title: Leaching of spent lead acid battery paste components by sodium citrate and acetic acid.
abstract: A sustainable method, with minimal pollution and low energy cost in comparison with the conventional smelting methods, is proposed for treating components of spent lead-acid battery pastes in aqueous organic acid(s). In this study, PbO, PbO2, and PbSO4, the three major components in a spent lead paste, were individually reacted with a mixture of aqueous sodium citrate and acetic acid solution. Pure lead citrate precursor of Pb3(C6H5O7)2 · 3H2O is the only product crystallized in each leaching experiment. Conditions were optimized for individual lead compounds which were then used as the basis for leaching real industrial spent paste. In this work, efficient leaching process is achieved and raw material cost is reduced by using aqueous sodium citrate and acetic acid, instead of aqueous sodium citrate and citric acid as reported in a pioneering hydrometallurgical method earlier. Acetic acid is not only cheaper than citric acid but is also more effective in aiding dissolution of the lead compounds thus speeding up the leaching process in comparison with citric acid. Lead citrate is readily crystallized from the aqueous solution due to its low solubility and can be combusted to directly produce leady oxide as a precursor for making new battery pastes.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, PR China.
authors.forename: Xinfeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Xiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Jiakuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Linxia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Jianwen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Danni
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiaojuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: R Vasant
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D002951:Citrates / Q000737:chemistry*; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007854:Lead / Q000737:chemistry; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry; D000077559:Sodium Citrate; D012995:Solubility; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D002951:Citrates; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D007220:Industrial Waste; D010087:Oxides; D000077559:Sodium Citrate; D007854:Lead; C047365:lead oxide; D019342:Acetic Acid