Everything You Need To Know To Find The Best Lead Recycling Plant

Your vehicle's battery may be on its last legs, but that doesn’t mean it should be headed for the landfill. Recycling spent car batteries is not only good for the environment, it’s also easier than you might think. Many states have laws in place that require battery retailers to accept used lead-acid batteries (the kind used in vehicles). There also are recycling centers around the country devoted to keeping batteries out of landfills. 

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So what happens to your battery once it’s dropped off with a dealer or at a recycling center? Read on to find out.   

What Is a Lead-Acid Battery? 

Lead-acid batteries (often called starting batteries) are the rechargeable batteries most commonly found in cars. They power everything from the ignition system to the electrical components. 

According to the EPA, 99% of rechargeable lead-acid batteries are recycled, making them the most recycled consumer good in the United States. 

To understand how lead-acid batteries are broken down during the recycling process, it’s helpful to know what is inside. A typical 12-volt lead-acid battery is made up of five components: 

• A positive plate covered with a paste of lead dioxide
• A negative plate made of sponge lead
• A separator that acts as insulating material between the two plates. It’s usually a micro-porous polyethylene synthetic material 
• Liquid electrolyte made up of water and sulphuric acid
• A polypropylene container

When the battery goes from a charged state to a discharged state, it’s called battery cycling. During discharge, energy is released from the battery and is recharged by the alternator. 

Many factors can reduce the lifespan of a battery, according to Popular Mechanics, but the average car battery should last about six years. That’s not the end of the road for your battery, though. 

Car Battery Recycling: Step by Step

Before starting the process of recycling a battery, fully charge the battery and perform comprehensive testing to see if it can be refurbished. Batteries that still have life left in them go through an extensive refurbishment process and return to the end user clean, pristine and ready to run. 

If the battery is deemed unusable, it begins its second life journey through the recycling process. 

Step 1: Sorting

Lead-acid batteries differ from alkaline (household) and lithium-ion (electronics) batteries in their makeup and components. Each type of battery has its own recycling process. Lithium-ion batteries are especially dangerous and pose significant fire hazards if they are not handled properly. 

Step 2: Separating Components

After sorting, the lead batteries travel into a machine where rotating hammers smash them into small pieces. A screen filters out the battery acid before the metal and plastic components continue down the line, where they are submerged in a holding tank filled with water. The lead and other metal pieces sink and the plastic floats to the top. The plastic is skimmed and separated leaving three distinct components: battery acid, metal and plastic. Every part of the battery can be recycled. 

Battery Acid

Using a chemical compound, the acid is neutralized, turning it into water. Before sending the water into the sewer system, it’s cleaned and tested to ensure it meets regulatory clean water standards. Battery acid also may be converted to sodium sulfate and used in other types of manufacturing, like glass and textile. 

Plastic

The plastic is washed and dried, then sent to a plastic recycling plant where it is melted and formed into plastic pellets. 

Lead

For more information, please visit Lead Recycling Plant.

The metal pieces make their way into a furnace for up to 10 hours where they’re melted down into a liquid. Lighter metals float to the surface of the melted lead and are siphoned off. Molten lead is purified once again and poured into bar-shaped molds.

Step 3: Back to the Start

Recycled plastic pellets and lead can be remelted to create new car batteries, starting the cycle from the beginning. A single lead bar has enough lead to make up to three new batteries. 

Not Ready to Recycle? Refurbish

A battery with life still in it is fully charged and tested to determine if it meets refurbishment standards. If it does not, clients can purchase a new battery at a reduced rate while their old one heads into recycling. 

If a battery is determined to be refurbish-ready, it’s repaired and rebuilt on site. The process ends with a thorough cleaning, which includes all terminals and casings, before being returned in pristine, working condition.

When people look to sell scrap metal, they often ask what the deal is with heavy metals and toxicity? Well, as we’ve mentioned, no single heavy metal is the same as they all have their own quirks and properties. Lead, however, is actually a highly recyclable heavy metal. This is why we’re going to be spending today’s blog looking a bit closer at the properties of. Welcome to lead recycling 101, class.

The fundamentals of lead

Lead is a naturally abundant metal and has been used by humans since ancient times. It’s even sometimes referred to as “the first metal” – even though other metals such as gold and silver were used around the same times. It was actually used in everyday items from the time of the Romans up until the 19th century when its high toxicity was discovered. It is considered a transitional metal and has an atomic number of 82 – which is the highest atomic number a stable element can have.

It’s poisonous

Lead is a dangerous and highly toxic metal. It affects the central nervous system and replaces other chemicals and metals in your body which can interfere with certain genes. Babies and children are particularly susceptible to its effects as it can inhibit growth. It’s also a cumulative poison – and seeing as there’s no defined safe exposure level, things can get pretty serious if you’re constantly exposed in even small doses.

It’s highly recyclable

Lead is essentially 100% recyclable. Not only that, but it doesn’t lose any of its properties when it is recycled, making its demand and value highly desirable. The majority of lead that is recycled comes from batteries. In fact, 99% of lead batteries are recycled in the U.S – making them the most recycled consumer product in the country.

In addition to batteries, lead sheets are commonly used in radiation shields in the healthcare industry (just think about how Superman can’t use his ­x-ray vision to see through lead-lined objects – same sort of thing).

Not only does recycling lead conserve natural resources – but it also drastically reduces the amount of lead that is released into the environment, as the alternative is lead-products being dumped into a landfill. If this occurs, then the lead could contaminate groundwater. People who’re looking to sell scrap metal such as lead should strive to do so instead of throwing them out.

In terms of energy, recycling lead uses 35 – 40% less energy than what’s used in the process of obtaining virgin lead making it highly efficient. Approximately 90% of scrap lead in Australia comes from lead-acid batteries that are found in petrol and diesel vehicles.

The recycling process

The recycling process for lead is not unlike other metal recycling processes. Lead-based products are broken up at the smelter and the lead is separated from the rest of the components where they are then smelted and refined. The refined lead is then used in the production of new materials.

Lead can also be formed into ingots which – depending on what they’re going to be used for next – can vary in purity, size, weight and quantity. The fact that it can be recycled infinitely is another reason why it’s so desirable. If you’re looking to sell scrap metal and have an old car battery, for example, then we highly recommend that you bring it in to be recycled.

Are you looking to sell scrap metal in Melbourne?

Whether it’s lead-based products or just pieces of aluminium in your backyard – copper wiring or an old car motor – Metal Men Recycling will pay you for your scrap metal. Our titan facility is equipped with all the bells and whistles to efficiently and safely recycle scrap metal to be repurposed in other industries.

We offer free bins that come in several sizes to suit your needs – whether it’s for your home or business. We’ll even pick the bins up whenever you’re done! The weighted bridges at our facility can help you determine the exact weight of your scrap metal to make your job easier when you come to us.

So, if you’re looking to sell scrap metal – or would like to know a little bit more about our services – then please give us a call on 03 . You may also contact us via the enquiry form found on our website.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Acid Production System.