Avaliação do uso de coproduto (finos de carvão) na obtenção do chumbo através de sucatas de baterias.

Abstract

Most part of lead consumed in the world nowadays is for the manufacturing of batteries or acid-lead accumulators used for different purposes. When the shelf life of those batteries expires, they must be discarded in recovery or recycling units. There is no substitute for lead being used in acid-lead batteries that could be interesting from the economic perspective. Today, 50% of the 5.5 million tons of metal yearly produced in the world is estimated to result from secondary production, i.e., they derive from the recycling process itself. (CEMPRE) Usually, solid carbon (petroleum coke) is used in the recycling process as a carbothermal redactor. Carbon serves to reduce lead in the form of sulphate arid oxide into metalic lead. Soon, ideas emerged as to the feasibility to partially substitute coke (a petroleum byproduct) for coal fines, a co-product from the boilers at Alumar refinery, which is a member of the aluminum consortium in the state of Maranhao, one of the largest aluminum (Smelting) and alumina (Refinery) production complexes in the world. Laboratory tests were conducted aiming at determining the best blend ratio and the best results were 75% petroleum coke x 25% coal fines.