Elecrokinetic separation of sulphate and lead from sludge of spent lead acid battery

Novel PbO@C composite material directly derived from spent lead-acid batteries by one-step spray pyrolysis process

A one-step spray pyrolysis process is investigated for the first time in the field of spent lead-acid batteries (LABs) recycling. The spent lead paste that derived from spent LAB is desulfurized and then leached to generate the lead acetate (Pb(Ac)₂) solution, which is then sprayed directly into a tube furnace to prepare the lead oxide (PbO) product by pyrolysis. The low-impurity lead oxide product (9 mg/kg Fe and 1 mg/kg Ba) is obtained under the optimized conditions (the temperature of 700 °C, the pumping rate of 50 L/h, and the spray rate of 0.5 mL/min). The major crystalline phases of the synthesized products are identified to be α-PbO and β-PbO. In the spray pyrolysis process, Pb(Ac)₂ droplets are sequentially transformed into various intermediate products: H₂O(g)@Pb(Ac)₂ solution, Pb(Ac)₂ crystals@PbO, and the final PbO@C product. Owning its carbon skeleton structure, the recovered PbO@C product (carbon content of 0.14%) shows better performance than the commercial ball-milled lead oxide powder in battery tests, with higher initial capacity and better cycling stability. This study could provide a strategy for the short-route recovery of spent LABs.

Investigation of structural, morphological, optical, elemental, and anticancer property of pure ZnO and PbO: ZnO nanocomposites prepared by flame synthesis method

In this work, Pure ZnO nanoparticles and a nanocomposite of PbO: ZnO were prepared by the flame synthesis method, and was analyzed for structural, morphological, optical, elemental, and biocompatibility studies. The structural analysis revealed a hexagonal structure for ZnO and an Orthorhombic structure for PbO: ZnO nanocomposite. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image showed a Nano-Sponge-like surface morphology for PbO: ZnO nanocomposite and energy dispersive spectra (EDS) confirmed the absence of undesired impurities. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image showed a particle size of ∼50 nm for ZnO and ∼20 nm for PbO: ZnO. Using Tauc plot the optical band gap was found to be 3.2 eV for ZnO and 2.9 eV for PbO: ZnO. Anticancer studies confirm the excellent cytotoxicity activity of both compounds. PbO: ZnO nanocomposite has demonstrated the highest cytotoxicity against the tumorigenic HEK 293 cell line with the lowest IC₅₀ value of 13.04 μM. Our study shows that the prepared PbO: ZnO nanocomposite has a huge potential in cancer therapy.

Identification of management strategies and generation factors for spent lead acid battery recovery plant wastes in Turkey

The recovery of spent or waste lead acid batteries is important both for the management of lead input to the environment and to meet the lead demand of the market in a more energy and cost effective manner than primary production. As an important producer of lead acid batteries for the Middle Eastern and Eastern European market, Turkey seems to meet 22%-52% of its total lead demand by waste lead acid battery recovery. In this study, the wastes from Turkish waste lead acid battery recovery plants are identified and management strategies that are both technically sufficient and economically feasible for each of these wastes are complied. Furthermore, ranges of the amount of each waste generated per mass of final lead produced in these plants are estimated. Some of the most significantly generated wastes are lead containing dusts, wash water treatment sludges and slags from smelting furnaces with generation rates between 5-250, 1-150 and 5-100 kg t^-1 of product lead, respectively. Many of these can be fed back to the recovery process inside the plants except a subset of slags that are called 'final slag' and have low (5%-6%) lead content. Final slags can either be recovered for the production of cement, road-filling materials or abrasives proven that they are in a non-leachable, stable state or should be stored at hazardous waste landfills. For improved environmental performance, newly emerging techniques that eliminate the generation of such slags are also discussed and suggested.

Spent lead-acid battery recycling in China - A review and sustainable analyses on mass flow of lead

Lead is classified to be one of the top heavy metal pollutants in China. The corresponding environmental issues especially during the management of spent lead-acid battery have already caused significant public awareness and concern. This research gives a brief overview on the recycling situation based on an investigation of the lead industry in China and also the development of technologies for spent lead-acid batteries. The main principles and research focuses of different technologies including pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy and greener technologies are summarized and compared. Subsequently, the circulability of lead based on the entire life cycle analyses of lead-acid battery is calculated. By considering different recycling schemes, the recycling situation of spent lead-acid battery in China can be understood semi-quantitatively. According to this research, 30% of the primary lead production can be shut down that the lead production can still ensure consecutive life cycle operation of lead-acid battery, if proper management of the spent lead-acid battery is implemented according to current lead industry situation in China. This research provides a methodology on the view of lead circulability in the whole life cycle of a specific product and is aiming to contribute more quantitative guidelines for efficient organization of lead industry in China.

Recycling and management of waste lead-acid batteries: A mini-review

As a result of the wide application of lead-acid batteries to be the power supplies for vehicles, their demand has rapidly increased owing to their low cost and high availability. Accordingly, the amount of waste lead-acid batteries has increased to new levels; therefore, the pollution caused by the waste lead-acid batteries has also significantly increased. Because lead is toxic to the environment and to humans, recycling and management of waste lead-acid batteries has become a significant challenge and is capturing much public attention. Various innovations have been recently proposed to recycle lead and lead-containing compounds from waste lead-acid batteries. In this mini-review article, different recycling techniques for waste lead-acid batteries are highlighted. The present state of such recycling and its future perspectives are also discussed. We hope that this mini-review can provide useful information on recovery and recycling of lead from waste lead-acid batteries in the field of solid waste treatment.

Greener technology for organic reactive dye degradation in textile dye-contaminated field soil and in situ formation of “electroactive species” at the anode by electrokinetics

The present study focuses on the electrokinetic process for the in situ formation of electroactive species at the anode.

Preparation of high-purity lead oxide from spent lead paste by low temperature burning and hydrometallurgical processing with ammonium acetate solution

Lead sulfate, lead dioxide and lead oxide are the main components of lead paste in a spent lead-acid battery.

Electrokinetic remediation of fluorine-contaminated soil and its impact on soil fertility

Compared to soil pollution by heavy metals and organic pollutants, soil pollution by fluorides is usually ignored in China. Actually, fluorine-contaminated soil has an unfavorable influence on human, animals, plants, and surrounding environment. This study reports on electrokinetic remediation of fluorine-contaminated soil and the effects of this remediation technology on soil fertility. Experimental results showed that electrokinetic remediation using NaOH as the anolyte was a considerable choice to eliminate fluorine in contaminated soils. Under the experimental conditions, the removal efficiency of fluorine by the electrokinetic remediation method was 70.35%. However, the electrokinetic remediation had a significant impact on the distribution and concentrations of soil native compounds. After the electrokinetic experiment, in the treated soil, the average value of available nitrogen was raised from 69.53 to 74.23 mg/kg, the average value of available phosphorus and potassium were reduced from 20.05 to 10.39 mg/kg and from 61.31 to 51.58 mg/kg, respectively. Meanwhile, the contents of soil available nitrogen and phosphorus in the anode regions were higher than those in the cathode regions, but the distribution of soil available potassium was just the opposite. In soil organic matter, there was no significant change. These experiment results suggested that some steps should be taken to offset the impacts, after electrokinetic treatment.

Electrokinetic remediation: challenging and optimization of electrolyte for sulfate removal in textile effluent-contaminated farming soil

In the current situation, soil salinity has increased due to the uncontrolled discharge of industrial effluent.

Electrokinetic remediation of inorganic and organic pollutants in textile effluent contaminated agricultural soil

The discharge from the dyeing industries constitutes unfixed dyes, inorganic salts, heavy metal complexes etc., which spoil the surrounding areas of industrial sites. The present article reports the use of direct current electrokinetic technique for the treatment of textile contaminated soil. Impressed direct current voltage of 20 V facilitates the dye/metal ions movement in the naturally available dye contaminated soil towards the opposite electrode by electromigration. IrO2–RuO2–TiO2/Ti was used as anode and Ti used as cathode. UV–Visible spectrum reveals that higher dye intensity was nearer to the anode. Ni, Cr and Pb migration towards the cathode and migration of Cu, SO42− and Cl− towards anode were noticed. Chemical oxygen demand in soil significantly decreased upon employing electrokinetic. This technology may be exploited for faster and eco-friendly removal of dye in soil environment.

Improved lead recovery and sulphate removal from used lead acid battery through electrokinetic technique

This paper presents improvement in lead (Pb) recovery and sulphate removal from used Pb acid battery (ULAB) through Electrokinetic technique, a process aimed to eliminate environmental pollution that arises due to emission of gases and metal particles from the existing high temperature pyrometallurgical process. Two different cell configurations, (1) one with Nafion membrane placed between anode and middle compartments and Agar membrane between cathode and middle compartments and (2) another with only Agar membrane placed between both sides of the middle compartments were designed for the Pb and sulphate separation from ULAB. This paper concludes that the cell with only Agar membranes performed better than the cell with Nafion and Agar membranes in combinations and also explains the mechanism underlying the chemical and electrochemical processes in the cell.

Preparation and characterization of nano-structured lead oxide from spent lead acid battery paste

As part of contribution for developing a green recycling process of spent lead acid battery, a nanostructural lead oxide was prepared under the present investigation in low temperature calcination of lead citrate powder. The lead citrate, the precursor for preparation of this lead oxide, was synthesized through leaching of spent lead acid battery paste in citric acid solution. Both lead citrate and oxide products were characterized by means of thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the lead citrate was sheet-shape crystal of Pb(C(6)H(6)O(7)) · H(2)O. When the citrate was calcined in N(2) gas, β-PbO in the orthorhombic phase was the main product containing small amount of Pb and C and it formed as spherical particles of 50-60 nm in diameter. On combusting the citrate in air at 370°C (for 20 min), a mixture of orthorhombic β-PbO, tetragonal α-PbO and Pb with the particle size of 100-200 nm was obtained, with β-PbO as the major product. The property of the nanostructural lead oxide was investigated by electrochemical technique, such as cyclic voltammetry (CV). The CV measurements presented the electrochemical redox potentials, with reversibility and cycle stability over 15 cycles.