Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus – product – and – Regenerating – salvage or repair feature other than only...
Patent
1994-05-27
1995-10-17
Kalafut, Stephen
Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and
Regenerating, salvage or repair feature other than only...
H01M 1054
Patent
active
054589908
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method of processing used batteries, particularly zinc-carbon and alkali-manganese batteries, in order to recover usable or environmentally relevant substances contained therein.
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
Primary batteries are used in numerous self-contained, portable devices as round, prismatic cells, and as button cells in large numbers.
Without a doubt, the breakthrough to modern, portable current sources was the configuration of zinc anodes as a cell box and the use of manganese dioxide as a positive electrode, and the idea of using a solid depolarizer (manganese dioxide) in place of a liquid one, the solid depolarizer being practically insoluble in the electrolyte solution. Depending on the battery system, ammonium chloride is used as the electrolyte, possibly with added zinc chloride, or diluted potassium chloride solution in batteries having zinc anodes. To suppress self-discharge, the zinc anodes are amalgamated with mercury salts. Additives such as copper and iron are only allowable in traces, while a specific percentage of lead and cadmium in precisely matched proportions of dimensions can contribute to the improvement in the zinc quality.
Primary batteries are only intended for one-time use. Up until a short time ago, after they had been exhausted, they were exclusively disposed of with normal household garbage or incinerated. This, however, caused environmental pollution. In recent times, these batteries are collected separately to an extent. However, destroying them in an environmentally-friendly manner causes great difficulties.
For a few years already, a focus of industrial battery production has been to recover the used batteries.
A decisive impetus for this was not initially environmental considerations, but economical reasons, i.e. recovery of raw materials such as zinc, ammonium and manganese.
Nevertheless, recycling makes an important contribution to environmental protection since, as mentioned, recycling prevents the organized as well as arbitrary deposit of dangerous or valuable substances, respectively, from used batteries.
Different methods of material recovery from unusable batteries are known from the art.
An example is FR 1,112,969. This document discloses a method of recovering metallic components from used dry cells, in which the batteries are destroyed in the course of precarbonization, and the contained chlorinated compounds are partially decomposed. The metal components of the unburned proportion are mixed with carbon-containing materials and agglomerated. The agglomerates are then subjected to a reduction treatment and subsequently an oxidation treatment, resulting in a manganese compound and zinc oxide. Zinc oxide is separated out of the combustion gases of the oxidation treatment. The chlorinated compounds remaining after precarbonization are destroyed during the reduction treatment and carried off as gaseous products.
In Indian Patent 127,714, the cells are opened and the reaction products are removed. The zinc is washed with hot water and melted with the addition of carbon at 800.degree. C. This method is very work-intensive; moreover, no manganese is recovered.
In Japanese Patent 7,560,414, the reduced elements are dissolved in hot hydrochloric acid, and low-valent manganese is obtained in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. In Japanese Patent 74,106,419, the hydrochloric acid solution with ammonia is set at a pH value of 5, and iron-III-hydroxide is separated out. Whereas the batteries are reduced and subjected to wet screening and iron separation in the prestage in this patent, in accordance with Japanese Patent 75,01,094, the used dry cells are roasted for 8 hours at 750.degree. C. in the presence of air and, following reduction, are dissolved to a fine powder in 20% hydrochloric acid.
A method of recovering zinc and manganese from exhausted zinc-carbon-manganese batteries is known from Austrian Patent 381,808. In accordance with this method, the battery granulate, possibly after previous extraction, is melted with solid,
REFERENCES:
English language abstract of German Democratic Republic 210, 819.
Giahi M. Chalostoria
Ramskogler Kurt
Kalafut Stephen
Lilley, Jr. Richard H.
Ramskogler Kurt
LandOfFree
Method of processing used batteries does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method of processing used batteries, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method of processing used batteries will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-596190