A green lead hydrometallurgical process based on a hydrogen-lead oxide fuel cell

Abstract

The automobile industry consumed 9 million metric tons of lead in 2012 for lead-acid batteries. Recycling lead from spent lead-acid batteries is not only related to the sustainable development of the lead industry, but also to the reduction of lead pollution in the environment. The existing lead pyrometallurgical processes have two main issues, toxic lead emission into the environment and high energy consumption; the developing hydrometallurgical processes have the disadvantages of high electricity consumption, use of toxic chemicals and severe corrosion of metallic components. Here we demonstrate a new green hydrometallurgical process to recover lead based on a hydrogen-lead oxide fuel cell. Highpurity lead, along with electricity, is produced with only water as the by-product. It has a 499.5% lead yield, which is higher than that of the existing pyrometallurgical processes (95-97%). This greatly reduces lead pollution to the environment.

Management of used lead acid battery in China: Secondary lead industry progress, policies and problems

“…Hydrometallurgical process based on a hydrogen-lead oxide fuel cell has completed the pilot plant test stage and entered the industrialization promotion stage. A small capacity equipment is installed in the workshop of Chaowei Group, which is the biggest LAB manufacturer (Pan et al, 2013). Other local technology is been tested in the pilot plant and will be promoted in future (Chen and Wang, 2012;Zhu et al, 2012).…”

A facile lead acetate conversion process for synthesis of high‐purity alpha‐lead oxide derived from spent lead‐acid batteries

“…It reached a maximum of 99.8 wt% at the n NaOH /n Pb ratio of 2.5. When the n NaOH /n Pb ratio was higher than 2.5, the excessive NaOH addition caused re‐dissolution of the synthesized PbO at higher pH …”

“…When the n NaOH /n Pb ratio was higher than 2.5, the excessive NaOH addition caused re-dissolution of the synthesized PbO at higher pH. 27,34 The effects of the n NaOH /n Pb ratio on the removals of Ba and Fe elements in the PbO synthesis step are shown in Fig. 6(b).…”

Structural study of a lead (II) organic complex – a key precursor in a green recovery route for spent lead‐acid battery paste

“…The proposed leaching reagents consist of fluorine‐containing chemicals, the emission of which would also lead to an additional environmental hazard. A lead hydrometallurgical process was reported recently, based on a hydrogen–lead oxide fuel cell …”

“…A lead hydrometallurgical process was reported recently, based on a hydrogen-lead oxide fuel cell. 11 A novel method of lead recycling by sodium citrate and citric acid has been developed. 12,13 In this process, spent lead paste was treated with an aqueous citric acid solution to produce insoluble lead citrate precursors, followed by their calcination to recycle PbO/Pb products from the starting material of PbO, PbO 2 and PbSO 4 .…”