The issues of collection, disposal and recycling of used batteries and accumulators are extremely relevant at the present time. Disposal of this waste is one of the most difficult problems of recycling. Almost all batteries contain toxic substances in the form of various metals and chemicals, which, when the battery cases are destroyed, fall into natural environment. In the production of batteries, lead, nickel, cadmium, zinc, mercury, silver oxide, cobalt, and lithium are used. Nickel-cadmium batteries, which are used in cell phones, are the most significant potential sources of cadmium; great danger represent mercury and lithium batteries as suppliers of mercury and lithium to the natural environment; in addition, lithium can spontaneously react with atmospheric oxygen and ignite.

Battery recycling is the process of recovering and exploiting the materials from which batteries are made. During this process, metals are extracted from batteries, which are then re-incorporated into new products. The purpose of this process is to save electricity and raw materials. Recycling of such products contributes to the preservation of the environment for healthy human life.

To date, there is no environmentally friendly and cost-effective technology that would allow recycling batteries that have exhausted their life to obtain products of adequate quality.

For example, pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical methods are used to extract cadmium. Among pyrometallurgical methods based on the distillation of gaseous cadmium compounds, vacuum distillation is the most widespread. In addition to the emergency environmental hazard this production, distillation is characterized by the production of low quality cadmium oxide and secondary waste which are difficult to use in other industries.

World experience in the processing of cadmium-containing wastes has shown the promise of hydrometallurgical methods based, for the most part, on the use of solutions of sulfuric acid, ammonia, and salt compositions. The use of hydrometallurgical operations will solve both environmental problems in the disposal of cadmium-containing wastes and meet the needs of mechanical engineering and metallurgy in high-quality cadmium oxide.

The disadvantages of the sulfuric acid method are: the low degree of extraction of cadmium due to its loss with iron-containing middlings, technological difficulties in the purification of industrial solutions. The use of ammonia is limited by its volatility and the difficulty of regeneration.

The process of disposal and recycling of batteries and accumulators usually consists of several stages. For example, the lead-recovery battery recycling process consists of four steps.

First, batteries and accumulators are loaded into a special container large sizes, from where they fall along the conveyor belt into a concrete well with an electromagnet above it (which attracts excess scrap metal) and with a mesh bottom, where the electrolyte from the "leaked" batteries flows into a special container, after which the batteries are crushed by a crusher into small pieces.

Then there is a process of separation of materials with the help of water dust supplied at high pressure - several tens of atmospheres. The smallest parts and plastic settle in a separate tank for subsequent concentration, while the larger parts fall to the bottom of the tank, from where they are pulled out by a mechanical ladle into a tank with caustic soda, where this scrap metal is converted into lead paste. At the same stage, lead dust also gets there, which, with the help of water supplied under high pressure, is separated from the plastic, which is collected in separate containers.

The third stage is the lead smelting process. The resulting lead paste is conveyed by a conveyor belt to a smelting bunker, where it is melted to a liquid state, and the released vapors are quickly cooled and discharged into separate containers (later it will go to the next stage of processing).

The fourth stage in the refining process produces two components - refined hard and soft lead and lead alloys that meet customer requirements. Alloys are immediately sent to factories for use, and refined lead is heated and ingots are poured from it, removing scale, which are equivalent in quality to freshly mined lead ore.

In the summer of 2013, the English company International Innovative Technologies introduced new technology disposal of used batteries. The method consists in turning the solid elements contained in the interior of an alkaline battery into a powder. Thus, the internal components of the batteries become suitable for processing through various chemical and biological processes, the result of which is the extraction of various metal ions, such as zinc, manganese and carbon ions.

One of the advantages of this technology is that it can easily replace traditional grinding systems with compact, high performance units. Besides, new development features low power consumption and is ideal for grinding hard materials.

The first battery recycling line in Russia has been launched in Chelyabinsk, used batteries will be brought here from all over the country. Watch the video on how iron, graphite and salts are obtained from batteries.

Of the total volume of batteries and accumulators produced in the world, only 3% of the total volume is recycled, while there is a heterogeneity of this indicator across the countries of the world. Yes, in most European countries 25-45% of all chemical current sources (CPS) are recycled, in the USA - about 60% (97% of lead-acid and 20-40% of lithium-ion), in Australia - about 80%. Countries with an underdeveloped HIT recycling system are developing countries where they are practically not recycled, but disposed of with household waste.

Battery recycling in countries European Union is mandatory. From September 26, 2008, all batteries, accumulators and their packaging must be marked with a special symbol (crossed-out wheeled bin) - on the battery itself or on the packaging, depending on the size.

This special collection symbol informs consumers that batteries should not be disposed of with household waste. Instead, batteries should be taken to special items for processing. As a rule, all major retailers have boxes for collecting batteries.

In the production of batteries in the European Union, their cost initially includes a percentage for recycling, and the buyer in the store, having handed over the old batteries, will receive a price discount for new batteries. The handed over is processed. The leader of this process is Belgium, where up to 50% of the batteries are recycled.

All types of batteries produced in Europe can be recycled whether they are rechargeable or not. For recycling, it does not matter if the battery is charged, partially discharged or fully discharged. Once the batteries are collected, they are sorted and then, depending on what type they are, the batteries are sent to the appropriate recycling plant. For example, alkaline batteries are recycled in the UK, and nickel-cadmium batteries are recycled in France.

About 40 companies are involved in battery recycling in Europe.

In the US, in the spring of 2013, a new volunteer nationwide battery recycling campaign was launched. In addition to direct contact with consumers and involvement of volunteers, it is planned to implement a number of measures that will fundamentally change the work of battery companies. Distributors and retailers will have to collect and recycle batteries, removing any components that can still be used, and battery companies will have to pay for the collection, processing and disposal of batteries.

In Australia, 70,000 tons of lead-acid car batteries are disposed of annually. In Wollongong, New South Wales, Auszinc operates a recycling facility for household batteries. Batteries that cannot be recycled in Australia are exported to European facilities for recycling.

In Russia, until recently, there were only companies that collected and stored batteries. Recycling was expensive and not profitable.

Official activities for the reception and use of batteries legal entities has been allowed since 2012 - before that, a special license was required for the collection and storage of hazardous waste. In 2004, IKEA began collecting used batteries, but was forced to stop it due to the requirement of Rospotrebnadzor. The Timiryazev Museum, which has been accepting batteries since 2009, has suspended the acceptance of raw materials due to lack of storage space for batteries.

The company "Megapolis Group" accepts and transfers batteries of all types for recycling.

One of the few organizations that accepts batteries for full-fledged further processing is the Moscow Ecocenter of MGUP Promothody, which uses vacuum technology to control harmful emissions during battery shredding.

In April 2013, the Chelyabinsk company Megapolisresurs also announced its readiness to recycle used batteries from all over the country. The company's technology makes it possible to recycle alkaline batteries by 80%.

However, there are not enough raw materials to launch a large-scale battery recycling process.

"Megapolisresurs" is a partner in the project for the acceptance of used household batteries and accumulators in Media Markt stores in Moscow, which will start in the fall of 2013, and from the beginning of 2014 the initiative will spread throughout Russia. As batteries accumulate, they will be packed in sealed containers in Chelyabinsk as well. Substances extracted from batteries during processing (graphite, zinc and manganese salts) can later be used both to create new batteries and in other industries, in particular, in pharmaceuticals.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Almost all modern portable equipment is powered by AA batteries. Of course, this is very convenient: such a source of electricity is very compact, not expensive and versatile, because it has standard sizes and shapes. But at the same time, penlight batteries attract increased attention in all civilized countries of the world - both from users and from manufacturers. Why? The fact is that each, even the smallest battery contains in its design a whole range of chemical elements which are commonly referred to as heavy metals. This is mercury, and lead, and cadmium, as well as some other minerals. During the use of the battery for its intended purpose, they perform their physical and chemical function. But after a used battery ends up in a landfill and begins to decompose there along with other waste, heavy metals begin to poison the biosphere.

Why You Shouldn't Throw Batteries Away
Humanity, even present stage advances in technology, sometimes reminiscent of small child or a teenager: having received an attractive toy, he uses it without thinking about the consequences (cleaning, breakage, costs). Finger batteries are really practical, but how many people think about what to do with them after their energy resources are exhausted? If you look closely, a special sign is drawn on the surface of the battery case and on each package, depicting a crossed-out trash can. This means that a product marked with such a sign should never be thrown away with ordinary garbage, instead it is subject to mandatory disposal. And now confess, do you adhere to this requirement? ..

Out of sight, out of mind: when we dispose of a used battery, we immediately forget about it and its composition. Meanwhile chemical processes do not depend on our thoughts and / or desires and continue naturally. In the case of batteries that end up in a landfill, there are two main ways of poisoning the environment:

1. The battery shell decomposes, and toxic substances enter the soil, then into The groundwater and reservoirs, rivers, seas. From these reservoirs, water enters our homes, we drink it, give it to children and use it for hygienic purposes. Fish and others Marine life accumulate poisons in their bodies, which we also eat. Simply put, we voluntarily poison our body with heavy metals.
   
2. Batteries in landfills and incinerators burn with garbage, but the smoke from them not only smells bad, but contains so-called dioxins. These compounds, dozens of times more toxic than cyanide, penetrate the air, and then into water, soil, plants, animal meat and, consequently, into the human body.
   

Quite small amounts of heavy metals and their compounds are enough to increase the frequency of oncological diseases and congenital pathologies in humans. One battery poisons about 20 square meters of the earth around it, but how many are thrown away around the world? The CIS countries are especially guilty of such careless relations. By scattering batteries and allowing them to decompose in the biosphere, their inhabitants doom themselves and the whole world to:

• nervous disorders, brain diseases;
  
• swollen;
  
• diseases of the kidneys and this genitourinary system;
  
• diseases thyroid gland, metabolic disease;
  
• mutations of the respiratory organs, deterioration of hearing and vision.
  

In addition, bone, cartilage and muscle tissue suffer, and all organ systems without exception. Moreover, children are most susceptible to poisoning: they often get sick, develop slowly, and grow up weak. Although salts of heavy metals accumulate in the liver, kidneys and tissues of people of all ages.

What to do with batteries
AT different countries around the world, mainly in the West and in Japan, close attention is paid to battery recycling. Used batteries are collected, sorted and disposed of at specialized enterprises (there are more than 40 in Europe alone). And for different types batteries (salt, alkaline, lithium, etc.) use different processing technologies, and subsequently their raw materials are used in production. As for Russia and neighboring countries, this practice is still in its infancy. Today, enthusiasts create battery collection points and contribute to their proper disposal. In order to join this laudable initiative, you can follow these simple instructions:

1. Start by saying that the next time you remove a dead battery from the remote control or player, do not throw it in the trash, but wrap it in paper or a bag and set it aside separately so that you can later take it to a special battery collection point.
   
2. By your own example, you can help develop good habits do not throw away batteries with your friends and/or neighbors. To do this, simply install a box in their own entrance in which they can put the batteries. Place a small ad next to it explaining what, why and why you expect from others.
   
3. box (or plastic bottle) to collect batteries, place so that it does not fall directly Sun rays and its contents were not heated by a heating battery.
   
4. Hang on the ground floor, in the lobby or on front door an announcement so that neighbors can find out about your undertaking. Find in social networks communities of people doing the same and let them know about the additional battery collection opportunity.
   
5. If there are public battery containers in your city, periodically dump them there. If not, then wait until a few pieces accumulate (or set a regular date, for example, once a month) and take them to a battery collection point. Addresses of such points in different cities easy to find on the internet.
   
6. Most likely, it will not be easy for each individual person to take each one or a couple of batteries to the collection point, so become a volunteer at least on the scale of your apartment, entrance, house.
   

At the same time, do not forget that the box for collecting batteries is not at all the final point of their movement to recycling and it is necessary to ensure their transportation to the collection point, and then to processing plant. There they are sorted, sorted, divided into fractions under the action of a magnet. Iron and other metals are crushed and processed separately. All processes related to the disposal of power sources are very dangerous, therefore they are mechanized as much as possible, and workers in factories use masks and protective clothing. The metal salts recovered from the batteries are eventually packaged and sent to factories that use them in their own manufacturing processes. There are few such enterprises and their operation is very expensive, but it is impossible to overestimate their importance. Do not ignore the importance of battery recycling and take part in the preservation of the world around you and your own health.

Take any battery and carefully consider. Do you see a picture of a container crossed out on it? It is not difficult to guess that this is how we are informed about the ban on throwing this item into a regular trash can. What if you do throw it away? Unfortunately, even it will poison 20 square meters of land or 400 liters of water with harmful substances.

AT modern life one average Russian family uses up to half a kilogram of batteries per year. In a medium-sized city, a ton or two accumulates annually, and in a metropolis - up to several tons of used batteries and accumulators.

Not all people know why batteries should not be thrown into the trash. Whereas each of them is a combination of metals and chemical substances, often poisonous and dangerous to all living things. The most commonly used in the production of batteries are:

1. Nickel and cadmium. Both of these heavy metals are toxic. Water and crops grown on land poisoned with cadmium can cause skeletal deformities, lung or kidney dysfunction, and even malignant tumors in humans.
2. Zinc. Zinc salts have a burning effect, can damage the skin and mucous membranes. Poisoning large quantity zinc can result in pulmonary edema, disruption of the heart and circulatory system.
3. Lithium. It has low toxicity. However, the disposal of lithium batteries also requires a special approach, as this element is capable of self-ignition, reacting with atmospheric oxygen or moisture, which can cause a fire.
4. Mercury. deadly danger represent her couples. They are very poisonous and can lead a person to serious illness, dementia and even death.
5. Silver oxide. Is not toxic.
6. Lead. When poisoned, it affects the brain, bones, liver and kidneys. Especially dangerous for children. There are specific cases of high infant mortality from mass lead poisoning in Nigeria and Sinegal. The reason was lead damage to the soil due to improper processing of batteries and accumulators.
7. Cobalt. An excess of cobalt can cause neuritis of the auditory nerve, enlargement of the thyroid gland, dermatitis, allergies, and disturbances in the work of the heart in humans.

According to the level of danger to humans, cadmium, mercury, lead, zinc are assigned to the 1st class (especially dangerous), cobalt and nickel - to the 2nd. Even seemingly insignificant poisoning with these substances can pose a serious threat to his health and life.

What happens to battery devices that we thoughtlessly threw into the regular trash can?

How to dispose of batteries safely? The answer is very simple and obvious: by no means “just throw it away”! They must necessarily get to a specialized company that professionally deals with their disposal.

Features of the technological process

Completely environmentally friendly technology for processing batteries is an urgent problem for the whole world. Unfortunately, even in advanced countries, these recycling processes are still far from completely environmentally friendly.

According to statistics, in the world, only 3% of the total volume of released battery devices gets a second life. Of course, the situation is radically different in different countries. For example, in Australia, recycling and disposal makes up almost 80% of the total volume in the country, in the USA - about 60%.

Much attention is paid to obsolete batteries in Europe. As a general rule, batteries can be recycled at many large shopping malls EU countries, there are special containers for collection. In addition, by handing over old batteries, the consumer receives a discount on the purchase of a new similar product.

In Russia, a few years ago, there was practically no environmentally friendly disposal of batteries. Recycling of batteries is possible only at specialized enterprises, but as a business, this type of activity was unprofitable: the process itself was more expensive than the subsequent sale of the resulting raw materials.

As a result, there were a small number of companies in the country involved in the collection and storage of this specific product. But batteries were recycled for money. That is, not only do you need to find such an enterprise, you also need to pay out of your own pocket. How much does it cost to recycle batteries? It turns out that not so little: today, about 100 rubles per kilogram.

Volunteers willing to collect battery scrap from the public free of charge had other tangible difficulties. For example, in 2004, IKEA began collecting by organizing collection points in its stores, but this process had to be stopped due to the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor. The State Biological Museum named after K.A. Timiryazev for some time accepted battery mini-devices for storage, but the available tanks were quickly filled.

Fortunately, today the situation is beginning to change. Since 2013, a battery recycling plant has been operating in Chelyabinsk. This is where used batteries from all over the country are currently coming. Its technologies, according to Greenpeace representatives, make it possible to recycle batteries and accumulators by 80%. The processing plant is actively cooperating with enterprises that are ready to take on the functions of collecting hazardous waste from the population. However, there are still many problems in this issue of disposal in the country.

There are different technologies for working with hazardous recyclables.

For example, the extraction of lead occurs in several steps:

1. Batteries are loaded into a concrete well, equipped with an electromagnet on top and a grid on the bottom.
2. The magnet attracts excess metal, and the electrolytes flow through the grid into a separate container.
3. The main mass is crushed by a crusher into small pieces.
4. Water mist under high pressure is used to separate materials: separately small parts with plastic and large pieces.
5. The large parts are then transferred to a special container with caustic soda, where everything eventually turns into lead paste.
6. Lead paste is melted down in a separate bunker.
7. As a result of melting, hard and soft lead is obtained, as well as its alloys for specific orders. Finished lead ingots are not inferior in quality to those just produced from lead ore.

Extraction of cadmium is carried out by two main methods:

1. Hydrometallurgical (using ammonia, sulfuric acid and salt solutions). With a high degree of environmental friendliness this way gives a low degree of extraction of cadmium.
2. Pyrometallurgical, such as vacuum distillation. Production from a high degree environmental hazard. The resulting cadmium oxide is of poor quality.

Unfortunately, there are no universal and completely eco-friendly methods with high profitability yet. But science is constantly looking for new ways to solve problems.

What to do with used batteries?

Obviously, the issue of how to properly dispose of batteries is simply not to be taken lightly.

So what should the average consumer do? Where to dispose of hazardous waste, where you can hand it over quickly and without much time and money?

Fortunately, today there are options.

1. In many cities, volunteers and environmental activists collect batteries for recycling on their own. During the action, they either walk around the houses or set up points where batteries are received.
2. On sale there are special containers specifically for storing obsolete rechargeable mini-devices at home. They are hermetically sealed with a removable lid, allowing a container at any time. Thus, you can store used batteries at home for a long time until you have the opportunity to hand them over for recycling.
3. Today, the acceptance of batteries for recycling is already carried out by many electronics stores that have concluded an agreement with a recycling company. For this, special collection containers are located in the salons. If you do not see such a container, ask the sellers, they may know where the nearest one is located in your area.
4. A large business selling household appliances - retail chains, salons - has joined the acceptance of old appliances in exchange for the purchase of new ones. retail sales which are available in almost every major city in Russia. The list of accepted goods includes batteries. By handing them over, you will receive a bonus in the form of a tangible discount on the purchase of new products.

In many developed countries, the question of whether batteries can be thrown into the trash is resolved at the level of the law. Garbage collectors, having discovered dangerous garbage, say, in ordinary food waste, they will simply fine the house management, and they, in turn, will find and punish the violator. The public is well informed where to dispose of batteries and other hazardous waste. Penalties are provided for both manufacturers and large electronics stores for the lack of battery collection points where the population should centrally hand over batteries.

Of course, there is no such control in Russia yet. But each of us, personally, is quite capable of a meaningful and responsible attitude to environmental problems. After all, earth, air and water are common, and we all need the same cleanliness and safety of the environment.

November 12, 2012 at 18:00

Correct disposal of batteries

• Energy and batteries

Hello friends!

Each of us has probably used batteries in our lives. Remotes, watches, toys, phones, a lot of other things - there is always something in the house that runs on batteries. And they have the ability to develop their resource. However, does everyone know what to do with spent batteries? Throw it in the trash along with the rest of your household trash? It is not right!

On the battery case, there is almost always a sign in the form of a crossed out garbage container, indicating that it should not be thrown away with other household waste.

But what is so harmful or dangerous in batteries?

Although the battery may explode, leak and damage your equipment, or be swallowed by your child, it will cause major harm if it is not properly disposed of.
In general, batteries are chemical devices, the elements of which react to produce electricity, which we use. These elements are mostly toxic and dangerous.

• lead (accumulates in the body, affecting the kidneys, nervous system, bone tissue)
• cadmium (harmful to lungs and kidneys)
• mercury (affects the brain and nervous system)
• nickel and zinc (may cause dermatitis)
• alkalis (burn through the mucous membranes and skin) and others

After being thrown away, the metal coating of the battery is destroyed by corrosion, and heavy metals enter the soil and groundwater, from where it is already close to rivers, lakes and other bodies of water used for drinking water supply. Mercury, one of the most dangerous and toxic metals, tends to accumulate in the tissues of living organisms and can enter the human body both directly from water and by eating foods prepared from poisoned plants or animals.
And if a battery is burned in an incinerator, then all the toxic materials it contains will be released into the atmosphere.

According to statistics, a Moscow family annually throws out up to 500 grams of used batteries. In total, 2-3 thousand tons of batteries are being collected in the capital. In the United States, Americans buy almost three billion different batteries every year, and about 180,000 tons of these batteries end up in landfills across the country.

It's hard to imagine the damage environment on a global scale.

What to do with spent batteries?

It is not recommended to store at home, as there is a release hazardous substances to the air. According to the rules, they must be disposed of at special enterprises. Although the pleasure is not cheap, in developed countries the process of collecting used batteries from the public and then competent disposal well established. So, in many EU countries, in Canada and the USA, battery collection points are everywhere. In New York, for example, it is against the law to throw batteries in the trash. And manufacturers and large stores that sell batteries are required to collect used batteries - otherwise fines of up to $ 5,000 may follow.
In Japan, they say, batteries are collected and stored until such time as optimal recycling technology is invented.

And what do we have?

Everything is rather sad with us: if you firmly decided not to harm nature, then you will have to carefully look for a reception point even in the capital - to say nothing of other cities. There are only three plants in Europe with battery recycling capacities, and one of them is located in Ukraine - this is Lviv state enterprise Argentum. However, due to the poor organization of the collection of batteries from the population, the plant cannot function - the enterprise is designed to process a ton of batteries a day, while in six months it was not possible to collect even half a ton.

In the absence of state control, there are still collection points - they are often organized by volunteers (for which many thanks to them), but various organizations and retail chains are gradually being pulled up.

For the query “battery recycling”, Google gives quite a large number of mentions. I decided to systematize the information and plan to update the list periodically.

In order not to overload the article, posted on GoogleDocs - "List of collection points for used batteries"(information on Ukraine, Russia and Belarus).

If you have been wondering where to take old batteries, I hope this list will help you. Because hazardous materials are not limited to batteries, some locations may accept your old household appliances, computers, fluorescent lamps, etc.

P.S.: It is believed that one AA battery pollutes with heavy metals about 20 sq.m. soil. In the forest zone, this is the habitat of two trees, two moles, one hedgehog and several thousand earthworms.

Be responsible, habrauser. Do not thoughtlessly throw away the battery - save the hedgehog!