Impact of Soil pH on the Leaching Rate of Disposed Li-ion Batteries

Sullivan, Michael Jr

Impact of Soil pH on the Leaching Rate of Disposed Li-ion Batteries

dc.contributor.advisor	Strevett, Keith
dc.contributor.author	Sullivan, Michael Jr
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Nanny, Mark
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Kibbey, Tohren
dc.date.accessioned	2021-05-12T15:27:11Z
dc.date.available	2021-05-12T15:27:11Z
dc.date.issued	2021-05-14
dc.date.manuscript	2021-05-07
dc.description.abstract	Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are becoming the front-runner for rechargeable battery usage yet are rarely disposed of properly. Analysis of varying landfills and electronic waste recycling centers throughout the world show high levels of metal contamination in the nearby soil and water system, contaminating the environment and impacting the health of the surrounding communities. Depending on soil characteristics, the solubility of metals changes by either integrating into the soil or leaching into the water runoff. Though research has been performed with other battery types and electronic waste regarding the severity of the metal contamination over time, no published studies related to LIB were found. This study focused on evaluating the effect soil and water pH has on the leaching of LIB metals and the comparison to the MINEQL+ model of the systems. Dismantled LIB pieces were added to the two types of soil and water sample groups, which were amended to a pH of approximately 4.5 and 9.5, for one to twenty-four weeks. The soil and water samples analyzed by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) for copper, manganese, nickel, cobalt, and aluminum. Cobalt was below the detection limit in both soil and water groups. The results from the soil samples show the basic soil having a significantly higher adsorption rate over the acidic soil for copper, nickel, and manganese (p <0.05). There was no significant difference in aluminum adsorption between the soil groups. The MINEQL+ model utilized the two-layer adsorption model to qualitatively match the experimental results, with estimating through iteration the equilibrium constants for the metals in the soil. The results from the water samples show the acidic water having a significantly higher leaching rate over the basic water for copper, nickel, and manganese (p <0.05). The leaching rate of aluminum was significantly higher in the basic water over the acidic water (p <0.05). The MINEQL+ model utilized solubility parameters to qualitatively match the experimental results and determine the dominant metal species for ecological health risk. This study highlights the severity of LIB metal contamination into the environment based on soil and water pH. The results of this study aim to encourage the monitoring of soil and water pH surrounding landfills and recycling centers as implementation steps to prevent further contamination of the surrounding environment by LIB.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/11244/329533
dc.language	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	Lithium-ion Battery	en_US
dc.subject	Heavy Metal Contamination	en_US
dc.subject	Adsorption Rate	en_US
dc.subject	Soil pH	en_US
dc.thesis.degree	Master of Science in Environmental Engineering	en_US
dc.title	Impact of Soil pH on the Leaching Rate of Disposed Li-ion Batteries	en_US
ou.group	Gallogly College of Engineering::School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science	en_US