Characterisation of Used Lead-Acid Batteries for Feed Optimisation in Secondary Lead Production

Sammanfattning: Used lead-acid batteries are the main raw material in secondary lead production. Technologicalprogress in the car industry, have raised concerns regarding the lead-acid battery’s leading positionas electrochemical storage system in the future. However, the lead-acid battery industry isadvancing with innovations, such as hybrid and micro-hybrid vehicles, and is believed to have acontinued important role in the rechargeable battery market. Lead is one of the most investigatedmetal due to concerns from society regarding the negative effect on human health and theenvironment. Consequently, that has led to tighter controls and regulations of the lead processingindustry which, in turn, has led to technological improvement concerning design and operation ofthe lead processing plants. Used lead-acid batteries have a complex composition with a variety ofcomponents made of lead (i.e., metallic, oxide or sulphate) and non-lead materials (plastics andelectrolyte). Traditionally, battery recycling is done without separating those components.However, to optimise the use of resources and decrease the environmental impact of secondarylead production, a pre-treatment step to the batteries recycling is desired. The pre-treatment iscomprised of breaking the batteries and separation of the battery components. The aim of the present thesis, was to study the components of a used lead-acid battery, which willbe the outgoing material of a future plastic separation plant at Boliden Bergsöe, and their effect onthe process. Furthermore, the study aimed at investigating the possibilities to adjust the feedcomposition for further process optimisation and improvement of the process quality in terms ofenergy usages and environmental impact. This was done by characterise, through qualitative andquantitative composition and mass distribution, the fractions in a used lead-acid car battery. Four lead-acid car batteries were provided for dismantling to study mass distribution, and toliberate the components for further analysis. The analytical techniques used in this study werequalitative and quantitative (Rietveld) XRD analysis, SEM-EDS and TGA. The result showed thatoverestimated amount of battery separators (PE) has been used at production planning in energyandemission calculations, which can cause financial losses due to overpaid emission tax. The pastefraction showed a large variation in mass between the studied batteries and consists mostly ofPbSO4. Large variation in the paste mass may cause uneven sulphur emission from smelter.Consequently, this reinforces the need for implementation of the separation of the battery feed fora better control of the paste addition to the smelter. When PE decomposes in the shaft furnace the remaining ash will mainly consist of silica, whichwill affect the sulphur uptake in the shaft furnace. The large content of silica leads to a lower energycontribution to the process; however, a lower content of hydrocarbons leads to lower CO2emissions. If a desulphurisation of the pastes would be implemented, it is believed to affect theprocess through a decreased need of coke and iron. A reduced usage of coke and iron would lowerthe production costs and lead to decreased CO2 emissions. A desulphurisation will also decreasethe lead sulphate content in the feed, thus lead to better control of the sulphur emissions. This study provides additional support and further insight into composition and mass distributionof the components in a lead-acid battery. Furthermore, the study indicates possible impact of thefuture separation on the new feed properties and on the subsequent processing.