Discarded car batteries are potential source of lead pollution.
And, Battery technology is undergoing rapid changes. New type of Batteries such as lithium-ion
batteries are replacing the lead-acid batteries. So, over 200 million lead-acid batteries will
potentially be retired in the United States, and that could cause a lot of environmental issues.
Researchers at MIT have proposed a system to recycle the materials from the discarded
car batteries into new, long-lasting solar panels that provide emissions-free power.
Their system is based on a recent development in solar cells that makes use of a compound
called perovskite.
Because the perovskite photovoltaic material takes the form of a thin film just half a
micrometer thick, the team’s analysis shows that the lead from a single car battery could
produce enough solar panels to provide power for 30 households.
As an added advantage, the production of perovskite solar cells is a relatively simple process.
According to the researchers, this new process is pretty interchangeable with the current
production method.
The researchers don't intend to start a company to commercialize their technology. Instead,
they wanted to show people who are developing and manufacturing perovskite solar cells that
the lead from old batteries performs just as well as mined lead.
So they have published a video for explaining the process step by step. You can watch it now.