title: Final treatment of spent batteries by thermal plasma.
abstract: The growth in the use of wireless devices, notebooks and other electronic products has led to an ever increasing demand for batteries, leading to these products being commonly found in inappropriate locations, with adverse effects on the environment and human health. Due to political pressure and according to the environmental legislation which regulates the destination of spent batteries, in several countries the application of reverse logistics to hazardous waste is required. Thus, some processes have been developed with the aim of providing an appropriate destination for these products. In this context, a method for the treatment of spent batteries using thermal plasma technology is proposed herein. The efficiency of the method was tested through the determination of parameters, such as total organic carbon, moisture content and density, as well as analysis by atomic absorption spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray fluorescence using samples before and after inertization. The value obtained for the density was 19.15%. The TOC results indicated 8.05% of C in the batteries prior to pyrolisis and according to the XRF analysis Fe, S, Mn and Zn were the most stable elements in the samples (highest peaks). The efficiency of the paste inertization was 97% for zinc and 99.74% for manganese. The results also showed that the most efficient reactor was that with the DC transferred arc plasma torch and quartzite sand positively influenced by the vitrification during the pyrolysis of the electrolyte paste obtain from batteries.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Engineering, University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul), Palhoça, SC CEP 80137-270, Brazil. Electronic address: anelise.cubas@unisul.br.
authors.forename: Anelise Leal Vieira
authors.initials: ALV
authors.lastname: Cubas
authors.affiliation: Environmental Engineering, University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul), Palhoça, SC CEP 80137-270, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marina de Medeiros
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Environmental Engineering, University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul), Palhoça, SC CEP 80137-270, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marília de Medeiros
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Production Enginering, University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul), Palhoça, SC CEP 80137-270, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Regina de Aguiar
authors.initials: ARA
authors.lastname: Dutra
authors.affiliation: Environmental Engineering, University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul), Palhoça, SC CEP 80137-270, Brazil.
authors.forename: Elisa Helena Siegel
authors.initials: EHS
authors.lastname: Moecke
authors.affiliation: INCT-Catalysis, Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianopolis, SC CEP 88040-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Haidi D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Fiedler
authors.affiliation: INCT-Catalysis, Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianopolis, SC CEP 88040-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Priscila
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bueno
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D008345:Manganese / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D058626:Plasma Gases; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D006256:Hazardous Waste; D058626:Plasma Gases; D008345:Manganese; D002244:Carbon; D015032:Zinc
keywords: Battery; Hazardous waste; Inertization; Pyrolysis; Thermal plasma