Lead Acid Batteries is one of the most common types of batteries. Indicatively but not limited, this category includes car and motorcycle batteries, UPS batteries and other commercial batteries. Undoubtedly, it is the easiest type of batteries to recycle and recover lead, plastic and sulfuric acid.
Batteries can be classified according to their chemistry or specific electrochemical composition, which heavily dictates the reactions that will occur within the cells to convert chemical to electrical energy. Battery chemistry tells the electrode and electrolyte materials to be used for the battery construction.
Primary batteries are “dry cells”. They are called as such because they contain little to no liquid electrolyte. Again, these batteries cannot be recharged, thus they are often referred to as “one-cycle” batteries.
Primary batteries come in three major chemistries: (1) zinc–carbon and (2) alkaline zinc–manganese, and (3) lithium (or lithium-metal) battery. Zinc–carbon batteries is among the earliest commercially available primary cells. It is composed of a solid, high-purity zinc anode (99.99%).
Battery recycling process divert batteries from landfills and to recover metals and other materials. Batteries consist of heavy metals and toxic chemicals. Therefore, battery disposal in landfills along with municipal waste can have severe impacts on ground and water. There are several categories of batteries, most of which are recyclable.
The key distinction lies in the rechargeability of secondary batteries, as opposed to primary batteries, which cannot be recharged. The reactions in primary batteries cannot be easily reversed. As such, when the battery electrodes are used up, they cannot be reverted back to their original state even when an external voltage is applied.