The aim of the project was to describe the situation concerning the compliance with the existing
limits for heavy metal content in commercially available batteries in Germany on the basis of a
representative sample. The allowed limits which not have to be exceeded are: 5 ppm of mercury (Hg;
button cells: 20000 ppm Hg), 250 ppm of cadmium (Cd) and 4000 ppm of lead (Pb).
Several batteries of different size such as AA batteries (alkaline/manganese, zinc/carbon), D
batteries (alkaline/manganese, zinc/carbon) and button cells of different chemical systems (zinc-air;
lithium; alkaline/manganese, silver oxide) were analysed for cadmium, lead and mercury. The test
batteries came from different producers and were bought on different places in Germany. From each
battery type two specimen were investigated, in total 294 samples. Following a sampling plan the
batteries were purchased in four regions in Germany by retail, by mail order or on flew markets.
Different strategies for the analysis of AA and D batteries (alkaline/manganese, zinc/carbon) and
for button cells (alkaline/manganese, zinc-air, lithium, silver oxide) were developed. Button cells were
dissolved completely whenever possible. From the bigger types only subspecimens were analysed
after mechanical destruction. Button cells and the subspecimens of the bigger batteries were
decomposed with acid in a microwave oven. For the analysis of the heavy metals ICP-MS, ICP OES
and an automatic mercury analyser were used depending on the content of the interesting element.
Some graphite parts from zinc/carbon batteries were analysed using solid sampling ICP OES.
The result of the study was that only two of 147 batteries had Hg-contents slightly higher than the
limit of 2 %. Pb- and Cd-contents were below the limits for all batteries investigated. The two
batteries with higher Hg-contents were both zinc-air button cells declared by the manufacturer to be
mercury-free. Differences between batteries of the same kind and producer purchased at different
places or between batteries of different size but same producer and same chemical system could not
be detected.
The objective of this work was to test the compliance of commercially available batteries with the German Battery Ordinance, a project of the German government that was initiated by the Federal Environment Agency. Different types of commercially available dry cells were analysed for their cadmium, lead and mercury contents. The dry cells underwent mechanical pre-treatment, separation of the different components and microwave-assisted digestion before determination of the heavy metals. Mercury is sometimes added to prevent the generation of gaseous hydrogen from the electrochemical process. Lead could be present since it is sometimes used as an alloying element of zinc. Cadmium has no technical importance and is an undesirable impurity. None of the batteries contained higher heavy metal mass fractions than the permissible limits.
The objective of this work was to provide updated information on the development of the potential impact of heavy metal containing batteries on municipal waste and battery recycling processes following transposition of the new EU Batteries Directive 2006/66/EC. A representative sample of 146 different types of commercially available dry and button cells as well as lithium-ion accumulators for mobile phones were analysed for their mercury (Hg)-, cadmium (Cd)- and lead (Pb)-contents. The methods used for preparing the cells and analysing the heavy metals Hg, Cd, and Pb were either developed during a former study or newly developed. Several batteries contained higher mass fractions of mercury or cadmium than the EU limits. Only half of the batteries with mercury and/or lead fractions above the marking thresholds were labelled. Alkaline–manganese mono-cells and Li-ion accumulators, on average, contained the lowest heavy metal concentrations, while zinc–carbon batteries, on average, contained the highest levels.