Creeping climate change is battering us with increasingly severe storms as the result of growing reliance on technology. However, much of this damage stems from the raw materials we take from Earth and process. The solution therefore lies in implementing closed-loop supply chains, where we use the same materials over and over again. Recycling lead-acid batteries is a shining example of what is possible when we try.
A New Study Into Recycling Lead Batteries
The Department of Production Engineering at Centro Universitário da FEI, Brazil published a new study (see link below). This analyzed the Brazilian lead-based battery chain, by investigating a sample. Their abstract included two main manufacturers, two recycling companies, and eight distributors / retailers.
The objective of their study was to analyze the relationship between parties involved in recycling lead batteries. That’s because the team hoped to assess the life-cycle costs involved. And then recommend ways to speed progress towards a circular, closed-loop economy for those materials. In the latter regard they found a number of regulations impeded progress.
The team from Centro Universitário da FEI developed a model of how they hoped a systems approach would improve things in future. They also identified “practices and mechanisms” they believed would support the development of a more sustainable program. And enhance the sustainability of the lead acid battery supply chain as an example of what is possible too.
Stages in Lead Battery Raw Material Repurposing
Battery recycling aims to find new uses for materials in spent products, so we don’t endlessly continue mining them. Therefore, the stages in such a closed-loop economy should include:
- Consumers return spent batteries to stores in exchange for discounts.
- Bulk consignments of spent batteries ship to licensed recycling depots.
- These depots break down the spent batteries to acid, plastic, and lead.
- These separated raw materials return to battery makers for reuse.
The researchers found “only the main manufacturers aim to recycle between 60% and 80% of the batteries for the replacement market in Brazil, depending on each region”. However, that figure rises to around 95% in United States and European Union.
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