Disassembling and materials recovering process of alkaline manganese dry batteries by vacuum-aided recycling systems technology (VARS Tech.)

Vacuum-aided recycling systems technology (VARS Tech) is a recycling technology that includes a selective material recovering process that utilizes vacuum evaporation. It is based on the concept of the Ecofactory as a next generation manufacturing system. For our investigation, we conducted fundamental research on a process of disassembling and recovering selected materials from alkaline manganese dry batteries using a newly developed experimental apparatus. The specimen temperature, the reduction in mass caused by vacuum evaporation, and the vacuum pressure were measured during the vacuum thermal cycle. We designed an effective vacuum thermal cycle based on the evaporation phenomenon in each component material and calculated the required thermal energy.