The effect of barium sulfate-doped lead oxide as a positive active material on the performance of lead acid batteries

Barium sulfate (BaSO 4 ) is a common impurity in recycled lead paste that is challenging to eliminate completely during hydrometallurgical recycling of spent lead acid batteries, so the effect of this impurity in positive active materials on the performance of recycled lead acid batteries was investigated. The BaSO 4 doped lead oxide composite was used as a positive active material in positive plates of lead acid batteries with theoretical capacities of 2.0 A h. BaSO 4 was retained in the solid phase throughout the battery fabrication process. Different BaSO 4 dosages affected the phase of the positive plates during the curing process, with the highest content of metallic lead obtained at a BaSO 4 dosage of 0.06 wt%. Morphology analysis indicated that aggregates were formed in the positive plates and the particles became rougher with increasing addition of BaSO 4 during the formation process. BaSO 4 also demonstrated a large impact on charge/discharge cycles with 100% DOD in battery testing. Analysis of disassembled failed batteries indicated that the expansion and shedding-off of the positive active material were mainly responsible for the failure of these batteries, and this could be attributed to the non-uniform growth of lead oxide on the BaSO 4 nucleus, and the accumulation of internal stress. Barium sulfate (BaSO 4 ) is a common impurity in recycled lead paste, and the effect of this impurity in positive active materials on the performance of recycled lead acid batteries was investigated.