Treatment Of Lead Battery Scrap At Stolberger Zink A.G. Aachen, West Germany

The consumption of lead for batteries in some western countries and Japan amounts to 870,000 T. annually. Battery life is 2-3 years. Therefore after a short time a considerable quantity of lead flows back to smelters. The production of lead from scrap batteries is discussed from the following points of view: 1. Separation of the acid contained in the batteries. 2. Separation of the components which are free of lead from the components containing lead, e.g. cases, separators. 3. Separation of metallic lead from lead compounds. 4. Avoidance of manual-work. A process has been developed and perfected at a plant, which began operation in 1965. The procedure consists essentially of the following steps: 1. Breaking the cases and removing the acid. 2. Crushing the batteries in an impact mill. 3. Screening off separators. 4. Separation of slurry. 5. Gravity separation of metal and organic material. The plant has a one-shift capacity of -24,000 T. batteries/year.