Corrosion Deterioration in Consumer Battery Litter
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 9
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that the annual rates of consumer battery litter on urban pavements can be as high as 215 batteries per hectare of pavement and 0.4 batteries per meter of curb. As littered batteries deteriorate, they release components (Ag, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Li, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Ti, and Zn) that can be significant sources of storm-water contamination. Results of ambient environmental and laboratory-accelerated corrosion studies are presented to quantify the mechanisms that yield chemical deterioration of littered batteries. The analysis concentrates on AA size alkaline and zinc chloride/zinc carbon (ZnCl/ZnC) cells since these are the most commonly littered batteries. Results indicate that littered batteries exposed to ambient well-drained environmental conditions for more than two months will develop surface corrosion over most of their surface but fewer than 10% will be ruptured by corrosion within the first 6 months. This agrees well with field observations. Exposure under poorly drained conditions yields more rapid deterioration but it requires exposure to more aggressive conditions such as those produced by road salts to reproduce the high degree of deterioration observed in some battery litter.
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Acknowledgments
This research was conducted with the support of National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. NSFCMS 99–01108 and NSFCBTE-0650675). The writers also wish to acknowledge the efforts of Sara Hise, Caleb Krouse, and Ryan Quinn for their contributions to the analysis of consumer batteries litter deterioration.
References
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© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 10, 2008
Accepted: Jan 12, 2009
Published online: Aug 14, 2009
Published in print: Sep 2009
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