Rechargeable Batteries And Its Effects

The United States is the second largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, and yet is doing very little to fix this startling statistic (Dennis). The US’ reliance upon outdated energy sources continues to harm both the environment and the economy by producing millions of tonnes of pollution every year and costing the government billions of dollars (“Fact Sheet: Clean Power Plan”). Fossil fuels have been the main energy sources in America since the industrial revolution, and it is time to make a change. Renewable energy is energy harnessed from sources like the sun, wind, or water, and has little to no negative effects on the environment (“Renewable Energy Technology Basics”). The United States needs to integrate and increase the use of these types of energy across the country, as well as implement positive environmental policies, to prevent further pollution of the earth and combat the effects of climate change.

Every year it is estimated that 1.8 million batteries are not properly disposed of. When this happens, it poses a major threat to the ecosystem. Heavy metals used in batteries are toxic to humans and they can leach into our water system. Lead and nickel-cadmium (Nd-CD) can only enter the human body by inhalation or ingestion, but mercury can even be absorbed through the skin. Federal and state laws and regulations have been implemented and enforced to ensure heavy metal batteries are properly disposed of and recycled.

Gaidos begins by using statements made by material scientist George Crabtree of the Argonne national laboratory to acknowledge the accomplishments of the more traditional lithium-ion battery, and explain how new batteries could improve upon them. Lithium-ion batteries did alter individual electronics in an enormous way but they are limited in larger

While lithium batteries are not specifically included or exempted in the hazardous waste regulations, these batteries have some characteristics of toxic hazardous wastes. The reason for the uncertainty regarding the toxic characteristics of lithium batteries is because they can be effectively disposed as non-hazardous waste by discharging them fully. When completely charged or partially discharged, lithium batteries can be regarded as reactive hazardous waste due to the considerable amounts of un-reacted lithium in the battery ("Product Sheet", 2007).

The possibilities offered by this new type of battery would indeed be considerable. From the smartphone to the tablet, via laptop, GPS or car, all energy consuming mobile power products and requiring regular refills could benefit from the advantages of this new combination. Moreover, these batteries could also be used at much larger scale than the charging alone phones or computers and storing electricity produced by renewable sources such as wind turbines or solar and tidal power.

Atlas Batteries has been a part of Cruddy Creek since 1970. Their main objectives were lead-acid batteries recycling and now also recycling of nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries. They are a potential source of cadmium contamination because of their methodology of disposal of sulfuric acid via an open, unlined pit which allows for chemicals to seep into the sediments at a much faster and easier rate. In addition, Atlas Batteries has a direct effluent discharge into Cruddy Creek that carries contaminants of concern such as cadmium, nickel, lead, and zinc.

A lot of information from different sources was gathered with the purpose of comparing different Li-ion batteries mechanisms, cathode and anode materials, structure and fabrication procedures, and their respective advantages and disadvantages.

Researchers are charged up about biobatteries, contrivances able to harness prevalent biological processes to engender electricity. Most biobatteries are unable to engender sizably voluminous amounts of potency, but researchers recently developed a prototype version that has the potential to be lighter and more potent than the batteries typically found in today's portable electronic contrivances, including smartphones.

Experiment 4 required multiple electrical components, diodes, resistors, a capacitor, and more, purchased for the quarter long class and that are most likely disposed at the end of the quarter. Despite their longer life cycles, the diodes used in this lab were only used twice this quarter. According to the Commoner’s law of ecology, “everything must go somewhere,” and these components, at the end of their life cycles or at the end of the quarter, parts of these components will go to the landfill; diodes are often disposed in landfills, but metal parts of resistors are recycled by metal recycling facilities [8]. According to the SLO county independent study, in comparison to recycling, landfilling causes more environmental burdens, such as larger ecological toxicity

The nickel cadmium battery had been the only option for modern electronics for many years. It was a great improvement over carbon batteries.

b) Recycling household and car batteries keeps heavy metals such as mercury, lithium and cadmium from being released into our air and water. Heavy metals, when consumed by people and other animals, cause numerous health problems and diseases.

The use of Cobalt, a rare Earth metal, in today's technology has created vast problems among the areas in which it is mined. 60% of the cobalt on Earth is mined from the Congo locate in Africa; however, the Congo is a very impoverished and corrupt country. Many of the miners, including children, are forced to work long hours, and in very dangerous environments without the necessary protection. Cobalt, an essential piece of technology used to charge lithium batteries, allows for devices to become smaller and smaller, thus important for this era of technology. For example, the average car has between 10-20 pounds of cobalt; whereas a smart phone contains 5-10 grams. Since the discovery of child labors and unsafe work conditions in the congo,

alkaline cells, are available in standard sizes such as AA, C, and D, and they are a fast-moving

More efficient and durable batteries are needed to satisfy the requirements of new technology developments.

Large solar plants occupy a vast area of land and threaten wildlife because one square kilometer is needed to produce 40 megawatts of energy from solar power.4 British scientists are attempting to improve the effectiveness of photovoltaic cells by utilizing “copper indium diselenide and cadmium telluride to find an affordable and more sustainable way to make solar panels to convert light energy into electricity.”5