Primary and secondary battery consumption trends in Sweden 1996-2013: Method development and detailed accounting by battery type
Journal article, 2015

In this article, a new method based on Material Flow Accounting is proposed to study detailed material flows in battery consumption that can be replicated for other countries. The method uses regularly available statistics on import, industrial production and export of batteries and battery-containing electric and electronic equipment (EEE). To promote method use by other scholars with no access to such data, several empirically results and their trends over time, for different types of batteries occurrence among the EEE types are provided. The information provided by the method can be used to: identify drivers of battery consumption; study the dynamic behavior of battery flows - due to technology development, policies, consumers behavior and infrastructures. The method is exemplified by the study of battery flows in Sweden for years 1996-2013. The batteries were accounted, both in units and weight, as primary and secondary batteries; loose and integrated; by electrochemical composition and share of battery use between different types of EEE. Results show that, despite a fivefold increase in the consumption of rechargeable batteries, they account for only about 14% of total use of portable batteries. Recent increase in digital convergence has resulted in a sharp decline in the consumption of primary batteries, which has now stabilized at a fairly low level. Conversely, the consumption of integrated batteries has increased sharply. In 2013, 61% of the total weight of batteries sold in Sweden was collected, and for the particular case of alkaline manganese dioxide batteries, the value achieved 74%. (c) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SITUATION

Engineering

WEEE

Environmental

ALKALINE

Recycling

Portable batteries

Batteries collection

MATERIAL FLOW

Rechargeable batteries

Environmental Sciences

Integrated batteries

Author

Joao Patricio

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Yuliya Kalmykova

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Per Eo Berg

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Leonardo Rosado

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Helena Åberg

University of Gothenburg

Waste Management

0956-053X (ISSN) 1879-2456 (eISSN)

Vol. 39 5 236-245

Subject Categories

Health Sciences

DOI

10.1016/j.wasman.2015.02.008

PubMed

25782361

More information

Latest update

6/7/2018 6