If you are a car owner, no doubt you have heard of the term “lead-acid battery” many times. Well, most car, truck, motorcycle and marine batteries are lead-acid batteries. Lead-acid batteries use lead plates immersed in an electrolyte solution to generate electricity.
Electrolyte is typically made up of 65 percent distilled water and 35 percent sulfuric acid. Voltage is produced when the positive and negative plates are immersed in the electrolyte. When a load, such as a wire, is connected between the positive and negative terminals, electrons flow. The battery constantly charges and discharges itself until it eventually loses power when the acid weakens and the plates become more chemically alike.
The lead-acid battery was invented by Gaston Plante, a French physicist, in 1859. It is the oldest type of rechargeable battery. Many cars use this type of battery because it can generate powerful bursts of current that are useful for starting engines. They are also cheaper than other batteries, which makes them attractive to manufacturers. Aside from their use in vehicles, lead-acid batteries are also used as emergency power supplies in computer data centers and telecommunications facilities.
There are two major types of lead-acid batteries, deep-cycle and cranking or starting batteries. Deep-cycle batteries provide greater power output for longer periods of time. They have thick lead plates that can withstand high temperatures created by the electric current. On the other hand, a cranking or starting battery can deliver short bursts of energy to start an engine because it has thinner plates. A cranking battery that is used for deep-cycle purposes can easily overheat.
Lead can pollute the environment, so there are recycling programs for lead-acid batteries around the world. Old batteries are sent to recycling plants where a lot of their components are used again to make new batteries. Both lead and plastics from old batteries are made into new products. Despite the success of lead recycling, environmental concerns are pushing manufacturers to develop alternatives to lead-acid batteries. Some new batteries, like nickel-metal hybrid batteries, are currently being developed to replace lead-acid types.
Until more environment-friendly and efficient batteries are developed, people have to settle for lead-acid batteries for many of their power supply needs. Lead pollution can be lessened by proper disposal of these batteries.