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Battery Recycling

Battery Recycling. Andrew Kiemnec. Introduction. Why should we recycle batteries? Where solid waste goes Facts about battery consumption How does industry view battery recycling? How does battery recycling work? Lead Acid Recycling and other options. Why should we recycle?.

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Battery Recycling

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  1. Battery Recycling Andrew Kiemnec

  2. Introduction • Why should we recycle batteries? • Where solid waste goes • Facts about battery consumption • How does industry view battery recycling? • How does battery recycling work? • Lead Acid • Recycling and other options

  3. Why should we recycle? • Where does waste go? • Landfills • Trash storage • Some methane production • Incinerators • Energy • Volume reduction • Break down some compounds

  4. Americans purchase nearly 3 billion dry-cell batteries every year. 350 million are rechargeable. Only 3-5% of primary dry cells are recycled. Nearly 99 million wet-cell lead-acid car batteries are manufactured each year. A primary battery will only return 1/50 the energy used to make it. Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when batteries are improperly disposed of. The oceans are starting to show elevated levels of cadmium. NiCd batteries account for 75% of cadmium in landfills. Preserve natural resources. Why should we recycle?

  5. Industry and Recycling • Companies claim it is not economically profitable. • Transportation • Sorting • Lead acid batteries are the most recycled product.

  6. How recycling works • Lead Acid Recycling • Plastic is broken up and reused • Lead and lead oxide is smelted • Sulfuric acid is reclaimed

  7. Pyrometallurgical and Hydrometallurgical extraction • Allows metals to be reclaimed from oxides. • PbO(s) + CO(g)  Pb(s) + CO2(g) • Hydrometallurgical extraction • Cu2+(aq) + H2(g)  Cu(s) +2H+

  8. NiCd batteries can be reprocessed through a similar thermal technique NiMH The output of this process is a product with high nickel content which can be used in the manufacture of stainless steel. Li-Ion currently reprocessed through pyrolysis (heat treatment) with the primary recovery the metal content. Zinc-carbon/air and alkaline-manganese can be reprocessed using a number of different methods, which include smelting and other thermal-metallurgical processes to recover the metal content (particularly zinc). Batteries containing mercury Most commonly processed using a vacuum-thermal treatment Recycling other types of batteries

  9. Advances • Mercury battery act • Phase out mercury • Increase Recycling • Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation • Since 1994, RBRC has recycled more than 20 million pounds of rechargeable batteries. • Battery Counsel International

  10. Solutions • Purchase rechargeable batteries. • Use solar power • Battery Deposit • Make companies take back products they sell. • Make batteries easier to recycle.

  11. Resources • www.epa.gov • www.energy.gov • www.wasteonline.org.uk • www.bbc.co.uk • http://www.batteryrecycling.com/index.html • Inorganic Chemistry (Shriver, Atkins) • Recycling of Consumer Dry Cell batteries (Hurd et al.) • http://www.relfe.com/IDetoxamin/cadmium_toxicity.htm • www.zerowasteamerica.org

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