Recycling of Batteries

Portability of electricity has become a part of daily living. Batteries are widely used by portable electric and electronic devices, such as telephones, computers, radios, compact disks, tape recorders, cordless tools, and even the electronic cars. But at the end of life, these batteries can come back to haunt us. A primary battery used for a flashlight lasts for a single life cycle, whereas in the case of a rechargeable battery, the battery can be recharged for thousands of cycles. From an environmental viewpoint, a rechargeable battery that is classified as a secondary battery is preferred over a primary battery in terms of 

For Pb-acid batteries, the return rate in the battery is more than 95%, the recoverable lead in the battery mass is about 60%, and the efficiency of a secondary smelter is roughly 95%. Considering all these factors, the material recycle fraction of the battery mass would be about 54%. 

---

At the present time, a large number of spent batteries are disposed of directly into the urban waste stream without proper controls. In addition to the most common systems such as zinc-carbon, alkaline manganese and nickel-cadmium, these now include, at an increasing rate, nickel-metal hydride and lithium cells. Such disposal is of serious concern because of the possible effects of battery components on the environment. Consequently, most countries are now evolving policies for collection and recycling. The majority of lead-acid batteries are recycled, but the number of recycling plants in operation worldwide for other battery systems is still very small due to the unfavourable economic balance of such operations (see Table A3.1). Some of the procedures for the disposal and recycling of battery materials are now briefly described. 

Until recently, in many countries around the world, the recycling of battery scrap and residues was only carried out by secondary producers. This is now changing as primary smelters, who formerly handled only concentrates, are adapting their plants to handle battery scrap and other residues. This change has been prompted by a number of factors, particularly the financial viability of smelters and the need to maintain a continuous supply of concentrate/lead units to the smelter. 

Monitoring and controlling air quality during the recycling of batteries is critical so as to reduce point-source emissions to the atmosphere. Operations should be monitored where lead exposure is likely to be high, in order to guide occupational health programmes. 

Alternatively, a legally defined voluntary scheme for collection and recycling of batteries can be used. 

The SCRELEC collection process is very similar to that operated by GRS Batterien in Germany. Collection boxes of various types are distributed to collection points. Currently two waste management companies have been contacted to collect the batteries from the various collection points including stores, business or industrial sites and municipal waste facilities, and forward them to a sorting facility. This scheme is co-ordinated via a national call centre. SCRELEC has released an invitation to tender for the collection sorting and recycling of batteries in France. 

Austrian law requires retailers and wholesalers to take back used batteries from consumers free of charge. Municipalities are also obliged to accept used batteries from private citizens. Battery manufacturers and importers have established an organisation called Umweltforum Batterien (UFB) to administer the scheme for collection. It can handle sorting and disposal or recycling of batteries. 

The first step in preventing batteiy derived pollutants from entering the food chain is the creation of an effective collection and processing system. Since none of the toxic materials (Pb, Cd, Hg) can be detoxified, in contrast to organic solvents, they must be extracted from the discarded batteries and recycled or disposed of in secure landfills (potential future hazards ) or rendered innocuous in some other way. The recycling of battery materials will be considered in Section 5. 

The operational incentives for recycling of most consumer batteries are regulatory rather than economic. Wallis and Wolslw (20) cite estimates of US 0.80/lb for the recycling cost of batteries, exclusive of any credits for recovered materials, and US 0.l0/lb for their disposal in hazardous waste landfills. Clearly the economics favor disposal, not recycling. The recycling of batteries will be driven, therefore, primarily by regulatory pressures. 

Only a minute fraction, about 0.1%, of the total lead consumed by the battery industry enters into the manufacture of small consumer type lead-acid batteries, and they are likely to be discarded as part of general household waste. The recycling of batteries in that category may be handled by processes described in Section 5.3 below. Almost all the leadf consumed by the battery industry is employed in the manufacture of large prismatic automotive and industrial type batteries. 

J. Fricke, "Recycling of Batteries - The View of the European Battery Industry." Proc. 3rd ISBWM, Florida, November 1991. 

The effectiveness of metal deposition can be impeded in the presence of other ionic species, organic or neutral species and also when relevant ionic species are in low concentrations. To improve the efficiency a combined, or integrated , approach to metal recycling can be used which incorporates other chemical and physical separation processes in conjunction with electrodeposition. This approach is used in the recycling of batteries and metal catalysts. 

The recycling of batteries. A commercial process [30] for the recovery of lead is based on the dissolution of the spent batteries in a fluoroboric acid electrolyte. The lead is deposited on the cathode in tank cells with insoluble lead dioxide coated graphite anodes. Of the metal ion impurities present in the electrolyte formed by battery solution only triva-lent Sb is found to co-deposit significantly with the Pb. By oxidising Sb(III) to Sb(IV), the amount of co-deposition becomes acceptably small for the process. 

Figure 19.18 Citron Process for the Recycling of Batteries. Source Citron.

The BBMA promotes the recycling of batteries in the UK and encoun es battery return schemes which will comply with European Community Directives. 

No environmental pollution during manufacturing, use, and recycling of batteries. 

---