"Name:ID:1 Literature review exerciseAccording to Savilgan et al. (2009), over 15 billion alkaline batteries are manufacturedannually in China alone, with worldwide demand expected to rise by 7% each year. However,due to the disposable nature of the product, astronomical amounts of batteries are sent tolandfill and therefore create a serious environmental concern (De Mechelis et al. 2007). Giventhe current strong focus in the engineering sector on sustainable development and design,implementing a concept where less waste is generated is of great significance.One strategy to reduce the amount of batteries sent to landfill is through recycling. DeMechelis et al. (2007) argue that batteries could be considered as a source of secondary rawmaterials, with valuable metals such as zinc and manganese able to be recovered. As a result,less primary raw materials would be required to be mined, therefore doubling theenvironmental benefits of this approach (Savilgan et al. 2009). However, the ultimaterecycling solution would comprise a closed-loop life cycle, where recycled batteries woulddirectly be manufactured into new batteries with minimal waste.Almeida et al. (2006) states that alkaline batteries account for the majority share of householdbatteries worldwide, with the AA standard the most popular size. Therefore, specificallyfocusing on this product provides the best opportunity to achieve significant progress. Inaddition to zinc and manganese, the other main components of alkaline batteries includegraphite and potassium hydroxide solution; however, these two constituents are not easilyable to be recycled (Savilgan et al. 2009).In order to recover the zinc and manganese from batteries, either hydrometallurgical orpyrometallurgical methods are used (Bernardes, Espinosa &Tenório 2004). Pyrometallurgicalprocesses are generally used to provide raw materials for the steel production industry,2 whereas recovering metals from spent alkaline batteries for use in new batteries is achievedthrough hydrometallurgical recycling techniques. Therefore, in order to ensure a sufficientsupply of recycled materials for use in new batteries, prioritisation of hydrometallurgicalprocesses may need to occur.However, Schultmann, Engels andRentz (2003) mention that the hydrometallurgical recyclingprocess may create impurities in the output materials, hencedecreasing the quality of therecycled product. According to Almeida et al. (2006), batteries require pure raw materials,therefore posing the question of whether the use of recycled components in the manufactureof batteries affects their performance due to the potential for recovered materials to bedegraded through contamination.Measuring the performance of batteries is a detailed field which requires a narrow scope inorder to obtain useful data. Two attributes that can be measured through conducting tests arethe lifetime and discharge characteristics, which are common benchmarking tools in theelectronics industry (Djordevic&Karanovic 2006). By limiting the scope of research to thesetwo reference points, reliable and unbiased results can be collected for batteries manufacturedwith and without recycled components. Therefore, clear comparisons can be made and anydifferences closely analysed.As part of research undertaken by Agarwal et al. (2010), a model to estimate the expectedlifetime of a battery was presented. This model uses a partially linearized input-outputapproach and is claimed to be computationally inexpensive, an important aspect whenconducting a number of tests. Another benefit of this simulation is that it allows data obtainedfrom physical tests to be validated, as well as enabling a standardised procedure to befollowed.3 Another research study in the field of battery testing, conducted by Djordevic and Karanovic(2006), describes a procedure for testing the discharge characteristics of AA alkaline batteriesthrough the use of a calculated discharge-curve method. This algorithm involves using one setof curves to show the battery voltage versus time, again enabling a standardised procedure tobe followed, as well as allowing reliable data to be obtained in order forclear comparisons tobe made.The first company to introduce the concept of AA alkaline batteries partially manufacturedwith recycled components in the commercial sector was Energizer, with a product namedEcoAdvanced. This is a recent breakthrough in technology and involves the use of recycledbattery material sourced from post-consumer waste (Energizer 2016). It is claimed that theproduct is the company’s highest performing type of alkaline battery, with recycledcomponents comprising 10% of a key active ingredient and 4% of the total battery content.As this concept is relatively new, insufficient information is currently available on the subjectin order to draw reliable conclusions from, highlighting a gap in the existing literature.Therefore, these unsubstantiated claims cannot be verified and represent a need for furtherresearch. I plan to address the problem by measuring the effect of partially manufacturing AAalkaline batteries with recycled components to see how the lifetime and dischargecharacteristics differ.4 "