Simultaneous recovery of zinc and manganese dioxide from household alkaline batteries through hydrometallurgical processing

This paper describes the leaching experiments and the electrowinning tests to recover Zn and Mn from spent household alkaline batteries. After the dismantling of the batteries, the black powder was analyzed and found to contain 21 wt.% Zn and 45% wt. Mn. Therefore, it was considered that recovery of these metals would be interesting due to their relatively large amounts in this kind of waste. Batch laboratory experiments were carried out to develop an acid leaching procedure and to determine appropriate leaching conditions to maximize zinc extraction and to study the leaching behavior of Mn. An experimental study was undertaken to evaluate the feasibility of simultaneous recovery of zinc and particulate manganese dioxide using a laboratory cell. The results from these electrowinning experiments are also presented in this paper. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.