Future Portable Li-Ion Cells’ Recycling Challenges in Poland

The paper presents the market of portable lithium-ion batteries in the European Union (EU) with particular emphasis on the stream of used Li-ion cells in Poland by 2030. In addition, the article draws attention to the fact that, despite a decade of efforts in Poland, it has not been possible to create an effective management system for waste batteries and accumulators that would include waste management (collection and selective sorting), waste disposal (a properly selected mechanical method) and component recovery technology for reuse (pyrometallurgical and/or hydrometallurgical methods). This paper also brings attention to the fact that this EU country with 38 million people does not have in its area a recycling process for used cells of the first type of zinc-carbon, zinc-manganese or zinc-air, as well as the secondary type of nickel-hydride and lithium-ion, which in the stream of chemical waste energy sources will be growing from year to year

Non-reductive acidic leaching as a method for recovery of zinc and manganese from Zn-C and Zn-MnO2 battery waste

The dynamic growth of mobile technologies is a driving need for portable power sources. The most popular division of electrochemical cells relies on the type of chemical reaction within the cell. Current data coming from the Polish market show that despite the growth in the sale of secondary power sources, zinc-carbon and alkaline batteries are still the most popular. The results of non-reductive acidic leaching of zinc and manganese from the waste batteries stream have been presented. Manganese was leached with almost 100% yield in an experiment with a solid to liquid ratio equal to 4/1, pH of 1.04, and H2SO4 concentration of 72.5 wt. %. High yields were also obtained for zinc recovery from the waste stream (100% for two series with solid to liquid ratio 4/5, pH of 0.80; H2SO4concentration of 37.2 wt. %, and solid to liquid ratio 1/2; pH of 1.01; H2SO4 concentration of 27.3 wt. %). Besides, the quantitative and qualitative analysis of Zn-C and Zn-Mn batteries introduced to the Polish market and waste generated in the years 2010-2018 has been presented

The Necessity of Recycling of Waste Li-Ion Batteries Used in Electric Vehicles as Objects Posing a Threat to Human Health and the Environment

The automotive industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the modern economy. Growing customer expectations, implementing solutions related to electromobility, and increasingly stringent legal restrictions in the field of environmental protection, determine the development and introduction of innovative technologies in the field of car production. To power the most modern vehicles that include electric and hybrid cars, packages of various types of lithium-ion cells are used, the number of which is constantly growing. After use, these batteries, due to their complex chemical composition, constitute hazardous waste that is difficult to manage and must be recycled in modern technological lines. The article presents the morphological characteristics of the currently used types of Li-ion cells, and the threats to the safety of people and the environment that may occur in the event of improper use of Li-ion batteries and accumulators have been identified and described on the basis of the Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EC) No. 1272/2008 of 16 December 2008 and No. 1907/2006 of 18 December 2006 on the classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures and the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals (REACH), establishing the European Chemicals Agency

Study of the Catalytic Activity and Surface Properties of Manganese-Zinc Ferrite Prepared from Used Batteries

The catalytic activity of the Mn-Zn ferrites obtained by chemical methods from a solution after acid leaching of waste Zn-C and Zn-Mn batteries was studied. Precursors of metal ions (Fe, Mn, and Zn) were obtained using different precipitating agents ((NH4)2C2O4, Na2CO3, and NaOH), and then, the combustion route was used to prepare catalytically active nanocrystalline ferrites. The obtained ferrite catalysts differ in terms of microstructure, the number of acid and base sites, and the surface composition depending on the ion precursor used in the combustion process. All prepared materials were catalytically active in the butan-1-ol conversion test. Depending on the ion precursor applied in the combustion process, a selective catalyst towards aldehyde (carbonate precursor) or ketone (hydroxide precursor) formation can be obtained. Furthermore, the catalyst prepared from the hydroxide precursor exhibits the highest catalytic activity in the n-butanol test (nearly 100% conversion under the experiment conditions)