Are Lithium Ion BatteriesSustainable to the Environment? -(II)

In our previous article, we spoke about the importance of recycling the valuable batteries, but while doing so, various costs are involved and it is observed that the cost of logistics is higher than the cost of recovering the scrap. But aren?t the social and environmental factors important, while recycling the battery? Lets read on to find out how Lithium Ion batteries are vital, considering their recyclable nature and find out if any countries are sincerely paying heed to the recycling of batteries?

What is the process of recycling old batteries?
Old batteries are shredded with the help of hammer mill, breaking out the components- aluminum, cooper, steel and separating them easily. Larger batteries that might still hold a charge are cryogenically frozen with liquid nitrogen before being hammered and shredded; at -325 degrees Fahrenheit, the reactivity of the cells is reduced to zero. For extracting lithium, the battery chambers are flooded and dissolved into lithium salts, which are filtered out and used to produce lithium carbonate. The remaining sludge is processed to recover cobalt, which is used to make battery electrodes. About 95 percent of the process is completely automated.

The significance of metals used in Lithium Ion batteries: -

Cobalt is very important to human life and health, as Vitamin B-12 contains cobalt. Besides, cobalt is used in various decorative arts-ceramics, pottery and industrial applications- production of jet engines and gas turbine engines for energy generation.

Copper is used in building construction, power generation and transmission, electronic product manufacturing, and the production of industrial machinery and transportation vehicles.
Nickel is mainly used to produce stainless steel in order to result into a stable, ductile, corrosion resistant and an austenitic structure. It is largely used in domestic kitchen equipment and utensils.
Iron ore largely contributes to the production of steel. Steel is used for construction, automobiles, and other forms of transportation such as trucks, trains and train tracks.

Slowly, the importance of these batteries is coming to light and many countries have become aware of the effectiveness of the recyclable batteries. There are many companies- Umicore, Toxco, working in the recycling sectors of Lithium Ion batteries.

The European Union has already restored to protection measures concerning battery recycling, as they have passed a bbattery recycling law and the vendors are required to reclaim for recycling a minimum of 25% of the batteries they manufacture and sell. Taking into account, the protection measures concerning battery recycling by European Union, how many more countries would go ahead and take the battery recycling initiative in their stride?

Are Lithium Ion Batteries Sustainable to the Environment? (I)

Lithium Ion batteries are used on a large scale to power portable electronics and implanted medical devices mainly ? cell phones, pacemakers, watches along with numerous other devices, such as MP3 players, calculators, remote car locks, battery backup systems in computers etc. The use of Smart grid technology for efficient electricity generation has been facilitated with the arrival of Lithium Ion (Li-ion) batteries as Li-ion cells can now be used to power the house with clean electricity, during days when energy is not being generated. In addition, considering the rising pollution levels, electric vehicles are now being designed with the help of these cells. These electric vehicles are truly "green", both emission-free in operation and sustainable in design as they work on batteries that can be recycled.

According to the experts, Lithium Ion batteries have been categorized as non-hazardous waste and are safe for disposal in the normal municipal waste stream. In comparison with other types of batteries that include toxic metals such as cadmium, the metals in lithium ion batteries - cobalt, copper, nickel and iron - are considered safe for landfills or incinerators.

However, dumping Lithium Ion batteries is a waste of valuable metals, as they can be replenished and reused. The researchers estimate that around 8,000 and 9,000 tons of cobalt is used in the manufacture of lithium ion batteries each year. Similarly other important metals (copper, nickel and iron) also contribute to the production of lithium ion batteries These metals found in Lithium Ion batteries are extremely significant, and its sustainable use and re-use is essential.

However, it still seems difficult to manage the battery waste because the scrap value of batteries doesn't amount to much, but in contrast the cost of collecting, sorting and shipping used batteries to a recycler exceeds the scrap value, so batteries tend to be thrown away. Sadly, the market does not consider the social cost of disposal, nor does it recycle precious metals such as cobalt, having a much lower economic and environmental cost than mining raw materials.

Shouldn't social and environmental factors be put ahead while recycling batteries, rather than giving undue importance to the costing of logistics?

Read further to know how Lithium Ion batteries are vital, considering their recyclable nature and find out if any countries are sincerely paying heed to the recycling of batteries?

Lithium air batteries

As an alternative to conventional vehicles, electric vehicles are one of the promises of the future. Because they cause less pollution and not dependent on fossil fuels, electric vehicles are a viable option for transport over the coming years. However, not everything is as simple as it seems.

In recent years, a number of studies have been conducted to be able to judge the popularity of the vehicles electrical. And while there are many people who would love to buy these Green cars also there are a lot of people who prefers the traditional gasoline vehicles.

Why? Well, the answer is quite simple: EVs have no conventional speed of vehicles , have less autonomy and there is also a lack of facilities for cargo. But perhaps the most important factor is the cost, even with the tax facilities in many countries is the purchase of an EV, many people cannot afford them.

To partly offset these problems, scientists have developed litio-aire batteries for electric vehicles. Thanks to the implementation of this technology be could, for example, provide a better range of autonomy for so electric vehicles can travel longer distances.

The litio-aire batteries used two electrolytes: a metal (lithium) and the other is oxygen. Now, generally each battery has an anode and a cathode. When chemical reactions take place, the electric current flows through the battery. In the litio-aire batteries, there is a cathode, oxygen. The batteries are operated to come into contact with the oxygen present in the atmosphere. That allows to be light in weight.

When they are commercially available and if all goes as planned, the batteries of litio-aire bring us closer to a future better and greener. Lithium air batteries have the ability to store a huge amount of energy: up to 5,000 watt-hours per kilogram.

This is even more than the hydrogen fuel cells. The batteries of litio-aire is estimated to have capacity of up to five to ten times more energy storage than a lithium-ion battery. Thus, with these batteries in the car, there will be need to recharge the vehicle each one few hours in case that you want to travel great distances.

The main difficulties of the lithium air batteries

The batteries of litio-aire have their share of disadvantages. Although some assume that once it succeeds in passing, they probably revolucionarán have an EV.

Firstly, the remains of the reactions accumulate in the cathode in the batteries of litio-aire. This makes the passage of air difficult.

Secondly, the automotive industry itself is so great, that a large amount of lithium would have to be used to provide a massive production EVs with battery litio-aire. This is a gigantic task. Thirdly, the manufacture of the litio-aire batteries cost a fortune, and it is still difficult to such spending and investment is seen as profitable commercial eyes business's most important automobiles of the world.