Recycling UPS and Telecom batteries(lead-acid batteries)
Environmental Solutions
Lead-acid batteries are the environmental success story of
our time. More than 97 percent of all battery lead is recycled. Compared
to 55% of aluminum soft drink and beer cans, 45% of newspapers, 26% of
glass bottles and 26% of tires, lead-acid batteries top the list of the
most highly recycled consumer product.
The lead-acid battery gains its environmental edge from its
closed-loop life cycle. The typical new lead-acid battery
contains 60 to 80 percent recycled lead and plastic. When a spent battery
is collected,
it is sent to a permitted recycler where, under strict environmental
regulations, the lead and plastic are reclaimed and sent to a new battery
manufacturer.
The recycling cycle goes on indefinitely. That means the
lead and plastic in the lead-acid battery in your car, truck, boat
or motorcycle have been
- and will continue to be -- recycled many, many times. This
makes lead-acid battery disposal extremely
successful from both environmental and cost perspectives.
Note: Power Solutions LLC provides recycling services for all of our
UPS and Battery Customers
Environmental Solutions
Click here to view a chart that describes the lead-acid battery recycling
laws in the states where they exist.
New Batteries are recycled and comprised of previously recycled materials.
The battery is broken apart in a hammermill, a machine that hammers
the battery into pieces.
The broken battery pieces 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 goes into a different "stream." We'll
begin with the plastic, or polypropylene.
Plastic
The polypropylene pieces are washed, blown dry and sent to
a plastic recycler where the pieces are melted together into
an almost-liquid state. The molten plastic is put through an extruder
that produces small plastic pellets of a uniform size. Those
pellets are sold to the manufacturer of battery cases, and
the process begins again.
Lead
The lead grids, lead oxide and other lead parts are cleaned
and then melted together in smelting furnaces.
The molten lead is poured into ingot molds. Large ingots,
weighing about 2,000 pounds are called hogs. Smaller ingots,
weighing 65 pounds, are called pigs. After few minutes, the impurities,
otherwise known as dross, float to the top of the still-molten
lead in the ingot molds. The dross is scraped away and
the
ingots are left to cool.
When the ingots are cool, they are removed from the molds
and sent to battery manufacturers, where they are re-melted
and
used in the production of new lead plates and other parts
for new
batteries.
Sulfuric Acid
Old battery acid can be handled in two ways.
The acid is neutralized with an industrial compound similar
to household baking soda. This turns the acid into water.
The water is treated; cleaned and tested to be sure it meets
clean water standards. Then it is released into the public sewer system.
Another way to treat acid is to process it and convert it to
sodium sulfate, an odorless white powder that's used in laundry
detergent, glass and textile manufacturing. This takes a material
that would be discarded and turns it into a useful product.
2006 Battery Council International •
401 North Michigan Avenue, 24th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60611-4267
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