Lead–acid batteries are the oldest and most commonly used rechargeable battery. They consist of a lead (Pb) negative electrode and lead oxide (PbO) positive electrode submerged in a sulfuric acid (H2SO4) electrolyte.
Lead–acid batteries contain metallic lead, lead dioxide, lead sulfate and sulfuric acid [1,2,3,6]. The negative electrodes are made of metallic lead containing also minor fractions of e.g., calcium, tin, antimony. The positive electrodes are made of lead oxides in various compositions.
The construction of a lead acid battery cell is as shown in Fig. 1. It consists of the following parts : Anode or positive terminal (or plate). Cathode or negative terminal (or plate). Electrolyte. Separators. Anode or positive terminal (or plate): The positive plates are also called as anode. The material used for it is lead peroxide (PbO 2).
Lead-Acid battery has been seen to be frequently in use for storage application (Malekshah et al., 2018).
Pure lead batteries are specially designed for particularly demanding applications in industry. They also have a closed design. The electrode is made of high-purity lead, which is thinner than in conventional lead-acid batteries. Alternatively, the plates can be made of a compound of lead and tin.
Lead–acid batteries are the dominant market for lead. The Advanced Lead–Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC) has been working on the development and promotion of lead-based batteries for sustainable markets such as hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), start–stop automotive systems and grid-scale energy storage applications.