Battery Recycling: Help Your Environment
Batteries may contain harmful metals and chemicals such as
nickel cadmium, alkaline, mercury, nickel metal hydride and lead
acid, which can contaminate the environment if not disposed
properly. For example, when batteries containing cadmium is used
in landfills, they will eventually dissolve and release the
toxic substance that can seep into water supplies, posing
serious health hazards for the population. This is why recycling
batteries has become so important because it helps prevent
pollution, and also saves resources.
The Recycling Process:
First of all, the batteries to be recycled are sorted according
to chemistries such as nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal-hydride,
lithium, alkaline etc. The combustible material, such as
plastics and insulation, is then removed with a gas fired
thermal oxidizer, which is the first step in the recycling
process. Most recycling plants have scrubbers where the gases
from the thermal oxidizer are neutralized to remove pollutants,
producing clean, naked cells that contain precious metal
content.
The metal in the batteries are then heated to liquefy, after
they have been hacked into little pieces. Black slag left by
burned out non-metallic substances are scraped off with a slag
arm, and the different alloys that settle according to weight
are skimmed off. Some plants pour the liquid metals directly
into (65 pounds) or 'hogs' (2000 pounds) without separating on
site, which are then shipped to metal recovery plants to produce
nickel, chromium and iron re-melt alloy for the manufacturing of
other metal products.
State and Federal Regulations in the United States:
The Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act
was passed in 1996 by the U.S. Congress which requires regulated
batteries such as Ni-CD batteries and sealed lead-acid batteries
to:
1. be easily removable from consumer products to make it easier
to recover them for recycling 2. include in the label the
battery chemistry, the "three chasing arrows" symbol, and a
phrase that instructs users to properly recycle or dispose the
battery 3. provide national uniformity in collection, storage,
and transport 4. phase out the use of certain mercury-containing
batteries
The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC): (
HREF="http://www.rbrc.org">www.rbrc.org)
The United States Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation
(RBRC) was set up in 1994 as a non-profit, public service
organization to help and promote the recycling of portable
rechargeable batteries such as Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel
Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium Ion (Li-ion), and Small Sealed
Lead. It also educates rechargeable power users about the
benefits and accessibility of rechargeable battery recycling.
However, RBRC only recycles batteries that has RBRC Battery
Recycling Seal. Manufacturers, marketers and collectors or
rechargeable batteries or products that use them can contact
RBRC at "licensee@rbrc.com" for better solutions. Other Contact
Info:
RBRC 1000 Parkwood Circle Suite 450 Atlanta, GA 30339 Ph:
678-419-9990 Fax: 678-419-9986
Recent Developments:
The mercury reduction in batteries, which had already started in
1984, is still continued today. For example, batteries such as
those containing alkaline have had about a 97 percent mercury
reduction, and newer models may contain about one-tenth the
amount of mercury previously contained in the typical alkaline
battery, or may be zero-added mercury. A number of mercury-free,
heavy-duty, carbon-zinc batteries are now available as
alternatives. Technology such as silver-oxide and zinc-air
button batteries contain less mercury so they are starting to
replace mercuric-oxide batteries. Nickel-cadmium batteries can
be reprocessed to reclaim the nickel, and cadmium free nickel
and nickel-hydride system are also being researched. At present,
most nickel-cadmium batteries are permanently sealed in
appliances but changes are being made in regulations which will
result in a more convenient retrieval and recycling of
nickel-cadmium batteries.
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