Use Of Lead-acid Batteries Research Articles

Blockchain-enabled architecture for lead acid battery circularity

Widespread use of lead acid batteries (LABs) is resulting in the generation of million tons of battery waste, globally. LAB waste contains critical and hazardous materials, which have detrimental effects on the environment and human health. In recent times, recycling of the LABs has become efficient but the collection of batteries in developing countries is not efficient, which led to the non-professional treatment and recycling of these batteries in the informal sector. This paper proposes a blockchain-enabled architecture for LAB circularity, which ensures authentic, traceable and transparent system for collection and treatment of batteries. The stakeholders—battery manufacturers, distributors, retailers, users, and validators (governments, domain experts, third party experts, etc.)—are integrated in the circular loop through a blockchain network. A mobile application user interface is provided to all the stakeholders for the ease of adoption. The batteries manufactured and supplied in a geographical region as well as the recycled materials at the battery end-of-life are traced authentically. This architecture is expected to be useful for the battery manufacturers to improve their extended producer responsibility and support responsible consumption and production.

Design of sustainable multi-source power systems using lithium batteries

This paper introduces a novel configuration by integrating the lithium battery technology (Lithium Iron Phosphate) in the Multi-Source Power Systems in order to optimize the global cost of a hybrid installation, and to protect the environment. In addition, the developments and evaluations of the performance of the battery bank used in the Multi-Source Power System are highlighted. Thus, a lifetime comparison between Lithium Iron Phosphate and lead-acid batteries over twenty-five years has been performed. Moreover, the aging rate of the battery banks has been calculated based on a dynamic simulation model developed in Matlab-Simulink with a real meteorological database and a consumption profile of one year. By using the sensitivity analysis the optimal configuration of the hybrid power system is defined. In order to evaluate the variation of the battery aging rate, mathematical models describing the cycle number in function of Depth-of-Discharge are considered. The obtained simulation results based on the mathematical models show that the aging rate of the lead-acid batteries is at least ten times more than Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries. In fact, one pack of lithium battery can support a consumption load profile over twenty-five years without any replacement. However, the use of lead-acid battery requires up to 7 replacements with high maintenance costs.

Lead Acid Battery Recycling in the Current Tanzania Industrialization Drive: Challenges and Opportunities

Advancements in automotive technologies, Information and Communications Technology and renewable energy technologies have increased the use of lead acid batteries as a source of portable and rechargeable energy. This has considerably increased the number of spent batteries with adverse effects on the environment and human health; which calls for recycling of spent batteries. This work was conducted to investigate challenges facing the formal business of recycling spent batteries and potential manufacturers of new lead-acid batteries in Tanzania. The work involved collection of information from key stakeholders such as collectors, dealers, Tanzania Revenue Authority and recyclers. It was found out that about 2 million units of used batteries are available in Tanzania annually; weighing a total of about 8,440 tonnes. At the moment of conducting this work, only two recycling plants were in operation: Ok Plast ltd and Gaia Eco-Solutions (T) Ltd. The two operational ULAB recycling plants process about 6,000 tonnes per year. Despite the large number of spent batteries available annually, the amount received by the two recycling plants is far less than the number of spent batteries available in country. Gaia plant processes about 3,600 tonnes of spent lead batteries per year while OK-Plast is only about 1,500 tons/year. The study revealed existence of illegal exportation of ULAB which is against national Regulations and the Basel International Convention. A number of challenges and opportunities have been discussed. Despite of the challenges, the local ULAB recycling industry in Tanzania is encouraged to explore opportunities of manufacturing new batteries. A number of recommendations have been provided; however, enforcement of the export ban of used Lead Acid Batteries has been stressed.

Optimal design and energy management of an isolated fully renewable energy system integrating batteries and supercapacitors

The continuous rise of global electricity demand and significant dependency on fossil fuel-based centralised power plants are the main indicators of increasing greenhouse gas emissions, thus negatively affecting climate change and human health and increasing the earth temperatures. This alarming situation has demanded the transition to 100 % renewable energy to decarbonise energy use. However, the fluctuating weather resources, and high investment cost are the major challenges with renewable energy implementation. In this context, the combined integration of multiple sources with energy storage in a so-called hybrid renewable energy system was developed as a durable remedy for the previous issues. This paper proposes a joint and conceptual approach for techno-economic design and dynamic rule-based power control of an off-grid solar/wind hybrid renewable energy system integrated with a hybrid energy storage system that comprises a lithium-ion battery, lead-acid battery, and a supercapacitor. Such concurrent integration of 100 % renewable energy systems and hybrid energy storage systems is lacking in the existing literature. First, with the aid of HOMER software, the feasibility and optimisation analysis of nine different configurations was performed in 1 min resolution to find the optimal component sizes. Second, MATLAB/Simulink models were assembled for the winning design based on a dynamic rule-based strategy to investigate and analyse the system’s dynamic response, power equilibrium, DC-bus voltage supervision and load voltage/frequency control against instantaneous and dynamic changes in the load or renewable energy resources. The proposed approach was promoted and validated on an actual case study for isolated residential community electrification in Saudi Arabia, in which a multi-tier framework was adopted to accurately simulate the stochastic energy consumption of the community’s households. From the design results, the hybrid renewable energy system, which integrates solar, wind, lead-acid batteries, and converter with optimal capacities of 55 kW, 18 kW, 325 kWh and 42 kW converter, respectively, is the most cost-effective alternative with the minimum net present and energy costs of $232,423.3 and $0.3458/kWh, respectively. The system has the least unmet load with 13.5 kWh/years (0.02 %), thus ensuring maximum reliability and customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, the developed control strategy efficiently improved the dynamic response, the DC-bus voltage stability, and the load voltage/frequency during different climatological and load interruptions. Further, the use of lead-acid batteries and supercapacitors has effectively diminished the maximum overshoot of the DC-bus and load voltages by 50 % during all disturbances. In addition, the integration of supercapacitors proficiently saved 2.3–6 kW during wind speed change and 2–9 kW during simultaneous changes in the radiation and load. Overall, the presented method, together with the reported results, provides an improved understanding and highlights the extent to which the successful integration of hybrid renewable energy system and hybrid energy storage system can be used to develop reliable and sustainable energy access for off-grid areas.

Feasibility Analysis of Different Energy Storage Systems for Solar Road Lighting Systems

This paper investigates and analyses the feasibility of different energy storage systems for solar road lighting systems. The energy storage systems used in this paper are divided into two cases, namely, homogenous energy storage system [lead-acid (LA) batteries, lithium-ion (LI) batteries, and ultracapacitors (UCs)] and hybrid energy storage systems [lead-acid batteries with ultracapacitors (LA and UC) and lithium-ion batteries with ultracapacitors (LI and UC)]. Various solar power schemes are implemented based on stable and unstable solar irradiance conditions using an experimental setup. The economic analysis of the solar road lighting systems is performed based on the presented energy storage systems using discounted payback period (DPP), net present value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR). The installation of energy storage systems with individual and central systems for the solar road lighting system is also discussed. The results show that the LA batteries, LI batteries, and UCs yielded satisfactory active power quality for effective charging in all ranges of solar irradiance. However, the lifetimes of battery devices are degraded during dynamic active power charging. To overcome this shortcoming, hybrid energy storage systems are proposed using batteries and UCs. The use of LA batteries yields the lowest installation cost. However, the LI batteries offer the best economic viability in the long term. The cost of the UCs is too high to be used as an energy storage system for solar road lighting systems. However, the use of appropriate proportions of the UCs with batteries to reduce current and active power fluctuations for charging the batteries is economically viable.

The Use of Battery Bank for Rationalization of Electricity in Broiler Poultry Farms

Electricity is one of the main inputs used in poultry production. An aviary needs electricity to feed the various motors and electrical devices that compose the lighting systems, exhaustion, heating, food, among others. Aiming to give incentives to producers of broiler chickens, specifically in the state of Paraná, Brazil, in 2007, the Night Poultry Program was implemented, in which the government grants discounts in electricity tariff for poultry farmers at night. In this work it was proposed two energy storage systems through the use of lead-acid batteries and batteries of nickel chloride and sodium to feed the of charge of four brazillian aviaries over one year of poultry housing. For this purpose, it was evalueted the use of a bank of batteries in higher tariff, period comprising the time of 9:30 pm to 6 am of the next day, and charging the battery bank in reduced tariff period. The experiment was conducted using the electricity meters installed in the aviaries, weekly data of each aviary were collected and the active energy values, obtaining the data for six lots corresponding to a year of poultry accommodation. From the total consumption of active energy, it was calculated the average daily electricity consumption (kWh) for the set of aviaries. This value was used as input for the sizing of the battery banks. The two proposed storage systems demonstrate an alternative to energy supply for the rural areas, however the economical analysys indicates inviability, since the initial investment of the banks of batteries is high compared with the costs avoided with electricity by using these systems.

Experimental and Numerical Study of Small Lead Acid Batteries Regeneration

Battery ageing and performance evolution prediction is one of the energy management key. The use of lead acid batteries is always strong despite its weight and the constant increasing, of new battery materials and technologies. The lead acid batteries are mainly used to start car engine or as primary energy source for forklift or pallet trucks. Another application is the storage of electrical energy produces by intermittent energy sources like photovoltaic, wind or tidal powers. Multiple factors influence lead acid batteries ageing depending of the type of batteries technology (vented or opened and VRLAB or sealed) and the kind of use. We focus our experimental study on four of them: the number of ageing cycles, the operating current, the use of electrolyte additives, containing EDTA and the temperature. Factors are investigated on two levels. The porosity sensitivity is mainly presented in the present work.

Eco-Balance analysis of the disused lead-acid-batteries recycling technology

The article presents the results of the eco-balance analysis of the disused lead-acid batteries recycling process. Test-dedicated technology offers the possibility to recover other elements, for example, polypropylene of the battery case or to obtain crystalline sodium sulphate. The life cycle assessment was made using ReCiPe and IMPACT2002 + methods. The results are shown as environmental points [Pt]. The results are shown in the environmental categories, specific for each of the methods grouped in the impact categories. 1 Mg of the processed srap was a dopted as the functional unit. The results of the analyses indicate that recycling processes may provide the environmental impact of recycling technology less harmful. Repeated use of lead causes that its original sources are not explored. Similarly, the use of granule production-dedicated polypropylene extracted from battery casings that are used in the plastics industry, has environmental benefits. Due to the widespread use of lead-acid batteries, the attention should be paid to their proper utilization, especially in terms of heavy metals, especially lead. According to the calculations, the highest level of environmental benefits from the use of lead from secondary sources in the production of new products, was observed in the refining process.

Experimental and Numerical Study of Small Lead Acid Batteries Regeneration

Battery ageing and performance evolution prediction is one of the energy management key. The use of lead acid batteries is always strong despite its weight and the constant increasing, of new battery materials and technologies. The lead acid batteries are mainly used to start car engine or as primary energy source for forklift or pallet trucks. Another application is the storage of electrical energy produces by intermittent energy sources like photovoltaic, wind or tidal powers. Multiple factors influence lead acid batteries ageing depending of the type of batteries technology (vented or opened and VRLAB or sealed) and the kind of use. We focus our experimental study on four of them: the number of ageing cycles (1), the operating current (2), the temperature (3) and the use of electrolyte additives, containing EDTA (4). Factors are investigated on two levels (Table 1). Figure 1

Study on the Environmental Risk Assessment of Lead-Acid Batteries

Lead-acid batteries were widely used as important power supply devices that include automotive, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), telecommunication systems and various traction duties. According to statistics, approximately 3 million tons waste batteries are generated every year and the production of lead-acid batteries will continue to rise even more sharply with sustained and rapid development of economy. Lead-acid batteries were consisted of electrolyte, lead and lead alloy grid, lead paste, and organics and plastics, which include lots of toxic, hazardous, flammable, explosive substances that can easily create potential risk sources. The materials contained in lead-acid batteries may bring about lots of pollution accidents such as fires, explosions, poisoning and leaks, contaminating environment and damaging ecosystem. The environmental risk assessment was required to be studied further in view of the diversity, emergency, and the serious consequences of the environmental accidents that may caused by lead-acid batteries. The environment risk assessment was presented in this paper particularly, the framework of environmental risk assessment on lead-acid batteries was established and methods for analyzing and forecasting the environmental risk of lead-acid batteries were selected. The work procedure included identifying accident, analyzing risk, pollution forecast and defensive measures. By analysing the environmental risk assessment of lead-acid batteries, the study supplied direction for the preventive measures according to the forecast results of lead-acid batteries. The basic theories were provided for the safe use of lead-acid batteries.

Novel Energy Storage System, bindbattery™, with an Intrinsic Overcharge Protection Capability

CONNEXX SYSTEMS developed a novel hybrid energy storage system, bindbattery™, with a unique overcharge protection capability, high power and high energy capability and long cycle life at low cost without complex battery management system. bindbattery™ consists of lithium-ion battery units and aqueous electrolyte battery units. The two units are connected in parallel and form a virtual cell. The multiple virtual cells are connected in series and in parallel to meet specifications of each application. An aqueous electrolyte battery could be chosen from a nickel-hydride battery, lead-acid battery or other form of aqueous batteries depending on requirements of applications. Hybridization with an aqueous electrolyte battery makes bindbattery™ tolerable to abusive conditions such as reverse directional high current pulse or overcharge current. Benefits of bindbattery™ include: 1) Safety: The lithium-ion battery is protected from the devastating overcharge by aqueous batteries connected in parallel. The aqueous battery unit consumes overcharge energy through the aqueous electrolyte decomposition (electrolysis). The oxygen evolved at the positive electrode recombines with hydrogen on the negative electrode and reforms water. By connecting the lead-acid battery and lithium-ion battery in parallel, the lead-acid battery effectively protects lithium-ion battery from overcharge by absorbing the overcharge current through the chemical reaction. Thus, bindbattery™ does not require complex electronic protection circuit to protect from overcharge. In other words, the bindbattery™ configuration makes the battery system intrinsically safe. This simplifies construction of the bindbattery™, and reduces both the cost and the weight and makes the battery suitable for large scale stationary applications. 2) Power performance: As a result of high power characteristics of both high power lithium-ion batteries and lead-acid batteries, bindbattery™ has a high power capability. 3) Cycle life improvement: The lead-acid battery is an inexpensive battery but its cycle life is poor compared to the lithium-ion battery. The lithium-ion battery has higher discharge voltage than the lead-acid battery, therefore lithium-ion battery discharges prior to the lead-acid battery in bindbattery™. Thus bindbattery™ provides an excellent cycle life in the same manner as the lithium-ion battery. 4) High energy density: bindbattery™ can provide a larger energy compared to the lead-acid battery alone as a result of the hybridization with lithium-ion battery. 5) Low temperature performance improvement: The lead-acid battery has excellent low temperature capability. At subzero temperature, lithium-ion battery is not able to discharge immediately. In bindbattery™, the lead-acid battery discharges first and provides warm-up time for the lithium-ion battery. 6) Float charge capability: Like other aqueous batteries, bindbattery™ can be used in the float-charge mode. 7) Cost improvement: Use of lead-acid battery as an aqueous battery units lowers the cost significantly. Elimination of electrical protection switches and battery management units contribute to the cost reduction. These unique features make bindbattery™ the most suitable energy storage system for stationary applications including storage system for renewable energy, demand shifting and frequency regulation. We developed 20 kWh bindbattery™ module for stationary applications such as solar energy or wind energy storage. The module will comprise a larger scale storage system by connecting multiple of the modules in parallel or in series. The simplified control method and low cost also make bindbattery™ a remarkable choice for car applications.

Blood lead levels and health problems of lead acid battery workers in Bangladesh.

Introduction. Use of lead acid battery (LAB) in Bangladesh has risen with sharp rise of motor vehicles. As result, manufacture of LAB is increasing. Most of the lead used by these industries comes from recycling of LAB. Workers in LAB industry are at risk of exposure lead and thus development of lead toxicity. Objective. The objective of this study was to measure the blood lead concentration and to assess the magnitude of health problems attributable to lead toxicity among the LAB manufacturing workers. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the workers of LAB manufacturing industries located in Dhaka city. Result. Mean blood lead level (BLL) among the workers was found to be high. They were found to be suffering from a number of illnesses attributable to lead toxicity. The common illnesses were frequent headache, numbness of the limbs, colic pain, nausea, tremor, and lead line on the gum. High BLL was also found to be related to hypertension and anemia of the workers. Conclusion. High BLL and illnesses attributable to lead toxicity were prevalent amongst workers of the LAB manufacturing industries, and this requires attention especially in terms of occupational hygiene and safety.

Economic and environmental impact of lead-acid batteries in grid-connected domestic PV systems

Occupants of dwellings with grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems can often benefit financially from exporting electricity to the grid. When export prices are lower than import prices, however, occupants are incentivised to time-shift demand in order to avoid exports and reduce imports. To maximise this potential financial benefit, the addition of batteries to the PV system has been proposed to take advantage of the specific commercial opportunity presented to the occupant of trading exported power during the day for imported power during the evening. This paper therefore assesses the economic and environmental impact of the use of lead-acid batteries in grid-connected PV systems under current feed-in tariff arrangements in the UK. The development of a lead-acid battery model is described, which is used to simulate hypothetical power flows using measured data on domestic PV systems in the UK. The simulation results indicate that the net benefit of the battery is negative, even when considering an idealised lossless battery. When realistic energy losses and lifetimes are accounted for, the financial loss for the systems considered here can approach £1000/year. The environmental impact of the use and production of the lead-acid battery is also described, and also found to be negative, further strengthening the argument against the use of lead-acid batteries in domestic grid-connected PV systems.

Integration of closed loop distribution supply chain network and 3PRLP selection for the case of battery recycling

The increased use of lead acid batteries in automotive vehicles will increase the demand for lead and to meet this increasing demand used batteries are identified as a most important source of lead through recycling. Since recycled lead is a costly commodity, the market potential for reclaiming the secondary lead from the used batteries has been growing. For this purpose, a multi-echelon, multi-product closed loop distribution supply chain (CLDSC) network is designed and integrated with the selection process of best third-party reverse logistics provider (3PRLP) to achieve cost efficiency and delivery schedules in reverse logistics. A fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (FMCDM) model based on the VIKOR method is used for the selection of best 3PRLP. To optimise the proposed network, a mixed integer linear programming model is developed and solved using LINGO 8.0 optimisation software package for the case of battery recycling and decisions are made regarding raw material procurement from the supplier, production, distribution and amount of reclaimed/recycled material. Since the main aim of this study is to optimise the CLDSC network, the supply chain cost of the forward distribution supply chain network is found and compared with the total supply chain cost of the CLDSC network and the results show that a cost reduction can be achieved in the case of CLDSC network. Finally, model experiments for varying rate of returns are conducted to study the percentage of cost savings.

Fuel cells in forklifts extend commercial reach

Fuel cells are finding increasing application in materials handling applications, since they offer significant advantages in forklift operations. Using fuel cell power in such vehicles provides end-users with increased economic value through substantial productivity increases compared with the traditional use of lead-acid batteries. Another benefit is a reduced carbon footprint, through reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the use and charging of lead-acid batteries. This feature is mainly focused on North America, while next month we focus on economics, end-users, and efforts in Europe and elsewhere.

Comparative environmental impacts of electric bikes in China

Electric two-wheelers have become a significant mode of transportation in China in the past decade. Though marketed and publicized by some as zero-emission vehicles, little past research has been done to quantify the environmental impacts of electric two-wheelers in China. This paper quantifies some of the environmental impacts of the production processes and use phase of electric two-wheelers and compares them to the environmental impacts of competing modes, including bicycles, buses, motorcycles and cars. The use phase emissions are quantified geographically with significantly higher emissions in coal rich regions, compared to regions relying more on hydropower. The results show that electric two-wheelers emit several times lower pollution per kilometer than motorcycles and cars, have comparable emission rates to buses and higher emission rates than bicycles. Lead is one pollutant on which electric two-wheelers perform poorly, because of their use of lead acid batteries.

Silver–silver sulfate reference electrodes for use in lead-acid batteries

Electrochemical properties of silver–silver sulfate reference electrodes for lead-acid batteries are described, and the following possible applications discussed:•Determination of individual capacities of positive and negative plates.•Monitoring individual electrode behavior during deep discharge and cell reversal.•Optimization charge or discharge parameters, by controlling the current such that pre-determined limits of positive or negative half-cell potential are respected.•Observation of acid concentration differences, for example due to acid stratification, by measuring diffusion potentials (concentration-cell voltages).•Detection of defective cells, and defective plate sets, in a string of cells, at the end of their service life.Silver–silver sulfate reference electrodes, permanently installed in lead-acid cells, may be a means to improve battery management, and therewith to improve reliability and service life. In vented batteries, reference electrodes may be used to limit positive plate polarization during charge, or float-charge. Limiting the positive half-cell potential to an upper, pre-set value would permit to keep anodic corrosion as low as possible. During cycling, discharge could be terminated when the half-cell potential of the positive electrode has dropped to a pre-set limit. This would prevent excessive discharge of the positive electrodes, which could result in an improvement of cycle life. In valve-regulated batteries, reference electrodes may be used to adjust float-charge conditions such as to assure sufficient cathodic polarization of the negative electrodes, in order to avoid sulfation. The use of such reference electrodes could be beneficial particularly in multi-cell batteries, with overall voltages above 12V, operated in a partial-state-of-charge.

Spray pyrolysis as a method for preparing PbO coatings amenable to use in lead-acid batteries

Lead(II) oxide thin films were prepared by spray pyrolysis of aqueous solutions of Pb(CH 3COO) 2·2H 2O and deposited onto a lead substrate. A homogeneous coating was obtained at 260 °C that consisted of well-crystallized α-PbO. Following soaking and curing, the oxide became a phase mixture the main component of which was PbO·PbSO 4. The electroformation of the cured plate produces dense agglomerates of small β-PbO 2 particles accompanied by unreacted α-PbO. Preliminary electrochemical tests of the cell revealed a progressive decrease in polarization during charging in the first few cycles probably associated to improved adherence of active particles to the substrate. The cell was found to maintain a discharge capacity of ca. 100 A h/kg (40% of the theoretical value) upon extensive cycling.

Brittleness of two-phase Li−Pb castings

Dilute alloys of lithium in lead have been investigated as possible grid alloys for use in lead-acid batteries. Cast grids can illustrate a time-dependent brittleness associated with mold temperature and alloy composition. For temperatures above theβ-to-β′ Li−Pb transformation, alloys exceeding room temperature solid solubility are initially ductile whereas samples tend to be brittle at temperatures below this transition. The nature of brittleness is discussed and the roles that the transformation occurring in the precipitate, coring, and grain boundary precipitation have in promoting brittleness are examined. It is shown that precipitation during aging contributes most to the embrittlement by formation of precipitate-free areas in the immediate vicinity of grain boundaries.