The Eco‐efficiency of Lead in China's Lead‐Acid Battery System

Abstract

Improving eco‐efficiency can contribute to sustainable development. This article defines the societal services and environmental impacts of the lead‐acid battery (LAB) system and offers definitions of eco‐efficiency, resource efficiency, and environmental efficiency in the context of LAB systems. Based on the actual lead‐flow in the LAB system, we develop a model that considers changes in production, the time interval between production and disposal, direct linkages between the final product and the societal service it provides, and the fiscal year as the statistical period. From this model, equations for eco‐efficiency are derived and changes in eco‐efficiency are predicted.The results show, not surprisingly, that increased lead recycling and reduced lead emissions will both improve ecoefficiency. The resource and environmental efficiencies for LAB in China are 119 and 131 kilowatt‐hour‐years per metric tonne (kWh. yr/t), respectively, versus a value for both of 15, 800 kWh. yr/t in Sweden. The difference results from a lower lead recycling rate (only 0.312 tonne/tonne, which means that nearly 70% of the old lead scrap is not recycled based on official statistics) and higher lead emissions (0.324 tonne/tonne, which means that nearly 33% of the lead inputs used in the LAB system were lost into the environment) in China. Further analysis shows that these problems result from inefficient management of lead scrap, poor quality lead ore, and an abundance of small‐scale lead‐related plants. Ways to improve eco‐efficiency are proposed.