Materials Used In Batteries Dwight Younge

Introduction Battery (two categories) – Primary (one-time) – Secondary (rechargeable) The need for batteries: – Technological reliance – Quality of life Focus: – Canada Canada (2004) – Est. 450 million batteries sold – Est. 348 million discarded

Battery structure Insulation tube (usually polymers) Metal end caps Common chemicals used – Lead-acid – Lithium – Nickel-Cadmium – Silver oxide – Mercury – Copper – Zinc – Manganese – Lithium – Potassium

Zinc-carbon battery (1.5V) Photo by The Battery Association of Japan

Battery disposal Batteries have definite lifetimes What happens to dead batteries? – Trash 60% of households in Canada Improperly disposed batteries end up in landfills or incinerators – Dropped off at battery depot Over half of the households in PEI do so – Any hazards associated with improper battery disposal?

Environmental Hazards Normal alkaline batteries in trash – Not too harmful but not recommended Safety risk due to large volume disposal – Batteries can react and overheat Chemical leakage (heavy metal toxic batteries): – Lead-acid – Lithium – Nickel-Cadmium – Silver oxide – Mercury Plant, animal, and ocean life Chemicals release toxins when batteries are combusted – Incineration

Health Issues Human interaction with chemicals from improperly disposed batteries – E.g. Lead (inhalation) – E.g. Mercury (skin absorption) Some health problems – Abdominal pain – Liver and kidney damage – Skin irritation – Asthma – Decreased IQ in children (****) – Cancer

Proper disposal methods Do not dispose of dead batteries in the trash Designate separate waste bins for batteries Local battery disposal station Community-run disposal program Proper disposal – Most common in PEI – Controlled disposal methods outweigh disposal through regular waste stream

Dead battery treatment: CND 2005

How can we reduce battery waste? Recycling Consider battery alternatives – Rechargeable batteries – Renewable sources (eg. Solar) Modify existing batteries – Less lead, cadmium, mercury – Research

Earth Photo by NASA

Questions???

References x/ /10539-eng.htm (Statistics Canada) x/ /10539-eng.htm l (Battery Association of Japan) l sleeve-insulation-1 (Precision Products Group, Inc.) sleeve-insulation-1 insight-top.pag?docid= (Frost & Sullivan) insight-top.pag?docid=