Development and use of a new system for environmentally clean recycling of lead battery scrap

A process for recycling the scrap that arises during battery manufacture is described. The reclaimed lead compounds are used to produce new lead batteries with improved physical and electrochemical parameters. The principle of the method is based on a thermochemical reaction in which the tribasic lead sulfate content of the scrap is converted into tetrabasic lead sulfate at temperatures higher than 400 °C. The thermochemical reactivation and the addition of given amounts of tetrabasic lead sulfate improve not only the cycle life but also the cold-cranking performance and gram/Ampere hour value of the batteries.