Choudhary Deepika, Sangwan Kuldip Singh, Singh Arpit
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani, Rajasthan, 333031, India.
Sci Rep. 2024 Jul 16;14(1):16467. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-67404-z.
Widespread use of lead acid batteries (LABs) is resulting in the generation of million tons of battery waste, globally. LAB waste contains critical and hazardous materials, which have detrimental effects on the environment and human health. In recent times, recycling of the LABs has become efficient but the collection of batteries in developing countries is not efficient, which led to the non-professional treatment and recycling of these batteries in the informal sector. This paper proposes a blockchain-enabled architecture for LAB circularity, which ensures authentic, traceable and transparent system for collection and treatment of batteries. The stakeholders-battery manufacturers, distributors, retailers, users, and validators (governments, domain experts, third party experts, etc.)-are integrated in the circular loop through a blockchain network. A mobile application user interface is provided to all the stakeholders for the ease of adoption. The batteries manufactured and supplied in a geographical region as well as the recycled materials at the battery end-of-life are traced authentically. This architecture is expected to be useful for the battery manufacturers to improve their extended producer responsibility and support responsible consumption and production.
全球范围内，铅酸电池（LABs）的广泛使用正导致数百万吨电池废物的产生。铅酸电池废物包含关键和有害物质，对环境和人类健康有不利影响。近年来，铅酸电池的回收已变得高效，但发展中国家的电池收集效率不高，这导致这些电池在非正规部门进行非专业处理和回收。本文提出了一种基于区块链的铅酸电池循环利用架构，该架构确保了电池收集和处理系统的真实性、可追溯性和透明度。利益相关者——电池制造商、经销商、零售商、用户和验证者（政府、领域专家、第三方专家等）——通过区块链网络被整合到循环回路中。为所有利益相关者提供了一个移动应用程序用户界面，以便于采用。在一个地理区域内生产和供应的电池以及电池寿命结束时的回收材料都能得到真实追踪。预计该架构将有助于电池制造商提高其生产者延伸责任，并支持负责任的消费和生产。
