Zinc-carbon Batteries Research Articles

Recovery of Metals from Zinc-Carbon and Alkaline Spent Batteries by Using Automotive Shredder Residues

Recovery of Metals from Zinc-Carbon and Alkaline Spent Batteries by Using Automotive Shredder Residues

Hydroxyethyl cellulose as efficient organic inhibitor of zinc–carbon battery corrosion in ammonium chloride solution: Electrochemical and surface morphology studies

Hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) has been investigated as corrosion inhibitor for zinc–carbon battery by polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The obtained results show that the maximum inhibition efficiency by HEC in 26% NH4Cl solution at 300 ppm and 298 K is 92.07%. Tafel polarization studies reveal that HEC acts as an efficient mixed inhibitor. The corrosion rate is suppressed by the adsorption of HEC on the zinc surface. HEC adsorption obeys the Langmuir isotherm and the thermodynamic parameters Kads and ΔGadso have been also calculated and discussed. Both physisorption and chemisorption may occur on the zinc surface. Surface characterization investigation using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to ascertain the nature of the protective film.

Nine-Volt Battery Life: A Failure of Quality Control

Aims: To determine the distribution of battery life for batteries that often are used to power smoke alarms. Place and Duration of Study: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Calverton Maryland, USA, between June 2007 and September 2009. Methodology: We recorded the life of 167 9-volt zinc-carbon batteries and early failures among 60 alkaline batteries that we installed in ionization smoke alarms that, like all US smoke alarms, came equipped with battery test buttons and battery charge monitors. We tested two brands of batteries of each type. We also used a Radio Shack digital multimeter to test 100 unused zinc-carbonbatteries 7 months prior to their expiration date. Results: Among zinc-carbon batteries, 25% of one brand and 12% of a second failed in less than 100 days. These batteries had a wide, disturbingly flat lifetime distribution, with 40% of the brand with the most early failures but only 1% of the second brand lasting more than 500 days. In a 9-volt battery eight-pack, one or two batteries are likely to be problem batteries that would not last for three months in a low-draw device like a smoke alarm. In this relatively undemanding application, the majority lasted less than the nominal one-year life reported by battery manufacturers. Among Original Research Article Miller et al.; JSRR, 5(3): 228-233, 2015; Article no.JSRR.2015.090 229 alkaline batteries, 2 of 60 failed within three months and 2 more failed between 21 and 24 months. Among unused batteries, 7% were dead 7 months before their expiration date. Conclusion: Nine-volt batteries, especially zinc-carbon batteries, need better quality control. Consumer protection is lacking around this problem. Unless using longer-life batteries, changing smoke alarm batteries at every clock change makes some sense. Most will not last a year. Nevertheless, that advice may not be optimal for people pressed for cash. Depending on brand, a third of the batteries will last for 18-24 months. And alkaline batteries that are not defective should last more than two years.

Processing Carbon Rod from Waste of Zing-Carbon Battery for Biogas Desulfurizer

The carbon rod of used zinc-carbon battery was investigated in this research to be recycled as biogas desulfurizer. The carbon rod was taken out from the used battery and crushed to become a pellet with about 1 cm long. To increase its performance, the carbon rod was put in solution of KMnO4 and water then tested its performance as desulfurizer. It is found that the performance of desulfurizer increase by putting about 200 gram of carbon rod in the solution of KMnO4 with minimum concentration of 20 gram KMnO4 /liter water. It is suggested during application to use low flow rate of biogas (around 1-3 liters/minute) to achieve maximum performance.

Selective Acidic Leaching of Spent Zinc-Carbon Batteries Followed by Zinc Electrowinning

In this work, a selective acidic leaching procedure was employed for recycling zinc from spent zinc-carbon batteries. Leaching experiments were carried out in order to maximize zinc recovery and minimize manganese recovery in diluted sulfuric acid media. Response surface methodology and analysis of variance were employed for experimental design, data analysis, and leaching optimization. The experimental design has 28 experiments that include 24 main runs and four replicate in center point. The optimal conditions obtained from the selective acidic leaching experiments, were sulfuric acid concentration of 1 pct v/v, leaching temperature of 343 K (70 °C), pulp density of 8 pct w/v, and stirring speed of 300 rpm. The results show that the zinc and manganese recoveries after staged selective leaching are about 92 and 15 pct, respectively. Finally, metallic zinc with purity of 99.9 pct and electrolytic manganese dioxide were obtained by electrowinning.

Electrochemical performance studies of MnO2 nanoflowers recovered from spent battery

The electrochemical performance of MnO2 nanoflowers recovered from spent household zinc–carbon battery is studied by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. MnO2 nanoflowers are recovered from spent zinc–carbon battery by combination of solution leaching and electrowinning techniques. In an effort to utilize recovered MnO2 nanoflowers as energy storage supercapacitor, it is crucial to understand their structure and electrochemical performance. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the recovery of MnO2 in birnessite phase, while electron microscopy analysis shows the MnO2 is recovered as 3D nanostructure with nanoflower morphology. The recovered MnO2 nanoflowers exhibit high specific capacitance (294Fg−1 at 10mVs−1; 208.5Fg−1 at 0.1Ag−1) in 1M Na2SO4 electrolyte, with stable electrochemical cycling. Electrochemical data analysis reveal the great potential of MnO2 nanoflowers recovered from spent zinc–carbon battery in the development of high performance energy storage supercapacitor system.

Linear low‐density polyethylene‐g‐poly(acrylic acid)/(organo‐montmorillonite) hydrogel composite as hydrogel electrolytes for zinc–carbon batteries

A hydrogel composite that has been prepared by using waste linear low‐density polyethylene, acrylic acid, and organo‐montmorillonite (LLDPE‐g‐PAA/OMMT) is used as a hydrogel electrolyte. An absorbency test was used to determine the percentage of ZnCl2 solution absorbed by the hydrogel composite. The swelling behavior of the hydrogel composite in the ZnCl2 solution was then studied. The highest absorbency was recorded when the concentration of ZnCl2 solution was 3 M. The conductivity of ZnCl2‐hydrogel composite electrolytes is dependent on the solution's concentration. A mixture of ZnCl2 solution with hydrogel composite yields a good hydrogel composite electrolyte with a conductivity of 0.039 S cm−1 at 3 M ZnCl2. The hydrogel composite electrolyte was used to produce zinc‐carbon cells. The fabricated cell gives capacity of 7.8 mAh, has an internal resistance of 9.9 Ω, a maximum power density of 15.78 mWcm−2, and a short‐circuit current density of 43.75 mAcm−2 for ZnCl2‐hydrogel composite electrolytes. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 22:279–284, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers

Recycling spent zinc–carbon batteries through synthesizing nano-crystalline Mn–Zn ferrites

In the present study, spent Zn–C dry batteries were used as a source of Zinc, manganese and iron for preparing manganese–zinc ferrites through citrate sol–gel auto-combustion method. The battery contents were leached with nitric acid and the chemical composition was estimated using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Stoichiometric amounts of the respective metal nitrates were used to adjust the proper compositions to reach Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 (with x=0.2–0.8). Thermal analysis measurements (DTA-TG-DSC) were carried out on the gel precursors to characterize the thermal decomposition reaction. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of as-prepared precursors showed single-phase cubic nano-crystalline ferrites. For different compositions, the lattice parameter, X-ray density and size were estimated and discussed. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) exhibited the characteristic absorption bands of ferrites and was used in cooperation with XRD to estimate the proper cation distribution of the systems. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to describe the morphology of the prepared ferrites and to estimate their sizes. The magnetic properties of the prepared ferrites were measured using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and the different magnetic parameters were calculated and discussed. The effect of zinc substitution on the structural and magnetic properties of prepared ferrites was also estimated and discussed.

To Recycle Zinc (Zn) from Used Zinc-Carbon Battery as Biogas Desulfurizer

Biogas should be purified before further application as a fuel for engine. Hidrogen Sulfide (H2S) is one the gas impurities that rising problem for the engine since will caused acidity to lubricant and corrosive to metal part of the engine. In this research, zinc obtained from used battery is utilized as desulfurizer. Two methods are introduced in this article for processing zinc as desulfurizer. First by immersing in the salt water to produce zinc oxide (ZnO) and secondly by galvanic coupling with iron in order to obtain ion Zn 2+ . It is found that both processing techniques having optimum result in reducing H2S impurity in the biogas. 

DISSOLUTION AND PRECIPITATION OF ZINC AND MANGANESE OBTAINED FROM SPENT ZINC-CARBON AND ALKALINE BATTERY POWDER

The aim of this study was to investigate manganese and zinc recoveries from spent zinc-carbon and alkaline battery powder. The effect of sulfuric acid concentration, ascorbic acid dosage, reaction temperature and leaching time on zinc and manganese dissolutions was investigated. The optimum reductive acid leaching conditions were determined as: 3 hours, 70 °C, 0.5 M of sulfuric acid concentration, 13 g/dm 3 of ascorbic acid dosage, 1/20 g/cm 3 of solid/liquid ratio and 200 rpm of stirring speed. Under these conditions, dissolution efficiencies were 99.99% for Zn and 99.25% for Mn. In addition, dissolution kinetics of manganese was undertaken, and the activation energy was found to be 7.04 kJ/mol. Using 3 M NaOH as precipitating agent at room temperature, 95.35% of Zn (at pH 8) and 93.66% of Mn (at pH 10) were precipitated from the leaching solution. Under the same conditions, using 3 M KOH, precipitations of Zn and Mn were 91.63% and 96.39%, respectively. Based on the experimental results, a flowsheet of zinc and manganese recovery was proposed.

Optimum formulation of cathode mix for a multi-response set-up using design optimality criteria

Optimal formulation of cathode mix for zinc-carbon dry cell is a challenging task to the battery manufacturers, the performance of which is characterised by a set of seven performance characteristics (responses). Standard experimental designs like Box-Behnken design, central composite designs are unable to conclude the optimal experimental setting due to the problem of infeasibility or non-orthogonality. This paper makes an attempt to determine the feasible and optimum factor setting of cathode mix formulation while optimising the multiple performance characteristics of zinc-carbon battery. First, a technically feasible and nearly orthogonal design is achieved within the design space using design optimality criteria. Then, five different multi-response optimisation techniques are applied to select the factor setting combination that simultaneously optimises all the responses. All the five methods suggest a particular combination of factors as the optimal formulation of cathode mix.

Survey of mercury, cadmium and lead content of household batteries

The objective of this work was to provide updated information on the development of the potential impact of heavy metal containing batteries on municipal waste and battery recycling processes following transposition of the new EU Batteries Directive 2006/66/EC. A representative sample of 146 different types of commercially available dry and button cells as well as lithium-ion accumulators for mobile phones were analysed for their mercury (Hg)-, cadmium (Cd)- and lead (Pb)-contents. The methods used for preparing the cells and analysing the heavy metals Hg, Cd, and Pb were either developed during a former study or newly developed. Several batteries contained higher mass fractions of mercury or cadmium than the EU limits. Only half of the batteries with mercury and/or lead fractions above the marking thresholds were labelled. Alkaline–manganese mono-cells and Li-ion accumulators, on average, contained the lowest heavy metal concentrations, while zinc–carbon batteries, on average, contained the highest levels.

A Low-Cost Audio Computer for Information Dissemination Among Illiterate People Groups

We present Literacy in Technology (LIT), a low power, low cost audio processor for information dissemination among illiterate people groups in developing regions. The 265 K gate, 8 million transistor, 23 mm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> , ARM Cortex M0 processor uses a novel memory hierarchy consisting of an on chip 128 kB true LRU cache and off-chip NAND Flash. LIT reduces initial acquisition cost through a high-level of integration that results in a low board-level component count. In addition, it also reduces recurring cost through design decisions that lower energy consumption. LIT's multiple power operational modes and power management schemes are specifically designed for efficient operation on Carbon Zinc batteries. These are commonly found in developing regions and allow LIT to be priced at a point that is viable for illiterate people groups in developing regions.

WEEE and portable batteries in residual household waste: Quantification and characterisation of misplaced waste

A total of 26.1Mg of residual waste from 3129 households in 12 Danish municipalities was analysed and revealed that 89.6kg of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), 11kg of batteries, 2.2kg of toners and 16kg of cables had been wrongfully discarded. This corresponds to a Danish household discarding 29g of WEEE (7 items per year), 4g of batteries (9 batteries per year), 1g of toners and 7g of unidentifiable cables on average per week, constituting 0.34% (w/w), 0.04% (w/w), 0.01% (w/w) and 0.09% (w/w), respectively, of residual waste. The study also found that misplaced WEEE and batteries in the residual waste constituted 16% and 39%, respectively, of what is being collected properly through the dedicated special waste collection schemes. This shows that a large amount of batteries are being discarded with the residual waste, whereas WEEE seems to be collected relatively successfully through the dedicated special waste collection schemes. Characterisation of the misplaced batteries showed that 20% (w/w) of the discarded batteries were discarded as part of WEEE (built-in). Primarily alkaline batteries, carbon zinc batteries and alkaline button cell batteries were found to be discarded with the residual household waste. Characterisation of WEEE showed that primarily small WEEE (WEEE directive categories 2, 5a, 6, 7 and 9) and light sources (WEEE directive category 5b) were misplaced. Electric tooth brushes, watches, clocks, headphones, flashlights, bicycle lights, and cables were items most frequently found. It is recommended that these findings are taken into account when designing new or improving existing special waste collection schemes. Improving the collection of WEEE is also recommended as one way to also improve the collection of batteries due to the large fraction of batteries found as built-in. The findings in this study were comparable to other western European studies, suggesting that the recommendations made in this study could apply to other western European countries as well.

Flexible fiber-type zinc–carbon battery based on carbon fiber electrodes

In the communication, we firstly introduced a novel fiber-type zinc–carbon battery with high performance. The fiber battery comprises two carbon fiber based electrodes, one insulated wire as the separator, and electrolyte, which is sealed in a flexible plastic tube. The fiber battery does not exhibit any loss in the capacity during the bending tests, illustrating good flexibility. Two fiber batteries connected in series could light up a commercial green LED when bent around human finger. Furthermore, the fiber battery using carbon fiber as current collector, we believe, is a new light weight, low cost portable power source, showing great potential application in the field of flexible/wearable electronic devices.

Copper Cementation with Zinc Recovered from Spent Zinc–Carbon Batteries and Dissolution of Cement Copper in Hydrochloric Acid Solutions

In this study, the usability of waste zinc obtained from spent zinc–carbon batteries for copper cementation was examined. The effects of the initial concentration of copper ions, rotation speed of the zinc plate, initial pH of solution, and reaction temperature on copper cementation were investigated. It was determined that the cementation rate increased with increasing concentration of copper ions, rotation speed, reaction temperature, and initial pH of solution. It was found that the cementation reaction followed first-order kinetics and was controlled by diffusion. Copper powder produced by cementation was characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The dissolution of cement copper in hydrochloric acid solution was determined for the purpose of the production of copper(II) oxychloride. The effects of acid concentration, temperature, and stirring speed on the dissolution of cement copper were investigated. It was observed that the dissolution of copper powder increased with an increase in acid concentration, stirring speed, and temperature.

Recovery of manganese oxides from spent alkaline and zinc–carbon batteries. An application as catalysts for VOCs elimination

Manganese, in the form of oxide, was recovered from spent alkaline and zinc–carbon batteries employing a biohydrometallurgy process, using a pilot plant consisting in: an air-lift bioreactor (containing an acid-reducing medium produced by an Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans bacteria immobilized on elemental sulfur); a leaching reactor (were battery powder is mixed with the acid-reducing medium) and a recovery reactor. Two different manganese oxides were recovered from the leachate liquor: one of them by electrolysis (EMO) and the other by a chemical precipitation with KMnO4 solution (CMO). The non-leached solid residue was also studied (RMO). The solids were compared with a MnOx synthesized in our laboratory.The characterization by XRD, FTIR and XPS reveal the presence of Mn2O3 in the EMO and the CMO samples, together with some Mn4+ cations. In the solid not extracted by acidic leaching (RMO) the main phase detected was Mn3O4.The catalytic performance of the oxides was studied in the complete oxidation of ethanol and heptane. Complete conversion of ethanol occurs at 200°C, while heptane requires more than 400°C. The CMO has the highest oxide selectivity to CO2.The results show that manganese oxides obtained using spent alkaline and zinc–carbon batteries as raw materials, have an interesting performance as catalysts for elimination of VOCs.

Morphology study of electrodeposited zinc from zinc sulfate solutions as anode for zinc-air and zinc-carbon batteries

The morphology of Zinc (Zn) deposits was investigated as anode for aqueous batteries. The Zn was deposited from zinc sulfate solution in direct current conditions on a copper surface at different current densities. The morphology characterization of Zn deposits was performed via field emission scanning electron microscopy. The Zn deposits transformed from a dense and compact structure to dendritic form with increasing current density. The electrodeposition of Zn with a current density of 0.02Acm−2 exhibited good morphology with a high charge efficiency that reached up to 95.2%. The Zn deposits were applied as the anode in zinc–air and zinc–carbon batteries, which gave specific discharge capacities of 460 and 300mAhg−1, respectively.

Flexible zinc–carbon batteries with multiwalled carbon nanotube/conductive polymer cathode matrix

In this paper we demonstrate the implementation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) for the development of highly conductive composite electrode for flexible Zn/MnO2 batteries. The MWCNTs were found to be more effective than graphite. Though more dispersible, carboxylated MWCNTs appeared to increase the resistance of the electrode and decrease the electrochemical performance. The relatively inexpensive MWCNTs represent an advantage over graphite in flexible composite MnO2 cathode.

Galvanic Leaching of Copper in Waste Printed Circuit Boards Using Manganese Dioxide in Spent Zinc-Carbon Batteries

Galvanic Leaching of Copper in Waste Printed Circuit Boards Using Manganese Dioxide in Spent Zinc-Carbon Batteries