Properties of lead paste from spent lead-acid battery
废铅酸蓄电池铅膏性质分析

In order to provide theoretical evidence for hydrometallurgical process of recovery of lead pastes in spent lead-acid battery, the main compositions, physical and chemical properties of lead pastes were investigated by XRF, XRD, physical analysis, and chemical analysis method. Lead paste samples were obtained from spent lead-acid battery after crushing-separating process in Hubei Jinyang Metallurgical Incorporated Co. Ltd. The results revealed that undersized particles (<120 mesh) is over 77.4% in lead pastes after manual grinding. Thus the diameter of the lead paste is pretty small, which is favorable for the following hydrometallurgical process. The components of spent lead-acid battery pastes are 64.5% of PbSO4, 29.5% of PbO2, 4.5% of PbO, 0.8% of Pb, and other impurity elements including Fe, Sb and Si etc. Therefore, proper purification should be used in the hydrometallurgical process for recovery of lead pastes.