Abstract
Battery disposal is a subject of high environmental concerns, and requires studies on their
recovery and reuse to minimize waste of non-renewable resources of raw materials. In many
countries there is no proper disposal and collection of these materials, as there is no legislation
on battery recycling. Since the battery anode contains a large proportion of copper, this work
investigates copper purification from a battery recovery process. The methodology applies the
electrolytic refining technique of copper electrodeposition, after opening the electrode through
acid leaching. Sixty-three waste batteries were collected for this research, totalling 494.473 g.
Of this mass 98.509 g corresponds to copper-rich anode, which 19.66% is equivalent to
recoverable copper. The process here applied allowed for recovery of 99.61% of the recoverable
copper through natural metal oxide deposition in a copper plate. Final analysis of the plate
shows 70.5% copper, the remaining composition being oxygen, carbon, sulphur and chlorine
contaminant. The main novelty of this paper is the reduced amount of sulphuric acid used in
the lixiviation process.
recovery and reuse to minimize waste of non-renewable resources of raw materials. In many
countries there is no proper disposal and collection of these materials, as there is no legislation
on battery recycling. Since the battery anode contains a large proportion of copper, this work
investigates copper purification from a battery recovery process. The methodology applies the
electrolytic refining technique of copper electrodeposition, after opening the electrode through
acid leaching. Sixty-three waste batteries were collected for this research, totalling 494.473 g.
Of this mass 98.509 g corresponds to copper-rich anode, which 19.66% is equivalent to
recoverable copper. The process here applied allowed for recovery of 99.61% of the recoverable
copper through natural metal oxide deposition in a copper plate. Final analysis of the plate
shows 70.5% copper, the remaining composition being oxygen, carbon, sulphur and chlorine
contaminant. The main novelty of this paper is the reduced amount of sulphuric acid used in
the lixiviation process.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Publication status | Published - 6 Oct 2019 |
| Event | SDEWES: 14th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems - Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik, Croatia Duration: 1 Oct 2019 → 6 Oct 2019 https://www.dubrovnik2019.sdewes.org/ |
Conference
| Conference | SDEWES |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Croatia |
| City | Dubrovnik |
| Period | 1/10/19 → 6/10/19 |
| Internet address |
Bibliographical note
© 2019 The AuthorsKeywords
- Batteries
- recycling
- copper