Environmental and Health Challenges in Battery Recycling in Bulgaria

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to investigate and compare the environmental and health risks of the selection of chemistry for electrical energy storage in Bulgaria at the end-of-life stage of the batteries and the inevitable decommissioning that must be followed by safe transportation and recycling. According to National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability of the Republic of Bulgaria, version 1.5 of 06.04.2022 [1], is expected to be generated large quantities of hazardous waste from electric batteries in the not too distant future. The choice of battery chemistry is determinant for the recycling procedures of these wastes. Two battery chemistries considered most promising for stationary electrical energy storage - Lead Acid (LA) and Lithium-ion-Iron (Ferrous) -Phosphate (LFP). Lead-acid chemistry is well developed in the western world, including Bulgaria, and would be a logical choice, but is many times less efficient than lithium chemistry, which can only be imported from the major producers in the East. The recycling of the waste from the two chemistries is fundamentally different - the lead chemistry can be recycled in Bulgaria in compliance with environmental and health standards or in neighboring European countries, while the lithium is likely to be recycled where it is produced (if there will obtain technological breakt$h$roug$h$) - in a country in the Far East with the corresponding transport and processing costs to be budgeted in the financial assessment of the projects. Unless a technological breakthrough occurs, there remains disposal of LFPs batteries with a high risk of large-scale explosions and fires at disposal sites with the risk of harm to people and severe environmental consequences.