Batteries require the extraction of resources such as nickel, but a new way to recycle batteries could give these resources another life. Scientists at the Vienna University of Technology developed a method to transform used batteries and aluminum foil into nanocatalysts, the Brighter Side of News reported.
The scientists produced the nanocatalysts by extracting nickel sulfate from batteries and processing alumina from aluminum foil. Recycling these materials keeps them out of landfills, where batteries containing mercury, lead, and additional toxic metals can threaten human health and the environment, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
While the materials in batteries can harm health, some are also "critical minerals" with limited supplies and no substitutes, the EPA explained. Repurposing these minerals reduces mining and resource extraction, which also have negative consequences.
Used batteries and materials from factories could supply 16% of the nickel needed for battery production in Europe by 2030, according to the Brighter Side of News. Europe and the United Kingdom do not have the capacity to recycle enough to achieve this figure, but developments such as the scientists' nanocatalysts are closing the gap.
The nanocatalysts are effective at CO2 methanation — the process of converting carbon dioxide and hydrogen into methane.
While this process recycles carbon and allows methane to be used as a fuel, methane poses problems of its own. Methane as a fuel produces planet-warming pollution, despite being considered a clean energy source by some, including the scientists.
Methane is more than 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide at heating the atmosphere, according to the EPA. Capturing methane and utilizing it as a fuel keeps this pollution out of the atmosphere, but it releases carbon when burned — like other dirty energy sources.
While CO2 methanation may not provide clean energy, recycling batteries is a step toward sustainability. Consumers can take advantage of programs to recycle their own household batteries and prevent them from entering landfills too.
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