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Recycling of lithium ion cells and batteries
18 Energy conversion and recycling
18
ENERGY CONVERSION A N D RECYCLING
02/02286 A 'millennial phoenix' in northeastern Pennsylvania: Hazleton Shaft Corporation's state-of-the-art anthracite refuse processing facility rises from the ashes of the old shaft breaker Inners, J. D. et al. Proc. - Annu. Int. Pittsburgh Coal Cot~f., 2000, (17), 2086-2097. In October, 1998, at about the same time that the landmark Hazleton Shaft breaker in the city of Hazleton, northeastern Pennsylvania, was burned and razed, the Hazleton Shaft Corporation (HSC) began construction of a new processing facility to recover fine coal and prepared 'processed culm' from the refuse banks of the old breaker. The facility was completed in the spring of 2000. It is currently producing fine coal for residential, commercial and industrial accounts and processed-culm fuel for the Panter Creek Partners 83-MW power plant in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania. The HSC facility is situated near the eastern boundary of the former Hazleton Shaft Colliery in the Hazleton basin of the Eastern Middle Anthracite field. Ten coal beds in the Pennsylvanian-age Llewellyn Formation were formerly mined at the old colliery. The most important of these was the Mammoth seam (locally up to 30 ft thick). Refuse from several generations of anthracite breakers accumulated on the site from the mid-19th century to about 1983, the amount presently existing being estimated at about 19 million tons. The new facility has four heavy-mineral circuits and a capacity (depending on the feed stock) of 250 to 350 tons/h. An on-site well, 650 ft deep and tapping the local mine pool at a depth of 480 ft, provides make-up water for a water-recycling system. The heavy-media circuits produce standard anthracite in pea, buckwheat, rice, barley, and #4 sizes, as well as processed-culm material averaging 7500 BTU/Ib in a size range of 13/16ths of an inch by 28 mesh. The size of all equipment incorporated in the design has been engineered to process refuse banks where low recovery and high reject result and also to process run-ofmine material where high recovery and low reject are the norm. The latter will allow processing of coal stripped from the north side of the basin after waste banks in this area have been removed. The old colliery site suffers the scars of more than 100 year of past anthracite mining and processing. As a result of HSC activities, several deep stripping pits will be filled with waste from the processing facility, sheer highwalls 150 ft high will be regraded after re-mining, and a huge refuse bank more than 150 ft high will be removed. At least 600 acres of blasted and barren landscape will ultimately be reclaimed.
02/02287 Coal composition effects on re-use options for pressurized circulating fluidized bed combustion ash Bland, A. E. et al. Proceedings o f the International Cot~ference on Fluidized Bed Combustion, 2001, (16), 649-668. Pilot-scale development at Foster Wheeler Energia Oy 10 MWth circulating PFBC at Karhula, Finland, has demonstrated the advantages of pressurized fluidized bed combustion (PFBC) technology. Development of uses for the ashes from PFBC systems is being actively pursued as part of demonstration of PFBC technologies. Western Research Institute in conjunction with the US Department of Energy (DOE), national Energy Technology Laboratory, Foster Wheeler Development Corporation and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), conducted a laboratory scale investigation of the technological feasibility of PFBC ash as a (1) material for use in construction applications and (2) amendment for acidic problem soils and spoils encountered in agricultural and reclamation applications. Ashes were collected from the Foster Wheeler Energia Oy pilot PFBC tests in Karbula, Finland, operating on (1) low-sulfur subbituminous, (2) medium-sulfur bituminous and (3) high-sulfur bituminous coals. The results of the technological feasibility testing indicated the following: PFBC ash does not meet the chemical requirements as a pozzolan for cement replacement. However, it does not appear that potential may exist for its use in cement production as a pozzolan and/or as a set retardant. PFBC ash shows relatively high strength development, low expansion, and low permeability properties that make its use in fills and embankments promising. Testing has also indicated that PFBC ash, when mixed with low amounts of lime, develops high strengths, suitable for soil stabilization applications and synthetic aggregate production. Synthetic aggregate produced from PFBC ash is capable of meeting American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM and American Association Of State Highway Transportation Officials specifications for many construction applications. The greenhouse study demonstrated that PFBC fly ash and/or bed ash amended spoils resulted in higher seed germination than the ag-lime amended spoils. These results were possibly due to pH and nutritional effects. The greenhouse study also demonstrated that PFBC fly ash and/or bed ash amended spoils resulted in comparable plant productivity to the ag-lime amended spoils. These results were also due to pH and nutritional issues, but root penetration was undoubtedly also a factor. In summary,
PFBC ash represents a viable material for use in currently established construction applications for conventional coal combustion ashes, as well as a viable material for use in currently established mining and soil amendment application.
02/02288 Compacting biomass waste materials into logs for cofiring with coal Li, Y. and Liu, H. Proceedings - Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, 2000, (17), 1905-1914. A unique densification technology for biomass waste materials, highpressure compaction in moulds, was studied and evaluated both technologically and economically. A variety of biomass materials, including sawdust, mulch, and chips of various types of wood, waste paper, energy crops, tree trimmings, fallen leaves and lawn grass, were tested by the mould compaction technology developed at Capsule Pipeline Research Center, University of Missouri-Columbia. The highest pressure that the compaction machine could achieve was 138 MPa (20000 psi). For most of the biomass materials, dense and strong binderless logs can be produced at room temperature without binder and at >70 MPa (10000 psi). Compacting the materials into highdensity and high-strength fogs not only benefits handling, transportation, and storage, but also increases energy content/unit volume biomass. Consequently, on crushing the logs can be co-fired with coal at power plant efficiently. The optimum conditions for producing best logs for each type of the biomass materials, including moisture content, particle size and shape, and compaction pressure, were determined. A cost model for this technology was established and a life-cycle cost analysis was performed. The profit-included unit production cost of the biomass logs using this compaction technology is $5-8/ton, depending on plant size and some other conditions. This process appears to be more economical than other conventional densification processes including palletizing, and produces a better (denser and stronger) fuel,
02/02289 Improvement of power generation and cleaning of exhaust gas by utilizing waste material and coal Kamei, K. e/ al. Proceedings - Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, 2000, (17), 1491 1501. Cofiring pulverized coal with combustible waste is widely studied; however, the effect of suppressing formation of harmful matter by mixing chemicals or regulating combustion conditions are not enough when de-novo formation of dioxins and the economy are accounted for. A method to remove harmful matter by injecting activated C powder to baghouse filters at the last stage of facilities is widely practised. Also, it is widely known that power generation efficiency can be increased by separate heating steam with clean gas (e.g. natural gas) to avoid hightemperature corrosion by CI from waste. A system which incorporated these functions was conceived through studies of coal and combustible waste cofiring. This system is comprised of: a unit producing cheap activated C from waste material and coal, also producing gasified gas to assist heating low temperature steam; and baghouses to clean exhaust gas by activated C injection. Results showed: adsorption using activated C powder produced by a furnace exhibited sufficient properties, and tentative system cost studies indicated promising economies.
02/02290 Integration of advanced fine particle technologies for efficient carbon recovery from refuse ponds Honaker, R. Q. et al. Proc. Annu. Int. Pittsburgh Coal Conf., 2000, (17), 479m95. Prior to recent years, the fine coal fraction (i.e. - 1 mm) in the run-ofmine material was treated using inefficient process technologies or simply discarded to refuse ponds due to the lack of effective separation techniques. This practice has resulted in a significant amount of potentially high-grade carbon reserves being stored in active and abandoned refuse ponds. Using an integration of advanced carbon recovery and dewatering technologies, a high quality clean coal product can be recovered from the refuse material while simultaneously applying novel environmental remediation to the final tailings material. For a - 1 mm Pittsburgh No. 8 refuse material (>20% ash), water-only and dense medium gravity concentrators produced clean coal products containing < 10% ash while recovering >90% of the combustibles and rejecting >50% of the total sulphur. Dewatering of the clean coal product by using advanced techniques resulted in final total moisture content <10%.
02/02291
Recycling of lithium ion cells and batteries
Lain, M. J. et al. Journal o f Power Sources, 2001, (97-98), 736-738. A new process for recycling lithium ion cells and batteries is described. In order to gain maximum value, the process aims to recover every component from the cell. In contrast with existing recycling processes, the A E A Technology process operates at ambient temperatures. There are three main stages; electrolyte extraction, electrode dissolution, and cobalt reduction. The technology is currently in development, with a demonstration unit linking the process stages together in active
Fuel and Energy Abstracts
July 2002
295
18 Energy conversion and recycling operation. Based on the projected quantities of lithium ion batteries available for recycling in the next few years, there is a significant market opportunity for a successful technology.
02/02292 Strategies for vehicle waste-oil management: a case study EI-Fadel, M. and Khoury, R. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2001, 33, (2), 75-91. The petroleum industry has grown at a very fast rate since its inception and became an indispensable element of society particularly in urban communities. Besides the fact that petroleum and crude oil are not
296
Fuel and Energy Abstracts July 2002
inexhaustible resources, waste products resulting from this industry present a hazard to human health and the environment. As such, proper management of waste oil is necessary to prevent its adverse impacts. This paper describes current waste-oil management practices in Lebanon and identifies the extent of potential adverse environmental impacts associated with these practices. Strategies for proper wasteoil management are then propped in the context of prevailing public perception and environmental awareness. Finally, the economic feasibility of waste-oil recycling as a management option is discussed, taking into consideration country-specific technical and socio-economic characteristics.
18
ENERGY CONVERSION A N D RECYCLING
02/02286 A 'millennial phoenix' in northeastern Pennsylvania: Hazleton Shaft Corporation's state-of-the-art anthracite refuse processing facility rises from the ashes of the old shaft breaker Inners, J. D. et al. Proc. - Annu. Int. Pittsburgh Coal Cot~f., 2000, (17), 2086-2097. In October, 1998, at about the same time that the landmark Hazleton Shaft breaker in the city of Hazleton, northeastern Pennsylvania, was burned and razed, the Hazleton Shaft Corporation (HSC) began construction of a new processing facility to recover fine coal and prepared 'processed culm' from the refuse banks of the old breaker. The facility was completed in the spring of 2000. It is currently producing fine coal for residential, commercial and industrial accounts and processed-culm fuel for the Panter Creek Partners 83-MW power plant in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania. The HSC facility is situated near the eastern boundary of the former Hazleton Shaft Colliery in the Hazleton basin of the Eastern Middle Anthracite field. Ten coal beds in the Pennsylvanian-age Llewellyn Formation were formerly mined at the old colliery. The most important of these was the Mammoth seam (locally up to 30 ft thick). Refuse from several generations of anthracite breakers accumulated on the site from the mid-19th century to about 1983, the amount presently existing being estimated at about 19 million tons. The new facility has four heavy-mineral circuits and a capacity (depending on the feed stock) of 250 to 350 tons/h. An on-site well, 650 ft deep and tapping the local mine pool at a depth of 480 ft, provides make-up water for a water-recycling system. The heavy-media circuits produce standard anthracite in pea, buckwheat, rice, barley, and #4 sizes, as well as processed-culm material averaging 7500 BTU/Ib in a size range of 13/16ths of an inch by 28 mesh. The size of all equipment incorporated in the design has been engineered to process refuse banks where low recovery and high reject result and also to process run-ofmine material where high recovery and low reject are the norm. The latter will allow processing of coal stripped from the north side of the basin after waste banks in this area have been removed. The old colliery site suffers the scars of more than 100 year of past anthracite mining and processing. As a result of HSC activities, several deep stripping pits will be filled with waste from the processing facility, sheer highwalls 150 ft high will be regraded after re-mining, and a huge refuse bank more than 150 ft high will be removed. At least 600 acres of blasted and barren landscape will ultimately be reclaimed.
02/02287 Coal composition effects on re-use options for pressurized circulating fluidized bed combustion ash Bland, A. E. et al. Proceedings o f the International Cot~ference on Fluidized Bed Combustion, 2001, (16), 649-668. Pilot-scale development at Foster Wheeler Energia Oy 10 MWth circulating PFBC at Karhula, Finland, has demonstrated the advantages of pressurized fluidized bed combustion (PFBC) technology. Development of uses for the ashes from PFBC systems is being actively pursued as part of demonstration of PFBC technologies. Western Research Institute in conjunction with the US Department of Energy (DOE), national Energy Technology Laboratory, Foster Wheeler Development Corporation and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), conducted a laboratory scale investigation of the technological feasibility of PFBC ash as a (1) material for use in construction applications and (2) amendment for acidic problem soils and spoils encountered in agricultural and reclamation applications. Ashes were collected from the Foster Wheeler Energia Oy pilot PFBC tests in Karbula, Finland, operating on (1) low-sulfur subbituminous, (2) medium-sulfur bituminous and (3) high-sulfur bituminous coals. The results of the technological feasibility testing indicated the following: PFBC ash does not meet the chemical requirements as a pozzolan for cement replacement. However, it does not appear that potential may exist for its use in cement production as a pozzolan and/or as a set retardant. PFBC ash shows relatively high strength development, low expansion, and low permeability properties that make its use in fills and embankments promising. Testing has also indicated that PFBC ash, when mixed with low amounts of lime, develops high strengths, suitable for soil stabilization applications and synthetic aggregate production. Synthetic aggregate produced from PFBC ash is capable of meeting American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM and American Association Of State Highway Transportation Officials specifications for many construction applications. The greenhouse study demonstrated that PFBC fly ash and/or bed ash amended spoils resulted in higher seed germination than the ag-lime amended spoils. These results were possibly due to pH and nutritional effects. The greenhouse study also demonstrated that PFBC fly ash and/or bed ash amended spoils resulted in comparable plant productivity to the ag-lime amended spoils. These results were also due to pH and nutritional issues, but root penetration was undoubtedly also a factor. In summary,
PFBC ash represents a viable material for use in currently established construction applications for conventional coal combustion ashes, as well as a viable material for use in currently established mining and soil amendment application.
02/02288 Compacting biomass waste materials into logs for cofiring with coal Li, Y. and Liu, H. Proceedings - Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, 2000, (17), 1905-1914. A unique densification technology for biomass waste materials, highpressure compaction in moulds, was studied and evaluated both technologically and economically. A variety of biomass materials, including sawdust, mulch, and chips of various types of wood, waste paper, energy crops, tree trimmings, fallen leaves and lawn grass, were tested by the mould compaction technology developed at Capsule Pipeline Research Center, University of Missouri-Columbia. The highest pressure that the compaction machine could achieve was 138 MPa (20000 psi). For most of the biomass materials, dense and strong binderless logs can be produced at room temperature without binder and at >70 MPa (10000 psi). Compacting the materials into highdensity and high-strength fogs not only benefits handling, transportation, and storage, but also increases energy content/unit volume biomass. Consequently, on crushing the logs can be co-fired with coal at power plant efficiently. The optimum conditions for producing best logs for each type of the biomass materials, including moisture content, particle size and shape, and compaction pressure, were determined. A cost model for this technology was established and a life-cycle cost analysis was performed. The profit-included unit production cost of the biomass logs using this compaction technology is $5-8/ton, depending on plant size and some other conditions. This process appears to be more economical than other conventional densification processes including palletizing, and produces a better (denser and stronger) fuel,
02/02289 Improvement of power generation and cleaning of exhaust gas by utilizing waste material and coal Kamei, K. e/ al. Proceedings - Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, 2000, (17), 1491 1501. Cofiring pulverized coal with combustible waste is widely studied; however, the effect of suppressing formation of harmful matter by mixing chemicals or regulating combustion conditions are not enough when de-novo formation of dioxins and the economy are accounted for. A method to remove harmful matter by injecting activated C powder to baghouse filters at the last stage of facilities is widely practised. Also, it is widely known that power generation efficiency can be increased by separate heating steam with clean gas (e.g. natural gas) to avoid hightemperature corrosion by CI from waste. A system which incorporated these functions was conceived through studies of coal and combustible waste cofiring. This system is comprised of: a unit producing cheap activated C from waste material and coal, also producing gasified gas to assist heating low temperature steam; and baghouses to clean exhaust gas by activated C injection. Results showed: adsorption using activated C powder produced by a furnace exhibited sufficient properties, and tentative system cost studies indicated promising economies.
02/02290 Integration of advanced fine particle technologies for efficient carbon recovery from refuse ponds Honaker, R. Q. et al. Proc. Annu. Int. Pittsburgh Coal Conf., 2000, (17), 479m95. Prior to recent years, the fine coal fraction (i.e. - 1 mm) in the run-ofmine material was treated using inefficient process technologies or simply discarded to refuse ponds due to the lack of effective separation techniques. This practice has resulted in a significant amount of potentially high-grade carbon reserves being stored in active and abandoned refuse ponds. Using an integration of advanced carbon recovery and dewatering technologies, a high quality clean coal product can be recovered from the refuse material while simultaneously applying novel environmental remediation to the final tailings material. For a - 1 mm Pittsburgh No. 8 refuse material (>20% ash), water-only and dense medium gravity concentrators produced clean coal products containing < 10% ash while recovering >90% of the combustibles and rejecting >50% of the total sulphur. Dewatering of the clean coal product by using advanced techniques resulted in final total moisture content <10%.
02/02291
Recycling of lithium ion cells and batteries
Lain, M. J. et al. Journal o f Power Sources, 2001, (97-98), 736-738. A new process for recycling lithium ion cells and batteries is described. In order to gain maximum value, the process aims to recover every component from the cell. In contrast with existing recycling processes, the A E A Technology process operates at ambient temperatures. There are three main stages; electrolyte extraction, electrode dissolution, and cobalt reduction. The technology is currently in development, with a demonstration unit linking the process stages together in active
Fuel and Energy Abstracts
July 2002
295
18 Energy conversion and recycling operation. Based on the projected quantities of lithium ion batteries available for recycling in the next few years, there is a significant market opportunity for a successful technology.
02/02292 Strategies for vehicle waste-oil management: a case study EI-Fadel, M. and Khoury, R. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2001, 33, (2), 75-91. The petroleum industry has grown at a very fast rate since its inception and became an indispensable element of society particularly in urban communities. Besides the fact that petroleum and crude oil are not
296
Fuel and Energy Abstracts July 2002
inexhaustible resources, waste products resulting from this industry present a hazard to human health and the environment. As such, proper management of waste oil is necessary to prevent its adverse impacts. This paper describes current waste-oil management practices in Lebanon and identifies the extent of potential adverse environmental impacts associated with these practices. Strategies for proper wasteoil management are then propped in the context of prevailing public perception and environmental awareness. Finally, the economic feasibility of waste-oil recycling as a management option is discussed, taking into consideration country-specific technical and socio-economic characteristics.