{"id":4732,"date":"2020-04-06T12:22:03","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T11:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=4732"},"modified":"2020-04-06T12:27:34","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T11:27:34","slug":"lead-batteries-a-role-model-of-safe-sustainable-recycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/lead-batteries-a-role-model-of-safe-sustainable-recycling\/4732\/","title":{"rendered":"Lead batteries: a role model of safe, sustainable recycling"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a remarkable 99% recycling rate and successful circular economy, lead batteries surpass the sustainability of newer battery chemistries. Can they respond?<\/h2>\n

The reliability of the lead battery has made it the most commonly used rechargeable battery technology for the widest range of applications. However, there\u2019s more to report. When it comes to sustainability, lead batteries exemplify how to responsibly and safely manage the lifecycle of product materials, from initial design and sourcing, through to recycling and reuse.<\/p>\n

Intrinsic value, established infrastructure<\/h3>\n

Lead batteries have long been recycled safely, with a sustained recycling rate of 99% in the United States and Europe. In the US alone, modern, \u2018closed-loop\u2019 recycling keeps more than 130m lead batteries from landfill sites each year.<\/p>\n

In part, driving that rate is the intrinsic value of a lead battery\u2019s components. Lead can be infinitely recycled with no loss of performance, and the plastic casing is melted, pelletised and reused. For decades an established infrastructure has existed to safely collect, transport and handle spent lead batteries. The innovative processes for recycling lead batteries, and the facilities that support them, have progressively advanced to become one of the greatest recycling success stories in the global marketplace.<\/p>\n

Today, the lead battery industry is an enviable example of closed-loop manufacturing, creating its own circular economy. That means almost every new battery consists of over 80% recycled material, according to Battery Council International (BCI). BCI is the principle trade association for lead battery manufacturers and recyclers in North America and other partners engaged in every facet of the industry.<\/p>\n

Designed for recycling<\/h3>\n

BCI and member companies work together to educate the population that not all batteries are created equal, especially in environmental stewardship. For lead batteries, that commitment starts in the concepting phase. Manufacturers and recyclers work together to ensure new batteries are designed for safe, efficient recycling that feeds a circular system of reuse.<\/p>\n

The industry\u2019s success is challenging other battery manufacturing industries, such as lithium-ion, to replicate what the lead battery industry is doing, and doing very well, according to The Sustainability Consortium: \u201cLead batteries close the loop more effectively than any other product in the consumer goods space. We\u2019d like to leverage the lessons of this industry to help others reach the same type of performance for their end-of-life products,\u201d said Dr Carole Mars, with The Sustainability Consortium.<\/p>\n

A lead battery\u2019s path to reuse<\/h3>\n

To understand lead battery circularity, it\u2019s helpful to follow the recycling process of a lead battery itself. Put simply, using modern, safe methods, lead battery recyclers take materials that would otherwise be discarded and turn them into useful products, i.e. a battery-to-battery model versus cradle-to-grave model.\u00a0 Here\u2019s how: once a spent lead battery is received at the recycling facility, the battery is disassembled into pieces. They go into a vat, where the lead and heavy materials fall to the bottom, while the plastic rises to the top. At this point, the polypropylene pieces are scooped away, and the liquids are drawn off, leaving the lead and heavy metals. Each of the materials then begin their own recycling journey:<\/p>\n

Plastic<\/h3>\n

The polypropylene pieces are washed, dried and sent to a plastic recycler where the pieces are melted together. The molten plastic is put through an extruder that produces small plastic pellets. Those pellets are then sold to the manufacturer of battery cases (or other items), and the process begins again.<\/p>\n

Lead<\/h3>\n

The lead plates\/grids, lead oxide and other lead parts are cleaned, melted and poured into ingot molds. After cooling, the ingots get sent to battery manufacturers and used in the production of new lead plates and other parts for new batteries.<\/p>\n

Sulfuric acid<\/h3>\n

Used battery acid is neutralised into water. The water is treated, cleaned and tested to meet clean water standards, and then released into the public sewer system. Or, the acid is converted to sodium sulfate, an odorless white powder used in laundry detergent and glass and textile manufacturing. Acid can also be reused in new battery products.<\/p>\n

Why lead batteries are recycling friendly<\/h3>\n

Dr Mark Drezdzon is vice president of research and development at RSR Technologies, a BCI member company. RSR is a subsidiary of Ecobat Technologies, one of the largest recyclers and producers of lead on the planet. Drezdzon, a trained chemist, described additional factors that make one battery chemistry easier to recycle than others. As an example, he compared lead batteries to the many technical challenges involved in recycling lithium-ion batteries. They primarily follow a linear manufacturing model of take-make-dispose, which equates to a less than 5% recycling rate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn general, newer battery technologies have a more difficult time achieving the recycling advances and developing reclamation processes comparable to those established by the lead battery industry,\u201d Drezdzon noted. He explained the recycling chasm and safety issues for consumers and recycling employees:<\/p>\n

Lead battery<\/h3>\n