Effects of Different pH Values on Dissolution and Recovery of Zinc and Manganese from Spent Zinc– Carbon Batteries Using Ascorbic Acids

The improper disposal of solid batteries containing manganese and zinc has adverse effects from both an environmental and economic standpoint. It would therefore be useful to be able to recover the compounds of zinc and manganese in these batteries so that these materials might either be re-used or properly disposed of.

This research presents the results of the effects of different pH values on the dissolution of zinc and manganese from waste zinc – carbon batteries using mixtures of ascorbic acid and sulfuric acids. The waste batteries were manually separated into various components, and the inner cathode and anode electrodes were ground into powder. This was followed by the extraction of 10 g of battery paste with a mixture of 15 g/dm3 ascorbic acid, 0.5 M or 1.0 M H2SO4 at different pH values from 2 to 12 (at about 80°C) and an agitation speed of about 20 rpm. The resulting solutions analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) showed that the concentration of Mn extracted from the battery was higher than that of Zn at pH’s of 2, 4, 6. The concentrations ranged from 1200 – 10000 mg/kg and 200 – 4200 mg/kg for Mn and Zn, respectively. This indicates that more Mn than Zn would be extracted at lower pH than at higher pH values. The extraction of both metals into the solution decreased with increased in pH of the solution mixture and these results are shown to be consistent with a kinetic model. It was also observed that the recovery of metals from the battery was pH dependent and that more was recovered using NaOH rather than KOH solutions.