Reciclagem, tratamento e disposição segura das pilhas zinco-carbono e alcalinas de manganês

Abstract

The present work develops a methodology to recycle zinc-carbon and alkaline manganese dioxide cells. The battery and cells were collected in special containers at the Enginnering School - EE/UFMG. After collection, they were separated by hand to start the recycling process. The process involved the following steps: (i) the cells were mechanically separated into many components; (ii) electro-and thermometallurgic methods were used to recover metallic zinc; (iii) cells internal material were leached with diluted sulfuric acid to recover the zinc; (iv) from the leachate the zinc sulfate heptahidrate was crystallized; (v) the solid waste that resulted from the leaching process was solidified in a cement matrix; (vi) the solid waste was also encapsulated through a sintering process and a highly porositly material was obtained, which could be applied as lightweight aggregate; (vii) the other components of the cell, such as: brass, cardboard, plastic and carbon can be sent to recycling companies. The tests were executed in the laboratory and the results have shown that fusion, crystallization and vitrification were adequate to recover the valuable materials of the studied cells.