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BATTERY WASTE MANAGEMENT

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 BATTERY WASTE MANAGEMENT
PIYUSH KUCHHAL1 AND UMESH CHANDRA SHARMA2*
1
Department of Physics, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun – 248007 (India)
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, University Institute of Engineering and
Technology, CSJM University, Kanpur – 208024 (India)
* Corresponding author e-mail: uc_sharma@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT

Batteries are hard to displace in modern world by virtue of their entry in every walk of
human life. These batteries contain several heavy metals such as cadmium, copper, lead,
mercury, nickel or zinc, which are all hazardous to human health and environment. The
casual dumping of spent batteries into landfills eventually result in percolation of heavy
metals and other toxic compounds into soil and water, contaminating food and water
supplies and making them unhealthy for use by mankind and wildlife. The erroneous
incineration results in release of certain toxic metals into air through stack gases or
accumulation in the ash produced by the combustion process. Therefore, the proper disposal
of battery wastes is far more important compared to battery production; but it is often a
neglected issue, particularly in developing and poor countries. There are three established
methods to prevent and control the adversities developed by reckless disposal of spent
batteries. These are three R’s: Reduce, Recharge and Recycle. The present article first
discusses the human health and environmental effects of battery wastes and then concentrates
on methods to restrain them.

Key words: Basel convention, Freedonia, Frost & Sullivan, Hazard, Household hazardous
wastes, Lead-acid batteries, Rechargeable batteries, Non-rechargeable batteries, Reduce,
Recharge, Recycle, Three R’s, Toxic metals, Hydrometallurgical process, Pyrometallurgical
process, Mercury distillation process.

INTRODUCTION
A battery is a device to transform the chemical energy contained in its active materials
directly into electrical energy by means of an electrochemical oxidation-reduction (redox)
reaction [1]. Batteries have a unique mechanism as there are no moving parts but they still
manage to carry electric current through circuits. The batteries are usually classified into two
main categories, namely primary non-rechargeable (e.g. zinc-carbon, magnesium-manganese
dioxide, alkaline-manganese dioxide, alkaline zinc-mercuric oxide, cadmium-mercuric oxide,
zinc-alkaline electrolyte-silver oxide, zinc-air batteries, lithium-sulphur dioxide, lithium-
thionyl chloride, lithium-sulphuryl chloride, lithium-manganese dioxide, lithium-silver
vanadium oxide, lithium-iodine, etc.) and secondary rechargeable (e.g. lead-acid, nickel-iron,
nickel-cadmium, nickel-zinc, nickel-hydrogen, zinc-silver oxide, cadmium-silver oxide, iron-
silver oxide, zinc-alkaline-manganese dioxide, etc.) batteries, depending on their capability of
being electrically recharged. The batteries are so closely integrated with human life that there
will hardly be an area without their applications. A partial list of these applications include
electric watches, clocks, calculators, hearing aids, medical appliances and implants,
flashlights, toys, power tools, portable radio and television, mobile phones, camcorders,
laptops, tablets, scooters, motor cycles, cars, trucks, buses, tractors, fork-lift trucks, electric
 Environ. Sci. & Engg. Vol. 5: Solid Waste Management

vehicles, golf carts, missiles, submarines, satellites, aircrafts, spacecrafts, auxiliary and
emergency power supplies, uninterruptible power systems, load levelling, remote relay
stations, meteorological equipments and signals and alarms [2].

SIZE OF GLOBAL BATTERY MARKET AND BATTERY WASTE

The data on domestic, regional and global production of new batteries and amount of
waste batteries produced are hardy available. There are varying estimates here and there for
some countries in news articles, blogs, factsheets or recycling companies’ websites. Over 12
billion disposable batteries were sold worldwide in 1993. This figure reached to 40 billion
batteries in 2006. The total battery sales data for United Kingdom in year 2003 indicates that
primary batteries constituted 79.12% (19,662 tonnes) of total sales, of which largest market
share (59.96%) was acquired by alkaline manganese batteries and the secondary batteries
accounted for 20.87% (5,188 tonnes) of total annual sales [3]. Approximately 671 million non-
rechargeable batteries were sold in Canada in 2007, while the sale of rechargeable batteries
was about 37 million only [4]. Total 3.56 billion units of batteries (2.15 billion primary and
1.41 billion secondary) were produced in Japan in year 2014 [5].

Frost & Sullivan (2009) estimated the revenue in global battery market at massive
$47.5 billion and predicted that this figure will reach $74 billion in 2015. In 2009, primary
batteries accounted for 23.6% share of global market with other 76.4% share going to
secondary batteries. Frost & Sullivan predicted a decline of 7.4% for primary batteries in
revenue distribution by 2015, while the market share for rechargeable batteries was likely to
increase to 82.6% by 2015 [6].

Freedonia group (2012) estimates the size of global battery industry at $89.4 billion
which is expected to reach $132 billion in 2016 with 8.1% annual growth rate. China will be
the largest national market by size while India followed by South Korea will register the
fastest growing rate. The secondary rechargeable batteries will exceed the primary non-
rechargeable types due to demand driven by mobile phones, personal entertainment gadgets,
laptop computers, electric bicycle and motor vehicles [7].

It would be reasonable to estimate that most of spent non-rechargeable batteries end

up in landfills. However, available literature conforms over 90% recycling of lead-acid
batteries in developed nations. The spent household batteries accounted for 88% of mercury
entering the municipal solid waste stream in 1989 in United States. An average citizen in
United States owns about 2 button batteries, 10 disposable alkaline batteries and throws away
about 8 household batteries per year [8]. Around 3 billion disposable batteries are thrown
every year in United States, as per estimates made in 2002. In a small country like Nepal,
estimated 200 million low-end disposable batteries are thrown every year [9]. Bell Canada
collected 960 metric tonnes of wet cell lead-acid batteries for recycling in 2003 [8]. It is
estimated that 600 million (25,000 tonnes) of waste household and industrial batteries are
generated in United Kingdom every year. While over 90% of lead acid batteries used mostly
in vehicles are recycled, but only 4% (1,000 tonnes) of the non-lead acid batteries are
recycled [10].
Battery Waste Management

HAZARDS OF WASTE BATTERIES

A chemical or physical condition that has the potential to cause damage to people,
property, or the environment is termed as a Hazard [11]. A battery that is no longer wanted or
is unusable for its intended purpose and is intended for storage, recycling or disposal is
termed as a waste battery [12]. Most of the batteries contain toxic heavy metals such as
mercury, cadmium, lead, nickel, zinc, or copper, which are all hazardous to human health and
environment. However, the Basel Convention considers only the batteries containing
cadmium, lead and mercury as hazardous. While the batteries that do not contain cadmium,
lead or mercury such as alkaline manganese and zinc carbon are classified as non‐hazardous
[13]
.

When waste batteries are thrown away in the trash, they end up in landfills. The toxic
heavy metals/compounds in these batteries can contaminate the environment by leaching into
soil and water, polluting water bodies and making them unfit for use by mankind and
wildlife. When incinerated, certain toxic metals might release into air through stack gases or
can accumulate in the ash produced by the combustion process. The possible effects of
hazardous battery wastes on human health and environment are given in Table 1.

Table 1 (Appendix)

WASTE MANAGEMENT
United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) list of common household
hazardous wastes includes a wide range of products such as drain and toilet cleaners, laundry
bleach, paint thinners, photographic chemicals, rat poisons, insecticides, herbicides,
fungicides, mercury thermometers, fluorescent light bulbs, kerosene, diesel, gas/oil mix,
motor oil, antifreeze, refrigerants, batteries, automotive batteries and electronic wastes [15].
Among all these items, spent batteries constitute the most general article of common
household hazardous wastes.

Contrary to general perception, the environmental repercussions of batteries are not

just limited to their disposal in waste stream, but associated with each phase of battery life
starting with mining of raw materials to production of battery followed by distribution and
use and finally, the end-of-life phases, be it recycling or disposal in landfills or incineration.
Minerals like cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, silver, zinc, etc. are required to produce batteries
(Table 2). Mining is an energy intensive process and consumes large amounts of depleting
fossil fuels. Mining not only contributes to air and water pollution and global warming, but
natural wildlife habitat is also destroyed. After production, several thousand tonnes of
finished batteries are transported by roads, sea and air routes and distributed through
warehouses and sold through shops, departmental stores and shopping complexes. Fossils
fuels are used by transportation vehicles and infrastructure development also takes a toll on
natural resources. Packaging materials for batteries are usually made of plastic and paper.
Plastic is made from petroleum and paper is made from trees, both again a burden on
environment. In end-of-life phase, recycling is an energy dependent process consuming
power and producing lots of waste water and other pollution; if disposed in landfills, the toxic
 Environ. Sci. & Engg. Vol. 5: Solid Waste Management

heavy metals inside batteries might leach into the ground, contaminating soil and water,
affecting human health and environment. If incinerated, heavy metals can concentrate in the
ash or enter the atmosphere through stack emissions. When the ash is disposed, the toxic
metals can leach into the soil and ground and surface water [16].

Table 2 (Appendix)

The Solution
As there are multitudes of problems associated with disposal of spent batteries, there
are at least three established methods to prevent and control the substantial amount of spent
batteries from throwing away in to trash bins. These are three R’s: Reduce, Recharge and
Recycle.

Reduce - Reducing the generation of spent batteries is by far the most effective way in
protecting the environment than finding ways for perfect recycling or proper disposal after
they have been created. The use of batteries should be reserved for those applications only
where electric power cannot be used such as automobiles, calculators, wrist watches, hand-
held remotes, children toys, military devices, etc. It will always help if a user checks his stock
of batteries available at home or in store (in case of bulk user) before proceeding towards
purchasing of more. In addition, the consumer should have clear answer of following two
questions: (i) What type of battery do I really require for my application? and (ii) How many
batteries do I exactly require for my application? If possible, one should purchase batteries
containing less/no toxic substances to reduce the amount of potentially hazardous wastes
requiring special disposal methods [17]. The primary non-rechargeable batteries should be
replaced with secondary rechargeable batteries. A sensible selection and use of household
equipments and appliances can greatly reduce the demand for disposable batteries. LED
based lighting systems, for example, greatly decrease the need for disposable dry-cell
batteries [9]. The batteries should be removed from the equipment if the equipment is not to be
used for long periods of time. Batteries should be stored in cool and dry conditions. Storage
at low temperature extends battery life because the chemical reactions stagnate at this
condition. Prior to use batteries must be returned to room temperature to gain maximum
voltage [12].

Recharge - The demand for secondary rechargeable batteries has enlightened considerably in
recent years with the increased use of portable devices such as cell phones, tablets, laptops,
cordless power tools, etc. Earlier, rechargeable batteries were inconvenient as they needed to
be charged prior to use and were less long lasting compared to current generation of
rechargeable batteries. Newer low self-discharge rechargeable batteries hold their charge for
several months and are usually charged by the manufacturer to about 70% of their rated
capacity before shipping [18]. While every rechargeable battery will eventually die, but state-
of-the-art technology assures that a rechargeable battery manufactured today can be used
hundreds of times spanning over a period of several years. The care should be taken that a
rechargeable battery is charged using a charger specifically designed for the size and type of
battery for smooth hassle-free operation and long life [12].
Battery Waste Management

Advantages of rechargeable batteries - Rechargeable batteries are designed for repeated

charging by applying an electric current, which reverses the chemical reactions that occur
during their use. Rechargeable batteries have several advantages over primary non-
rechargeable disposable batteries.
1. Economical: Though rechargeable batteries initially cost more than disposable
batteries and some of them require purchase of a recharger, but these batteries can be
reused more than 500 times over several years, greatly reducing the cost of new
batteries. Hence, in longer perspective, a rechargeable battery is more economical and
cost effective over primary batteries.
2. Waste prevention: Repeated use of rechargeable batteries greatly reduces the volume
of spent batteries to be disposed of in landfills and thus protects the environment from
leaching effects of heavy metals and corrosive materials used in primary batteries.
3. Resource conservation: Every time a rechargeable battery is restored, it prevents the
purchase of a new battery and thus conserves our natural resources, viz. minerals, water,
fossil fuels and others used otherwise in production and transportation of new batteries.
Portable rechargeable batteries as compared to portable disposable batteries require up
to 81 times less water resources, up to 33 times less electricity, about 49 times less
converted fuel equivalent demand and need to be reused 17 times to equal the impact of
air release [19].
4. Less environmental impact: For 1 kWh of energy produced, rechargeable batteries
have up to 32 times less environmental impact than primary disposable batteries. Every
rechargeable battery produced brings 23 times less potential impact on non-renewable
natural resources, 28 times less potential impact on global warming, 30 times less
potential impact on ozone depletion, 9 times less potential impact on air acidification
and 2 times less potential impact on water pollution, in comparison to disposable
batteries on a comparative life cycle basis [20].

Recycle – Recycling diverts thousands of tonnes of waste batteries from landfills and
incinerators. Batteries contain one or more of several valuable metals, like nickel, cadmium,
cobalt, copper, zinc, aluminium, silver, etc., which can be reused as a secondary raw material
after recycling. Apart from metals, a wide range of other substances such as different acids,
salts and plastics which are also contained in the batteries are separated and diverted from
municipal waste for regulated disposal. Recycling not only gives new life to discarded
products, but it prevents toxins such as lead, mercury and cadmium from contaminating the
air, water and soil [16].

Advantages of recycling - Recycling is essential for sustainable management of battery waste

as it offers environmental and economical benefits along with conservation of natural mineral
and fuel resources. The recycling of spent batteries has following advantages [21]:
1. Environmental benefits: Fewer batteries are sent for landfilling and incineration
operations. Both these processes carry larger threat of pollution than recycling and have
long term risks of uncontrolled leaching of hazardous substances like lead, mercury and
cadmium. Removal of these toxic substances in recycling protects human health and the
environment.
 Environ. Sci. & Engg. Vol. 5: Solid Waste Management

The use of recycled metals in battery production reduces demand for virgin metals and
so the pollution and loss to natural habitats and wildlife due to mining of the virgin
metals also reduce significantly.
2. Economical benefits: Recycling of used materials is economically cheaper than
production of virgin materials and hence the cost of production for the virgin materials
used in batteries is saved by the use of recycled materials. Further, recycling reduces
the dependence on imported materials, a big saving on country’s import bill. The
disposal costs related to landfill and incineration operations are saved due to higher
levels of recycling. The recycling cost also comes down due to higher collection rates
and economies of scale.
3. Conservation of natural resources: Natural ore deposits are finite and will eventually
exhaust some day. The recycling extends the lifespan of these deposits. Nickel,
cadmium, cobalt and silver are valuable metals; their reclamation and reuse enable us to
save resources. The recovered cadmium, at a 99.95% purity level, is used to produce
new nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries [16]. Furthermore, since most of the virgin
metal extraction processes are highly energy intensive depending largely on fossil fuel
supplies, the recycling processes provide means for conservation of fossil fuel
resources.
4. Energy conservation: Barring the service period of a battery life cycle, 65% of
primary energy is used in the manufacture of batteries, while 32% is used in the
production of raw materials and less than 1% is used for inspection, collection and
sorting [22]. The recycling processes make it possible to reclaim the metals from spent
batteries with less energy compared to extraction and refining of the virgin metals.
Recycled cadmium, zinc and nickel, for example, require respectively 46%, 73% and
75% less primary energy in extraction than virgin metals. These figures become more
important in the light of fact that the primary production of metals is responsible for
about 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Table 3 illustrates the percent
reductions in primary energy consumption through recycling of materials such as
aluminium, nickel, copper and steel.

Table 3: Energy consumption for primary and secondary material production [23]
Material Primary material Secondary material Reduction in
production production energy
(million BTU/tonne) (million BTU/tonne) consumption
Wrought aluminium 157.3 40.7 74.1%
Cast aluminium 132.9 39.0 70.7%
Nickel 124.7 31.2 75.0%
Copper 94.2 34.3 63.6%
Steel 38.6 29.1 24.6%

BATTERY RECYCLING PROCESS

In battery recycling process, metals are recovered from the spent batteries and the
remainder of the products are recycled or discarded [16]. Spent batteries undergo a series of
processes in recycling, which include used battery collection and inspection, sorting of
batteries suitable for recycling, battery recycling, metal recovery, separation of final products
and management of residual batteries and other wastes via landfill or incineration. There are
Battery Waste Management

several established processes for recovering valuable metals from spent batteries, the details
of which can be found extensively in literature. Here only a brief introduction of some
principal process methodologies is given.

Hydrometallurgical Process
Hydrometallurgical processing of waste batteries involves a mechanical step and a
chemical step. In the mechanical phase, the batteries are shredded in order to separate the
metals, paper, plastic and the black mass. The black mass is further chemically processed to
produce a solution, which undergoes electrolysis or leaching, in order to separate out the
dissolved metals [3].

Pyrometallurgical Process
Pyrometallurgy or the use of heat for the waste treatment includes smelting and
roasting. It involves heating in a blast furnace at temperatures above 1500ºC to convert waste
to a form that can be refined. The oxide waste is heated with a reducing agent, such as carbon
in the form of coke or coal; the oxygen of the metal combines with the carbon and is removed
as carbon dioxide gas. The waste material in non-metallic parts is called gangue; it is
removed by means of a substance called a flux which, when heated, combines with it to form
a molten mass called slag. Being lighter than the metal, the slag floats on top that is skimmed
with a slag arm or drawn off [24].

Mercury Distillation Process

The amount of mercury used in batteries has greatly reduced over the last couple of
decades and many brands use none at all. Still, some batteries contain a very small amount of
mercury, but given the massive quantities of battery wastes generated every year, mercury
requires to be recycled [25]. The mercury distillation process is a vacuum-based thermal
treatment method in which mercury vaporises. Afterwards, at a reduced temperature, the
mercury condenses to produce mercury in metallic form [3].

PARTICULAR METALS RECOVERY

Cadmium is relatively a light metal and vaporizes at high temperatures. The cadmium
vapours are blown into a large tube cooled with water mist. This causes the vapours to
condense to produce 99.95% pure cadmium. Lead can be recovered either by separating the
different materials that make up the battery prior to metallurgical processing. Alternatively,
the complete battery can be processed through heat treatment in a furnace with metals being
recovered at the end of the process. Nickel cadmium batteries can be reprocessed through a
similar thermal technique, which recovers cadmium and iron-nickel for steel production.
Mercury batteries are usually processed using a vacuum-based thermal treatment process in
which the mercury vaporises. The mercury condenses and subsequently solidifies when
temperatures are reduced. Nickel metal hydride batteries are reprocessed by mechanically
separating the individual materials in a vacuum chamber to prevent the escape of hydrogen.
The nickel produced in this process can be used in the manufacture of stainless steel. Lithium
ion batteries are processed through pyrolysis. Zinc-carbon/air and alkaline-manganese
 Environ. Sci. & Engg. Vol. 5: Solid Waste Management

batteries can be reprocessed using a number of different methods, which include smelting and
other thermal-metallurgical processes to recover the metal content, particularly the zinc [26].

CONCLUSION
Batteries are an integral part of every one’s life from children to youths to middle
aged peoples to senior citizens in urban and rural areas as well in the form of diverse
applications in toys, mobiles, laptops, tablets, portable music systems, electric watches,
calculators, flashlights, radios, cameras, implanted medical devices, power tools,
automobiles, satellites, submarines and many more. Several billion tonnes of new batteries
are produced and sold every year globally and several million tonnes of spent batteries are
disposed every year. Human health and environmental impacts of nonchalantly disposed
batteries are extensively researched by scientific communities and are also known to educated
masses. Though most of the nations have stringent regulations on disposal of spent batteries,
but negligence on the part of law enforcing authorities and ignorance on the part of the
proletariat prevails in the developing and underdeveloped nations. Whereas, developed
nations effectively collect and recycle over 90% of secondary rechargeable spent batteries.
Primary non-rechargeable batteries don’t have a recycling method and are disposed of in
landfills along with other household garbage. Despite being non-recyclable and a burden on
environment, the primary batteries are difficult to displace owing to their characteristics of
low price with good shelf life and zero maintenance and safe operation. Researchers might
find some technologies in future to recycle these batteries also.

REFERENCES
[1] Linden, D. and Reddy, T. B. (ed.), Handbook of batteries, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill,
New York, 2002.
[2] Vincent, C. A. and Scrosati, B., Modern batteries, 2nd edition, Butterworth-
Heinemann, Oxford, 2003.
[3] Fisher K. et al., Battery waste management life cycle assessment, Environmental
resources management, 2006 (www.epbaeurope.net).
[4] Battery recycling in Canada, Environment Canada, 2009 (www.ec.gc.ca).
[5] Machinery statistics, Ministry of economy, trade and industry, Japan
(www.meti.go.jp).
[6] Global battery markets (www.batteryuniversity.com).
[7] Industry study - world batteries, 2012 (www.freedoniagroup.com).
[8] Malavika C.R., Environmental effects associated with battery disposal, 2004
(www.frost.com).
[9] Battery disposal (www.rpc.com.au).
[10] Battery recycling (www.wyre.gov.uk).
[11] Crowl D.A. and Louvar J.F., Chemical process safety, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall PTR,
New Jersey, 2002.
[12] Environmental guideline for waste batteries, Department of environment, Government
of Nunavut, 2011 (http://env.gov.nu.ca).
[13] Treatment of batteries within the Basel convention, 2009 (www.nema.org).
[14] Dillon C., The ecological impact of batteries, 1994 (http://repository.cmu.edu/ece).
Battery Waste Management

[15] Household hazardous waste (www.epa.gov).

[16] Implementation of the mercury-containing and rechargeable battery management act,
1997 (www.epa.gov).
[17] Proper disposal of batteries, electronics and hazardous waste (www.nrdc.org).
[18] Rechargeable battery (http://en.wikipedia.org).
[19] Lankey R.L. and Mcmichael F.C., Life-cycle methods for comparing primary and
rechargeable batteries, Environment science technology, vol. 34, pp 2299-2304, 2000.
[20] UNIROSS study on the environmental impact of batteries, 2007 (www.fraw.org.uk).
[21] Technical guidelines for the environmentally sound management of waste lead-acid
batteries, 2003 (www.basel.int).
[22] Commission staff working paper directive of the European parliament and of the
council on batteries and accumulators and spent batteries and accumulators, Brussels,
2003 (ec.europa.eu).
[23] Burnham A. et al., Development and applications of GREET 2.7 – The transportation
vehicle cycle model, 2006 (www.transportation.anl.gov).
[24] Liew F.C., Pyrometallurgy versus hydrometallurgy (www.tes-amm.com.au).
[25] Rechargeable and disposable batteries – the environmental impact
(www.greenlivingtips.com).
[26] Battery recycling (www.gravitatechnomech.com).

Please cite this article as: Kuchhal P, Sharma UC. Battery waste management. In: Gurjar
BR, Sharma UC, Singh N, editors. Environmental Science and Engineering Vol. 5 Solid
Waste Management, Texas: Studium Press LLC; 2017, p. 141−155.
 Environ. Sci. & Engg. Vol. 5: Solid Waste Management
Appendix
Table 1: Human health and environmental effects of battery wastes [14]
Component Source Toxicity Health effects
Mercury Primary alkaline batteries Highly toxic ▪ Affects human brain, central nervous system,
Zinc-carbon batteries kidneys and liver.
Mercuric oxide batteries ▪ Causes skin sensation such as burning, prickling,
Silver oxide batteries itching, or tingling.
▪ Affects genetic and reproductive processes.
▪ High mercury exposure causes vision, speech and
hearing impairment and may even lead to death.
Cadmium Nickel-cadmium batteries Highly toxic ▪ Carcinogenic, damage to livers and kidneys,
chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases,
cardiovascular and skeletal disorders.
▪ May cause lung cancer and kidney stones.
▪ Kidney damage may lead to an excess of urea in
the blood accompanied by headache, nausea,
coma or even death.
▪ Symptoms of weakness, fever, headache, chills,
sweating and muscular pain.
▪ Causes bone diseases: osteomalacia and
osteoporosis.
Lead Lead-acid batteries Highly toxic ▪ Carcinogenic, damage to brain, kidney and liver.
Zinc-carbon batteries ▪ Behavioural disorders and increased blood
pressure.
▪ Mental impairment like loss of attention, short
term memory, visuospatial capabilities and
speaking skills.
▪ Adverse effect on male fertility in case of long
exposure.
▪ Spontaneous abortion and premature birth of
children in pregnant women.
▪ Kidney damage: reversible proximal tubular
damage and reduced glomerular filtration.
▪ Higher exposure may cause irritability, headaches
and hallucinations and may advance to
convulsions, paralysis and death.
▪ High exposure may cause cerebrovascular
disease, heart failure, electrocardiographic
Environmental effects
▪ Marine invertebrates accumulate higher
quantities of mercury than aquatic plants.
▪ Mercury bio-accumulates in the food chain.
▪ Methyl mercury is the leading mercury
contaminant in fish.
▪ Mercury poisoning in bird's feathers halts the
growth of eggs and causes them not to hatch.
▪ Kidneys of animals are more adversely
affected by cadmium poisoning than livers,
while their tissues absorb very little cadmium.
▪ Soil contaminated with cadmium is difficult to
clean.
▪ Easily taken up by plant roots and accumulates
in fruits, vegetables and grass.
▪ Contacts with strong acid or base or presence
of nascent hydrogen may generate highly toxic
arsine gas.
▪ High dose of lead causes to develop tumour in
kidneys of test animals.
▪ Exposure to lead oxide with benzo(a)pyrene
leads to lung tumours.
▪ Lead subacetate contamination causes lung
adenomas and cerebral gliomas.
Battery Waste Management

abnormalities, impaired liver function, impaired

thyroid function and intestinal colic.
Nickel Nickel-cadmium batteries Highly toxic ▪ Nickel carbonyl is responsible for lung and nasal ▪ Nickel exposure causes deficiency of green
Nickel-iron batteries cancer. pigment in plants and has effects similar to
Nickel-zinc batteries ▪ Skin disorders like itching and burning sensations iron-deficiency in humans.
Nickel-metal hydride and the skin tends to become dry and scaly. ▪ Colloidal nickel has adverse effects on test
batteries ▪ Nickel-contaminated water causes kidney damage animals.
such as proteinuria (protein in the urine).
▪ Immunological problems: reduced resistance to
viral and infectious agents.
Zinc Zinc-air batteries Highly toxic ▪ Fumes are toxic when inhaled. ▪ May cause stunted growth, anaemia, reduction
Zinc-carbon batteries ▪ May cause dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, in activity of liver catalase and cytochrome
Zinc-chloride batteries abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, oxidase and a decrease in reproduction.
dizziness and muscular incoordination. ▪ Intratesticular administration of zinc chloride
▪ May cause kidney failure. causes carcinogenic effects on test animals.
▪ Anaemia and gastrointestinal bleedings in
patients.
▪ Extreme intake is believed to cause cancer in
humans.
Potassium Primary alkaline batteries Highly toxic ▪ Skin contact may cause blisters, burns, severe ▪ Reacts violently with strong acids such as
hydroxide Zinc-carbon batteries and corrosive irritation, severe pain and/or permanent scars. hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid and nitric
Mercuric oxide batteries ▪ Contact with eyes can lead to swelling, impaired acid.
Silver oxide batteries vision and/or eventually blindness. ▪ Corrosive in moist air to metals such as
Nickel-cadmium batteries ▪ Ingestion may cause burns, diarrhoea, vomiting, aluminium, zinc, tin and lead and forms
severe stomach pain, shock and/or death. flammable and explosive hydrogen gas.
▪ Inhalation may cause cough, sneeze, problem in ▪ Attacks some forms of plastics, rubber and
breathing and damage to lungs depending on the coatings.
amount of exposure.
Sulphuric Lead-acid batteries Highly toxic ▪ Contact can lead to irritation or burns, or irritation ▪ Contact with combustibles and organic
acid and corrosive to the mucous membranes of the eyes and the materials may cause fire and explosion.
upper respiratory system. ▪ Reacts violently with strong agents, metals,
▪ Strong inorganic acid mist containing sulphuric strong oxidizers and water.
acid is carcinogenic to humans. ▪ Contact with metals may produce toxic sulphur
dioxide fumes and may release flammable
hydrogen gas.
▪ Excessive overcharging or fire may create
carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, sulphur
trioxide, sulphuric acid mist and hydrogen.
 Environ. Sci. & Engg. Vol. 5: Solid Waste Management
Lithium Lithium-ion batteries Non-toxic ▪ Causes major disturbance in water balance in
Lithium polymer batteries body.
▪ Can block synthesis of thyroid hormone.
▪ Causes drowsiness, speech disorder, tremors,
unsteady gait, muscle twitching, increased muscle
tone, sweating and fever.
▪ Affected children might suffer from weight gain,
vomiting, headache, nausea and tremors.
▪ May cause both acute and chronic kidney failure.
▪ Adverse effects on pregnant women.
▪ Lithium-infected infants may experience shallow
breathing, hypotonia, lethargy, cyanosis and
bradycardia.
Manganese Lithium-manganese Non-toxic ▪ Causes cough, abdominal pain and nausea on
dioxide batteries exposure.
Zinc-manganese dioxide ▪ Responsible for neuropsychiatric disorder called
batteries ‘manganese madness’ or ‘Parkinson-like’ disease.
Lithium ion-manganese
oxide batteries
Alkaline manganese
batteries
Potassium Potassium ion batteries Non-toxic ▪ Eye contact results in redness, watering, itching
and corneal damage or blindness.
▪ Skin contact produces inflammation, itching,
scaling, reddening and blistering.
▪ Inhalation causes irritation to gastrointestinal or
respiratory tract characterized by burning,
sneezing and coughing. Over-exposure causes
lung damage, choking, unconsciousness or death.
▪ May be toxic to blood, lungs and upper
respiratory tract.
▪ Interferences in carbohydrate metabolism and
changes in growth and pituitary hormone of
rodents.
▪ Physiological and immunological irregularities
leading to infectious diseases.
▪ Birth defects like cleft palates, skeletal
anomalies and exencephaly.
▪ Stunted brain growth in test animals.
▪ Combustible, fine dispersed particles form
explosive mixtures in air.
▪ Affects the immune system of marine
invertebrates.
▪ Can induce iron deficiency in some algae
leading to inhibition of chlorophyll synthesis.
▪ Causes disorders in some crops, such as crinkle
leaf in cotton and stem streak necrosis in
potato.
▪ Highly flammable in presence of moisture,
open flames and heat sparks.
▪ Fire will produce irritating, corrosive and/or
toxic gases.
 Battery Waste Management

Table 2: Battery material composition* [3]

Primary batteries Secondary batteries

Alkaline Zinc Mercuric oxide Zinc air Lithium Alkaline Silver oxide Lithium Nickel Nickel metal Lithium Lead acid
manganese carbon (button) (button) (button) (button) (button) manganese cadmium hydride ion
Component % % % % % % % % % % % %
Aluminium - - - - - - - - - - 5.0 -
Cadmium - - - - - - - - 15.0 - - -
Cobalt - - - - - - - - - 4.0 18.0 -
Iron and Steel 24.7 16.8 37.0 42.0 60.0 37.0 42.0 50.0 35.0 20.0 22.0 -
Lead - 0.1 - - - - - - - - - 65.0
Lithium - - - - 3.0 - - 2.0 - - 3.0 -
Manganese 22.3 15.0 1.0 - 18.0 23.0 2.0 19.0 - 1.0 - -
Mercury - - 31.0 1.0 - 0.6 0.4 - - - - -
Nickel 0.5 - 1.0 - 1.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 22.0 35.0 - -
Silver - - - - - - 31.0 - - - - -
Zinc 14.9 19.4 14.0 35.0 - 11.0 9.0 - - 1.0 - -
Other metals 1.3 0.8 - - - - 4.0 - - 10.0 11.0 4.0
Acid - - - - - - - - - - - 16.0
Alkali 5.4 6.0 2.0 4.0 - 2.0 1.0 - 2.0 4.0 - -
Carbon 3.7 9.2 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 0.5 2.0 - - 13.0 -
Paper 1.0 0.7 - - - - - - - - - -
Plastics 2.2 4.0 3.0 4.0 3.0 6.0 2.0 7.0 10.0 9.0 - 10.0
Water 10.0 12.3 3.0 10.0 - 6.0 2.0 - 5.0 8.0 - -
Other non 14.0 15.2 7.0 3.0 13.0 14.0 4.0 19.0 11.0 8.0 28.0 5.0
metals
* Composition may vary according to battery size and manufacturer.

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