Avenue Marcel Thiry, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium. 

Li-ion batteries. This program aims at conserving natural resources. Valuable natural resources are especially contained in the new chemistries of NiMH and Li-ion. These new chemistries were introduced and dramatically increased in volume and then new recycling technologies were developed and established. 

A recycling technology for NiMH batteries is now under development. Ni, Co and Fe are used for stainless steel products. There are now 8 recyclers in Japan, but they... 

In Japan, BAJ started collection and recycling program for all types of portable rechargeable batteries in July 1998. Their sales volume is still increasing with further development of portable electronic devices. In view of the utilization of valuable resources, their recycling technologies to produce secondary raw materials are being... 

As part of a broad assessment of the general recyclability of automotive batteries done in the mid-1990s, a report on recycling technology was prepared for the California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board [16]. Ten different EV battery technologies were ranked based on their performance and recyclability. The battery chemistries that were included in this study are presented in Table 3. Because the recycling capacity available for some of these batteries was minimal in 1995 and the... 

Table 3. Battery Chemistries Included in Recycling Technology...

Another conventional battery technology that has been considered for EVs is Ni/Cd. Although capable of somewhat better performance than lead-acid in some respects, this battery is also more costly and does not equal the performance levels possible with advanced battery systems. It is unlikely to see widespread use in EV applications in the U.S. although there are reported to be more than 10,000 EVs using Ni/Cd batteries presently on the road in Europe [23]. Because of the toxicity of cadmium, which precludes disposal, and the value of the nickel, there are well-developed processes for recycling of Ni/Cd batteries. Most of the facilities in Europe are dedicated Ni/Cd battery recycling plants. 

M. D. Royer, A. Selvakumar and R. Gaire, "Control Technologies for Defunct Lead Battery Recycling Sites." Proc. 3rd ISBWM, Florida, November 1991. 

In 1991 the world s first commercial plant for battery recycling for unsorted household batteries, which uses the Recytec Battery Recycling Process, started operation in Aclens, Switzerland. The technology applies a thermo-mechanical and chemical-electrochemical separation process for recovering valuable materials from unsorted household battery waste. It efficiently refines waste components to raw materials that can be recycled into the industry. 

NEW CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES TO IMPROVE LEAD-ACID BATTERY RECYCLING... 

It should be remarked that the aim of the PLACID and FLINT technologies is to complement existing battery recycling plants, yielding the best synergy and complementary aspects of both the pyro and hydro lines. 

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