Recycling

Lead acid batteries are closed loop recycled, meaning each part of the old batteries are recycled into a new battery. It is estimated that 98% of all lead acid batteries are recycled. The battery is broken apart in a hammer mill, a machine that hammers the battery into pieces. The broken battery pieces are then placed into a vat where the lead and heavy materials fall to the bottom and the plastic floats. At this point the polypropylene pieces are scooped away and the liquids are drawn off leaving the lead and heavy metals. Each of the materials goes into a different recycling “stream”.

PLASTIC : Polypropylene pieces are washed, blown dry and sent to a plastic recycler where the pieces are melted together into an almost liquid state. The molten plastic is put through an extruder that produces small plastic pellets of a uniform size. The pellets are put back into manufacturing battery cases and the process begins again.

LEAD : Lead grids, lead oxide and other lead parts are cleaned and heated within smelting furnaces. The molten melted lead is then poured into ingot molds. After a few minutes the impurities float to the top of the still molten lead in the ingot molds. These impurities are scraped away and the ingots are left to cool. When the ingots are cool, they’re removed from the molds and sent to the battery manufacturers where they’re melted and used in the production of new batteries.

SULFURIC ACID : Old battery acid can be handled in two ways: 1. The acid is neutralized with an industrial compound similar to household baking soda. Neutralization turns the acid into water. The water is then treated, cleaned, tested in a wastewater treatment plant to be sure it meets clean water standards. 2. The acid is processed and converted to sodium sulfate, an odorless white powder that’s used in laundry detergent, glass and textile manufacturing.

Alkaline batteries (AAA, AA, C, D, 9V, etc.) are recycled! We use a specialized “room temperature”, mechanical separation process to recycle alkaline batteries. The alkaline battery components are separated into three end products. These items are a zinc and manganese concentrate, steel and paper, plastic and brass fractions. All of these products are put back into the marketplace for reuse in new products to offset the cost of the recycling process. These batteries are 100% recycled.

Prior to the recycling process, plastics are separated from the metal components. The metals are then recycled via a high temperature metal reclamation (HTMR) process during which all of the high temperature metals contained within the battery feedstock (i.e., nickel, iron, manganese and chromium) report to the molten-metal bath within the furnace, amalgamate, then solidify during the casting operation. The low-melt metals (i.e., zinc) separate during the melting. The metals and plastic are then returned to be reused in new products. These batteries are 100% recycled.

Prior to the recycling process, plastics are separated from the metal components. The metals are then recycled via a high temperature metal reclamation (HTMR) process during which all of the high temperature metals contained within the battery feedstock (i.e., nickel, iron, manganese and chromium) report to the molten-metal bath within the furnace, amalgamate, then solidify during the casting operation. The low-melt metals (i.e., zinc and cadmium) separate during the melting. The metals and plastic are then returned to be reused in new products. These batteries are 100% recycled.

Prior to the recycling process, the plastics are removed from the cell portion. The cells go through a drying process to remove moisture (potassium hydroxide electrolyte and H2O) from the cells. The drying process heats the cells in a time and temperature-controlled manner via a proprietary and proven formula. Once these cells are dried, they become a valuable feedstock for the stainless steel and/or alloy manufacturing industries. The metals and plastics are then returned to be reused in new products. These batteries are 100% recycled.