Recovering useful materials from spent lead-acid batteries

摘要

A hydrometallurigical process for recovering, in re-usable form, materials from exhausted lead-acid batteries such as polypropylene, ebonite, PVC, paste contg. Pb sulphatized cpds. and pure or alloyed metallic Pb, comprises the steps of (a) crushing the batteries, (b) sepn. of paste by wet screening, (c) sepn. of polypropylene by water flotation, (d) sepn. of ebonite and PVC from pure or alloyed metallic Pb by a first hydrodynamic sepn., (e) sepn. of ebonite from PVC by a second hydrodynamic sepn., (f) desulphatisation of the paste by carbonation with Na carbonate to give pure Na sulphate, (g) recovering the pure Na sulphate and (h) recovering pure metallic Pb from the carbonated paste by electro extraction.