Why Are Old Lead-acid Batteries Being “Recycled At a High Price,” But No One Cares About Lithium-ion Batteries?

Batteries play a crucial role in the world of electronics. With new technologies like li-ion batteries taking center stage, consumers enjoy more power and flexibility.

No matter the advancements, the classic lead-acid battery has remained strong on the market. The emergency of electric vehicles has created even more need for these batteries.

Its endurance will reduce significantly after using the battery for a few years. Then, you will be compelled to replace it as soon as possible. At such a moment, the thought of recycling might pass your mind.

If the battery is lead-acid, someone will come for it at a high price. But if it’s lithium-ion, not very many people will care, and you might be forced to buy another one.

So, what about these batteries make them so different when it comes to recycling? That is what we are about to discover in this guide. We’ll be looking at why lead-acid batteries are more valuable than lithium-ion in terms of recyclability when the opposite is true in terms of performance.

Why Do People Recycle Old Lead-Acid Batteries at High Prices?

Recycling lead-acid batteries is crucial in preserving the world’s green environment. Thus, users are encouraged to take them to recycling plants as soon as the batteries are depleted. But why are they recycled at high prices? Let’s see.

Before moving any further, we need to define lead-acid batteries and what makes them different. The primary understanding of these batteries is based on their composition. The main parts are an electrolyte and lead plate electrodes. The main component is lead, taking up 75% to 85% of the storage. Lead is a non-ferrous metal, which means it has value in recycling.

There are more critical data on the manufacturing of these batteries. They are very easy to dismantle and can be easily recycled after disassembly.

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Also, we need to note that lead-acid battery manufacturers take up 85% of the global demand for lead metal. There is a need to bring the precious metal back to the market, which mostly comes from recycling.

Now that we understand that, here are the key reasons why the batteries are recycled at such high prices:

A Source of the Precious Metal

Lead metal can be quite hard to get compared to lithium, yet the demand for lead acid batteries keeps rising. Thus, the major source of the metal is the recycling of old batteries. It takes care of all the supply needs, ensuring manufacturers have enough to work on.

Environmental Impact

You should understand that lead has a more adverse effect on the environment than lithium. If left unchecked, it can have a long-lasting impact on human health.

As a cumulative toxicant, lead affects multiple systems in the human body, with infants and children at a greater risk. With that in mind, recycling lead-acid batteries is of uttermost importance.

Easy Recycling Process

The complexity of recycling a material determines its recyclability. Metal lead in lead-acid batteries is extremely simple. It’s done in many small workshops to separate the batteries, recycle the material and then sell it to battery manufacturers. This means sellers are more likely to benefit from lead-acid battery recycling than from lithium-ion. And sellers of electric cars also profit from it.

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High Proportion of Lead in the Batteries

Another reason why recycling lead-acid batteries is in high demand is the high proportion of lead in the batteries. As mentioned before, old batteries are a primary source of metal. A large amount of metal lead can easily come from a group of old batteries. Generally, 5 kilos of lead-acid batteries can recycle 4 kilos of lead, which is a huge profit.

Why Nobody Wants Old Lithium-ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries have taken over the world of electronic devices. You will find them in everything from smaller applications like laptops, TVs, and mobile phones to larger ones like electric vehicles. Thanks to their larger capacity and stronger performance, they simply run the world.

Recent research shows that the market share for li-ion batteries was?$ 36.7 billion in 2019, with a projection to rise over?$129B by 2027. These batteries will only keep growing bigger and better.

With such a projection, one would imagine li-ion batteries would perform even better when it comes to recycling. But that is far from the truth. Nobody seems to care about lithium-ion batteries.

Here are some of the reasons why:

Complex Recycling Procedure

With lead-acid batteries, it’s very easy to pull apart the components and reassemble them. Recycling these batteries does not require complex methods, especially because lead metal is not overly reactive.

Lithium, on the other hand, is a highly reactive metal. During the collection and recycling process, the batteries can go through undetected garbage piles, get crushed, and explode, causing fires. If the barrier between the cathode and the anode breaks, it can lead to catastrophic consequences. Very few recycling plants can handle such load.

A Fire-risk to Recycling Centers

The e-waste industry deals with battery recycling on different levels. It’s nothing new to them. However, using lithium-ion batteries presents a new challenge. Recovering lithium and other rare metals like cobalt is quite difficult in their unstable conditions.

Even though manufacturers now use less reactive materials to increase their stability, there are still challenges. No one wants their businesses to go up in flames during the handling of batteries.

Less Profitable

Lithium-ion batteries are much smaller than lead-acid batteries. That means they carry very little of the precious metal. Not many people want to take a great risk for a very small profit. Besides, there are many other sources of metals.

Why Are Lead-acid Batteries Recycled So Much?

Lead acid batteries are recycled so much because:

1.They are the primary source of the lead metal used in building new lead-acid batteries. It wouldn’t be so, were it any different.

2.They are more profitable. Getting 4kg of metal from a 5kg battery is a huge profit. Recyclers only need a few to profit.

3.Easy to recycle. Many people can take a part of a lead-acid battery, extra the metal, and put it back together.

Well, there you have it, all the reasons why lead-acid batteries are a hot cake on the recycling market. But this is not to say li-ion batteries should not be recycled. On the contrary, recycling li-ion batteries can be quite beneficial.