CX breaker

The CX breaker (1) for the separation of the components of spent lead acid batteries and the thermal recovery of metallic lead is well known and is considered state of the art technology in this field. More than 20 plants are operating all over the world and requests for the construction of new ones are frequently received. The Engitec CX process is a mature technology that provides answers to the two most important problems related to spent lead acid batteries ... 

The need for a different approach to overcome the environmental constraints of pyrometallurgical processes led to the CX-EWS technology, which is the direct electrorefining of metallic lead (grids and poles) obtained from the CX breaker. It is based on fluoborate technology, and when introduced into primary and secondary lead operations, can eliminate all the drawbacks present in lead production. 

The entire process, however, starts with the crushing of the batteries and the separation of all the components in a CX breaker plant. A rough composition of battery scrap, from data collected during several years of monitoring of CX plants, is reported in Table II. 

Reynolds, R M, Hudson, E K and Olper, M, 1990. Advances in lead acid battery recycling Engitec s automated CX Breaker system, in Proceedings Lead-Zinc 90 Symposium, Anaheim, pp 1001-1022 (The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) Warrendale). 

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