Lead-acid batteries emissions from

Respirable particulate or gaseous forms of lead may be inhaled. Sources include cigarette smoke vehicle exhaust emissions from municipal waste incinerators, iron and steel plants, smelting and refining operations, lead acid battery manufacturing facilities, and sandblasting and burning of surfaces coated with lead paint. Particulate air emissions may eventually deposit and contaminate the soil. 

Other variants exist for rail hybrid technology, such as Canada s Railpower technologies GG and GK. These technologies utilize long-life, rechargeable lead acid batteries to power 1,000- to 2,000-hp motors. Obviously, the imperative of environment is affected due to the decrease in diesel emissions that is possible from this type of system (up to an estimated 40-60% diesel savings) [5],... 

Modern industry practice can be extremely effective in limiting lead emissions from recycling facilities. Facility emissions have been a cause of historic concern, with speculation that increased use of lead-acid batteries in electric and/or hybrid electric vehicles might result in unacceptable levels of lead contamination. For example. Lave et al. [23] estimated that emissions to water and air associated with primary lead production, secondary lead production, and battery prodnction were 4, 2, and 1%, respectively, of the total amount of lead processed. In contrast, Socolow and Thomas [24] estimated that secondary smelting and refining were associated with system losses of up to only 0.01% of material processed. 

Limits are placed on emissions from lead-acid battery manufacturing plants. 

The most important oxides of lead are litharge (PbO), lead dioxide (Pb02) and red lead (Pb304). Black oxide (a mixture of 60-80% PbO with finely divided metallic lead) is used in the manufacture of lead-acid batteries (see Section 5.1.2.2), and in 1975 in the US approximately 70% of lead used in oxides and pigments was used for storage battery manufacture. The estimated emission of lead to the atmosphere from manufacture of the lead oxides and pigments was 112 tonne y [1]. 

Strong contenders for automotive power are the sodium/sulphur and sodium/ nickel chloride batteries, the latter known as the ZEBRA cell. ZEBRA was originally (c. 1979) an acronym devised for commercial security reasons but now it stands for the very apt Zero Emissions Batteries Research Activity . Several European car manufacturers including BMW and Mercedes have incorporated the ZEBRA cell into prototype cars, vans and buses. The performance of the battery far outstrips that of the lead/acid counterpart, as is evident from Fig. 

Sealed valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries are often used in operations in enclosed spaces where the emissions from diesel gensets are unacceptable. Battery rooms, which are literally rooms full of batteries for UPS, is a common site in buildings such as data centres and telecommunications facilities. The sealed batteries are scaled by linking them together in series, known as a string , with the number depending on the amount of power required and size of the batteries. 

Consumer batteries are generally smaller and are discarded with other products in the municipal solid waste. When the waste reaches a landfill, water is leached and then nickel, cadmium, and mercury are extracted from the used and broken batteries. High concentrations of the metals are sorted out from the landfill base. When the waste reaches the incinerators, the batteries contribute high levels of metal fumes to the stack emissions and ash, which escalates the cost of environmental control. Battery producers claim that used batteries accounted for close to 1.5 million metric tons of municipal from solid waste. However, this quantity is less than 1% of the total municipal solid waste generated. This solid waste contains about 67% of the lead, 90% of the mercury, and more than 50 percent of the cadmium. In countries where county and municipal regulators mandate the removal of Pb-acid batteries from the municipal solid-waste incinerators and landfills, they require safe disposal of used batteries with appropriate certification. 

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