Recycling of waste batteries: a real underestimated environmental issue for the world (by Charlie An)
News article: The growing environmental risks of E-waste
Publication article: A review on recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries
As we always talk about the importance of developing renewable clean energy and expanding the scale to power the world with electricity, however, it seems that we all ignore a fact that waste battery itself is a big pollutant from our daily lives. According to the UN, in 2021 each person on the planet will produce on average 7.6 kg of e-waste, meaning that a massive 57.4 million tons will be generated worldwide. However, only 17.4% of this electronic waste are recorded to be properly collected, treated and recycled. This is a very serious problem and here are the following reasons. First, waste batteries contain precious materials (like Co and some rare-earth elements). The first step to recycle these expensive elements is to collect and concentrate them, otherwise these elements will "spread" across the world along with the waste batteries thrown everywhere and it is almost impossible to re-collect them any more. Second, waste batteries contain harmful and toxic substances as well, and many components are not biodegradable. Thus it is also important to restrict and limit their "destination" in order to have pollutants treatment centralized and isolated.
Collecting the waste batteries is not easy. Many initiatives are undertaken to tackle this growing concern, but none of them can be fully effective without the active role and correct education of consumers. Even if the waste batteries are collected, separating precious reusable elements from the toxic substances is not easy as we expect. The electronic devices nowadays become more numerous and but smaller, and the structure becomes very complex. The process including disassembly, element separation and recycle, and waste disposal will be extremely costly. The gap between the amount of e-waste generated and the portion that is properly recycled (only 17.4%) highlights the urgent need for collective action—especially among all stakeholders, including younger generations—to tackle this issue.
Given that e-waste contains both valuable materials and harmful toxins, efficient material recovery and safe recycling are crucial for both economic and ecological well-being. Thus, it is important to develop a circular mechanism for electronics. Before a new battery is made, how to recycle the battery material should be taken into consideration in advance. While e-waste is often framed as a post-consumer issue, it actually spans the entire lifecycle of a device. Various stakeholders—including designers, manufacturers, investors, traders, miners, raw material producers, consumers, and policymakers—must collaborate to reduce waste, preserve value within the system, and extend the functional lifespan of products through repair, recycling, and reuse. And it is also very important to develop a “tracking system” for waste battery and waste material. This can be later integrated into the manufacturing supplying chain and scale up the availability and quality of recycled materials which match the needs to electronics. With the right policy framework and strategic management, these efforts could also generate millions of stable and sustainable jobs worldwide.
I would rate this article 8/10, since it provides data which shows that the recycling percentage of waste batteries is really low, which raises our consciousness that we should take this into serious consideration. In addition, it also introduces a concept for battery material cycle and it also tells us what organizations can make a difference to this problem. However, I think the article can provide more information to us which is key to the recycling process. I would like to confess it by asking some questions.
First, there are different kinds of waste batteries, such as Li-ion, alkaline Zn, Pb-acid, etc. What are the amounts of these waste batteries generated every year? Which one are most? Should the government limit the diversity of battery in order to concentrate the resources for recycling? Or integrate the recycling “disassembly line” with the manufacturing assembly line?
Next, we should never ignore the expense of all different solutions. When we talk about protecting the environment, those people who work in the industry talk about "is it worthwhile". What is the estimated expense of recycling the batteries? How expensive is it if the designers develop new battery systems suitable for recycling? Will customers pay for the expense eventually?
If the author could provide some clues for these questions, we can have a clearer mind about the real difficulties of recycling waste battery materials.
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DeleteHey Charlie, this is a great article! I appreciate how they included essential data, like the recycling percentage. You mentioned that e-waste contains both valuable materials and harmful toxins—do you know which specific toxins are present? I believe understanding the types of toxins could highlight the urgency of finding better ways to manage e-waste and protect our environment.
ReplyDeleteHi Ernest, this is very good question, but very complicated. It really depends on which type of battery we are talking about. For Li ion battery, Co itself and electrolyte LiPF6 and carbonate solvent is toxic. For lead-acid battery, Pb and H2SO4 are both toxic. That is why I have a idea on the top, should we limit battery type to only one? In this case, the toxins type are also limited to few things.
DeleteThere have been a lot of discussion on lithium-ion battery recycling, but I'm more interested in primary battery recycling or disposal. I think Li-ion batteries are more likely built-in in electronics, therefore people will be more considerate disposing batteries along with the devices. But primary batteries can be removed and disposed easily, and possibly more toxic if they contain heavy metals. Is there a well-established recycling industry for primary batteries? Can those materials be reused or are they simply disposed as waste ultimately?
ReplyDeleteThat is another very good point. Primary battery still has 40% in market share, and most of them is Zn alkaline battery. Compared with secondary battery, the most harmful thing in Zn alkaline battery is KOH electrolyte. It is very corrosive, but since it can be neutralized by CO2 in the air, the industry does not care very much about its disposal. Until recently, the battery production is increasing 5% each year, people started to develop a crashing-mechanical separation process to recycle elements from Zn alkaline battery. However, there is no clue showing that the separated substances can be reused to new product with very low expense
DeleteTagging onto this, do you think it would be possible to incentivize recycling common batteries (car, computer, AA, AAA, CR2032, etc) through a "battery redemption value" or something similar. I'm playing off the idea of "container redemption value" which is done in some states to incentivize the recycling of aluminum cans in beer, seltzer water, soda cans, etc. The idea is you pay 5-10 cents per can on top of the store price, and that charge is returned to you when you recycle the cans at a designated spot. Do you think this could be put in effect to help curve the large fraction of batteries that are improperly disposed?
DeleteI am with you John. You know, apple is doing this way. They have a program which recycles our old phones when we buy new ones, and the old phone can deduct some price of the new one. But sometimes, if the phone is half broken and not that functional, apple take away your phone, but pay you nothing. For me, even if apple pay me nothing, i just give my broken phone to them. Many people will not do that. So some money paying to customers is an encouraging way, but most useful way is let people realize protecting environment is important
DeleteI think this was a very interesting article. Batteries are something that all of us use in some way at least daily, and often we forget about what happens to a battery and it’s materials after we are done using it. I never really thought about the hazards of the precious metals being scattered globally. I know there are many different types of batteries; however, is there a preferential “less toxic” type of battery or are they all for the most part equal in their danger upon disposal?
ReplyDeleteHi seth, thanks for your question, I would say the the primary Zn alkaline battery is less toxic. Compared with secondary battery, the most harmful thing in Zn alkaline battery is KOH electrolyte. It is very corrosive, but since it can be neutralized by CO2 in the air, the industry does not care very much about its disposal. Until recently, the battery production is increasing 5% each year, people started to develop a crashing-mechanical separation process to recycle elements from Zn alkaline battery. But i think primary battery is less and less useful now, since its life is too short. We can either pay attention to recycle rechargable toxic batteries, or design some new things to modify the toxicity.
DeleteI think this article raises an important point and often overlooked issue about the environmental impact of waste batteries. I appreciate how it connects the low recycling rate to the broader challenge of building a sustainable circular economy. It is a good reminder that clean energy solutions must also consider the full lifecycle of their components. Which one of the waste batteries like Li-ion, alkaline, and lead-acid batteries is most challenging to recycle and why?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your question Kanna. I would say Li ion one is most chanllenging. since making this battery require very strict environment. No air no moisture. Thus if the recycled materials can be used, the process should be also in no air no moisture. It is very expensive if we really do in that, I would say.
DeleteWhile recycling batteries is more important, I was wondering about cultural consumer practices surrounding electronic waste. I know that the average consumer doesn’t think about the processing of different kinds of waste (let alone that there are different kinds), so do you have any suggestions about how to educate consumers on electronic waste (i.e. what it is and where to dispose of it)?
ReplyDeleteBryson's idea is very good! Educating people is most useful. I think the first thing we should care about is building a trash can for waste battery and it should sit next to coke can trash can, and waste paper trash can. For integrated battery devices like phones and airpods, every electronic store should be open to help recycle them, just like our USPS store drop off, then some men will take them away periodically.
DeleteI really like your point about developing a circular mechanism for electronics, it's such a smart and necessary idea. By thinking about recycling and material recovery from the very beginning, we can reduce waste, protect the environment, and save valuable resources. What do you think is the biggest challenge in building this circular system? Are there any current tracking systems for waste materials that are effective?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your question Xulin. I think there are multiple biggest problem. people do not feel that this is a problem, so we do not recycle many wastes. And there is no unified tracking system since battery suppliers are so many. we do really need to work on this if we want to solve this problem
DeleteI really appreciated how you explained not only why properly dealing with batteries is so important, but also how difficult it truly is, because I never knew what was needed to properly recycle and reuse batteries. I think it's a really interesting concept that as batteries become more intricate and complex, dealing with them following their use becomes so as well. Do you think there is a tradeoff between the two where it is worth it to have a harder waste to deal with/recycle as long as the battery is more efficient/useful?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your question Jack. I think this is a very good point. I still think the performance of battery can be realized by easy design. We just need to think about how to integrate the recycling process into the battery raw material supply chain. Or we can try to develop and design a better system by replacing the current substance with similar structure
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