An investigation of heavy metal content from disposable batteries of non-U.S. origin from Butler County, Ohio: An environmental assessment of a segment of a waste stream

A sample set of 50 AA size disposable batteries, dominantly from China and other non-U.S. sources were investigated to assess the nature of heavy metal concentrations to determine if such batteries are of environmental concern. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry investigation indicates that all batteries analyses contain Ni, Cu, As, Sr, and Ba and most of the batteries have detectable quantities of Pb (92%), Cr (88%) and Co (88%). Roughly half of the batteries analyzed contain detectable quantities of Hg (52%) and V (56%). Tl occurs in 64% of batteries but at very low concentrations (0.1–1.1 ppm). Cd and Se were less common occurring in only 8% and 12% of batteries respectively. Some samples are arguably low in heavy metal content with 28% of the batteries having a sum of less than 100 ppm of the analyzed metals. The origin of the heavy metal concentrations is interpreted to be largely from original geologic sources of material. Scanning electron microscopy indicates that heavy metals are largely in solid solution in the phases in the battery materials and rarely exist as discrete particulate materials and suggests that mechanical separation of heavy metals for recycling purposes is therefore not feasible.Although batteries from several sources have heavy metal concentrations of concern, batteries from China are generally characterized by having relatively high heavy metal content. These products are introduced into waste streams in countries where respective domestic manufacturers must meet a much higher environmental standard. Results of this study suggest an environmental global standard should be developed and the data presented here may serve as a reference for development of such a standard. The use of cleaner geologic source materials and manufacturing activities is suggested.

► The article provides new heavy metal data on a representative battery population.
► The article is of interest to engineers, scientists, and policy workers.
► The paper is more extensive than other existing work in many aspects.