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Recharging Alkaline Batteries
Dr Brad Johnson from Atlanta company ATG explains how the company has developed an innovative new method of recycling alkaline batteries commonly used in small electronic devices found in homes and businesses.
In recent years battery technology has quietly revolutionized the way we live. Many of us have integrated pagers cellular phones laptop computers and other battery operated devices into our daily routine. With each passing year new advances in battery technology lead the way for more of these beloved gadgets. However what happens to the batteries at the end of the useful life has been an ongoing struggle.
Although used alkaline batteries account for less than 1% of solid-waste generated they account for a large amount of the toxic metals sent to landfills each year.
Now an innovative method of recycling batteries has been introduced by American company ATG. The Battery Recycler is an industrial/commercial battery recharger for alkaline batteries such as the familiar Duracell Sanyo and Energizer brands.. Utilizing a newly patented technology the Battery Recycler safely and effectively recharges standard alkaline batteries (sizes AAA AA C D and 9V) numerous times. This means that batteries that have been used once and thrown away can now be used over and over thus reducing the amount of batteries sent to recycling centers or landfills.
The operation of a battery is very simple. The energy in a battery is contained in two energy storage tanks called electrodes. When batteries are doing work this energy is being transferred from one storage tank to the other. To explain it differently imagine two water storage tanks with one tank being on top of a large hill and the other one resting at the bottom of the hill. As water passes through a series of small pipes down the hill it produces work. This is similar to the operation of a hydroelectric power plant. Once all of the water is at the bottom of the hill the battery is dead. In order to recharge the battery the water must be pumped to the tank at the top of the hill.
In a battery there is a small piece of plastic between the electrodes called a separator. The separator serves two purposes. It both insulates the two electrodes from one another and it allows a solution called the electrolyte to pass from one side to the other through thousands of small channels. The electrolyte is actually a special liquid that carries the electrical energy between the storage tanks.
For most battery systems there is little or no problem transferring the energy between these storage tanks. However for the alkaline battery this is an entirely different story. The process of recharging alkaline batteries produces small particles called dendrites. The dendrites clog up the channels in the separator so that the electrolyte cannot pass through. Once enough of these channels get blocked the battery stops working.
Although charging standard alkaline batteries has been regarded as impractical infeasible or even dangerous The Ingenius technology substantially reduces the formation of these dendrites during the charging of the battery. Therefore the channels are kept relatively clear and the battery can be recharged numerous times. In addition with the channels clear the battery does not heat up while charging making this process very safe.
In comparison alkaline batteries specifically designed to be rechargeable use a different approach to accomplish the same goal. Among other things rechargeable alkaline batteries contain very expensive materials to keep the dendrites out of the channels of the separator so they will not get clogged. These components take up space inside the battery and leave the rechargeable alkaline battery with only about half of the capacity of a standard alkaline battery.
According to Ingenius the Battery Recycler's performance has been verified by over a million cell hours of battery tests and by three independent testing laboratories. These tests prove that the recharging process can restore very close to (and very often more than) 100% power to a battery on the first few recharges!
Alkaline batteries represent approximately 200 000t of the solid waste in the US alone. Batteries also account for a large amount of the toxic metals sent to landfills. For example more than two-thirds of the lead 90 of the mercury and over half of the cadmium generated as solid waste came from battery disposal according to the most recent US figures available which relate to 1994.
In terms of payback which is of course dependent on battery usage it is likely that a typical small company can pay off the investment in less than six months allowing significant battery savings in the first year alone.
In addition to helping companies establish internal recycling programs Ingenius is currently in the process of licensing battery recycling centers across the US. At these centers consumers and businesses can exchange their discharged alkaline batteries for tested recharged ones at discounted prices substantially reducing alkaline battery waste
Dr Brad Johnson from Atlanta company ATG explains how the company has developed an innovative new method of recycling alkaline batteries commonly used in small electronic devices found in homes and businesses.
In recent years battery technology has quietly revolutionized the way we live. Many of us have integrated pagers cellular phones laptop computers and other battery operated devices into our daily routine. With each passing year new advances in battery technology lead the way for more of these beloved gadgets. However what happens to the batteries at the end of the useful life has been an ongoing struggle.
Although used alkaline batteries account for less than 1% of solid-waste generated they account for a large amount of the toxic metals sent to landfills each year.
Now an innovative method of recycling batteries has been introduced by American company ATG. The Battery Recycler is an industrial/commercial battery recharger for alkaline batteries such as the familiar Duracell Sanyo and Energizer brands.. Utilizing a newly patented technology the Battery Recycler safely and effectively recharges standard alkaline batteries (sizes AAA AA C D and 9V) numerous times. This means that batteries that have been used once and thrown away can now be used over and over thus reducing the amount of batteries sent to recycling centers or landfills.
The operation of a battery is very simple. The energy in a battery is contained in two energy storage tanks called electrodes. When batteries are doing work this energy is being transferred from one storage tank to the other. To explain it differently imagine two water storage tanks with one tank being on top of a large hill and the other one resting at the bottom of the hill. As water passes through a series of small pipes down the hill it produces work. This is similar to the operation of a hydroelectric power plant. Once all of the water is at the bottom of the hill the battery is dead. In order to recharge the battery the water must be pumped to the tank at the top of the hill.
In a battery there is a small piece of plastic between the electrodes called a separator. The separator serves two purposes. It both insulates the two electrodes from one another and it allows a solution called the electrolyte to pass from one side to the other through thousands of small channels. The electrolyte is actually a special liquid that carries the electrical energy between the storage tanks.
For most battery systems there is little or no problem transferring the energy between these storage tanks. However for the alkaline battery this is an entirely different story. The process of recharging alkaline batteries produces small particles called dendrites. The dendrites clog up the channels in the separator so that the electrolyte cannot pass through. Once enough of these channels get blocked the battery stops working.
Although charging standard alkaline batteries has been regarded as impractical infeasible or even dangerous The Ingenius technology substantially reduces the formation of these dendrites during the charging of the battery. Therefore the channels are kept relatively clear and the battery can be recharged numerous times. In addition with the channels clear the battery does not heat up while charging making this process very safe.
In comparison alkaline batteries specifically designed to be rechargeable use a different approach to accomplish the same goal. Among other things rechargeable alkaline batteries contain very expensive materials to keep the dendrites out of the channels of the separator so they will not get clogged. These components take up space inside the battery and leave the rechargeable alkaline battery with only about half of the capacity of a standard alkaline battery.
According to Ingenius the Battery Recycler's performance has been verified by over a million cell hours of battery tests and by three independent testing laboratories. These tests prove that the recharging process can restore very close to (and very often more than) 100% power to a battery on the first few recharges!
Alkaline batteries represent approximately 200 000t of the solid waste in the US alone. Batteries also account for a large amount of the toxic metals sent to landfills. For example more than two-thirds of the lead 90 of the mercury and over half of the cadmium generated as solid waste came from battery disposal according to the most recent US figures available which relate to 1994.
In terms of payback which is of course dependent on battery usage it is likely that a typical small company can pay off the investment in less than six months allowing significant battery savings in the first year alone.
In addition to helping companies establish internal recycling programs Ingenius is currently in the process of licensing battery recycling centers across the US. At these centers consumers and businesses can exchange their discharged alkaline batteries for tested recharged ones at discounted prices substantially reducing alkaline battery waste