RogueRose
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Lead Battery salvage - WTD with sulfates? K/NaSO4 production..?
I have a large number of old lead acid batteries, many of which I believe to have sulfated plates, which I assume means the lead has formed a lead
sulfate while gassing of the H2 in the process.
I plan to neutralize/convert any of the liquid in the batteries with either NaOH or baking soda to get NaSO4 or - KOH/KHCO3 to get the K2SO4.
What I am concerned with is the sulfated Pb and how to handle it. I was told that by heating it the sulfates will burn off and will be left with PbO
which can be converted to plain lead with heat and charcoal. Is there any way to get the PbSO4 back into solution so I can convert it into the above
desired compounds?
Out of curiousity, is there anything else which could be produced with the acid with fairly common chemicals? I'm considering NaCl instead of NaOH as
it is less expensive and I can also use the HCl produced.
I'm looking for fairly simple reactions. I do have access to a fairly high amperage (10-250 ) 2-12v DC PSU, graphite & copper electrodes (I know
I can make CuSO4 with this) for electrolysis.
I was considering making HNO3 but w/o a distillation apparatus it is a little difficult.
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hissingnoise
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Quote: | I have a large number of old lead acid batteries, many of which I believe to have sulfated plates, |
You could top up with distilled water and charge them ─ they'll then contain lead, its peroxide and dilute H2SO4!
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RogueRose
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Quote: Originally posted by hissingnoise | Quote: | I have a large number of old lead acid batteries, many of which I believe to have sulfated plates, |
You could top up with distilled water and charge them ─ they'll then contain lead, its peroxide and dilute H2SO4!
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These batteries are beyond the point of salvage I think (IDK if that is what you were inferring). I tried to salvage them with dH2O and they retained
some charge for a short time then faded in days.
Are you saying that by putting in the dH2O and charging it will desulfate the lead? Is that what you mean?
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