Accurec GmbH services

With implementation of EU directive 66/2006, used batteries and accumulators must be separated from general waste stream. Active collection of used portable batteries is mandatory. Furthermore, producers or importers of industrial batteries are obliged to take back their batteries free of charge if end-user wants to get rid of. Thus, implementation of intelligent and cost efficient collection programmes are necessary. These programmes enables the recycling of valuable materials contained in batteries in the next step.

Since implementation of battery directive, household batteries are collected at kurbside or in shops without differentiation of battery type. Therefore, recycling or sorting facilities receive an unpredictable mixture of batteries, which contain in addition usually impurities (non-batteries) between 1% and 5%. This mixture of portable batteries consists of 10 and more battery chemistries. Within a battery chemistry fraction, multiple subtypes and/or construction types can exist. Zn-containing batteries for example represent Zn-Carbon, Zn-Air or Zn-Manganese-oxide batteries. In addition, they can also be distinguished between Hg-containing or Hg-free batteries, or single cells versus battery packs. Thus, sorting needs be flexible under changing criteria according to the final recycling process.

A battery is a electrochemical unit, usually consisting of two metals or metal components with different physical properties. The less precious metal has a lower melting point and particular higher vapour pressure, which enables us to extract it by distillation. To prevent emissions from the start, we took over experience from vacuum metallurgical technologies. The basic principle is, to separate the treatment space hermetically from the environment and therefore avoid any contact with hazardous metal gases and fumes.

Depending on battery application, portable batteries commonly are encapsulated with plastic. These plastic cases are used to stabilize the connection between batteries, to encase electronics, to protect against mechanical damage or short circuit of cells or simply to improve the design. But coming to recycling, these plastics (up to 20% of pack weight) are essentially disturbing the pyro- and hydrometallurgical processing. Hence, as part of our pre-treatment, we use different techniques to separate plastic casings from battery cells. Without damaging the battery cell, and thus causing emission problems, we dismantle those battery packs and extract beside the single cell another material flow of plastic for recycling.