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Fabrication of polyethylene separator for lead-acid batteries from waste and recycled silica and investigation of its performance

Pircheraghi, G ; Sharif University of Technology | 2020

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119535
  3. Publisher: Elsevier Ltd , 2020
  4. Abstract:
  5. Reclaimed silica from spent lead-acid battery separator was exploited by pyrolysis process to avoid further extraction of raw materials and energy-consuming methods and was mixed with ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene as a matrix to fabricate a workable separator to be used in a simulated procedure in a lead-acid battery. On the other hand, fresh silica was catered and undergone similar production design to examine our product. As results showed, recycled silica after acid washing to deplete lead impurities and reaching 95.7% purity, had finer particles which contributed to some exciting functions of the separator. This microporous separator with appropriate silica dispersion, ideal porosity, and wettability, as the main features, 57.8% and 79.5° respectively, demonstrated itself as a promising alternative. It was observed that silica does not change the melting point of the separator while increasing the crystallinity because of remained oil. The same effect on thermal properties of the separator was observed for the fresh and recycled silica particles. Also, the comparable tensile strength was observed for the fresh and recycled silica separators, 9.45 and 8.21 MPa, respectively. Moreover, the similar ionic conductivity and MacMullin number, 0.6 mS/cm and ∼8, were obtained for the separator composed of 30 wt % of the recycled silica. Based on different results, the reusing of silica trapped in waste separators was a rational and practical idea from many aspects, especially for producing the polyethylene battery separator. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
  6. Keywords:
  7. Energy-saving ; Lead-acid battery ; Less contamination ; Recycling silica ; Separator ; Crystallinity ; Energy conservation ; Fabrication ; Plastic recycling ; Product design ; Separators ; Silica ; Tensile strength ; Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylenes ; Acid washing ; Battery separators ; Finer particles ; Production designs ; Pyrolysis process ; Silica particles ; Spent lead acid batteries ; Lead acid batteries
  8. Source: Journal of Cleaner Production ; Volume 250 , 2020
  9. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652619344051