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IC 9071 
 
 Bureau of Mines Information Circular/1986 
 
 / 
 
 Economic Evaluation of an Electrolytic 
 Process To Recover Lead From Scrap 
 Batteries 
 
 By Thomas A. Phillips 
 
 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
 
Information Circular 9071 
 
 Economic Evaluation of an Electrolytic 
 Process To Recover Lead From Scrap 
 Batteries 
 
 By Thomas A. Phillips 
 
 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
 Donald Paul Hodel, Secretary 
 
 BUREAU OF MINES 
 Robert C. Horton, Director 
 

 ^ 
 
 £\b 
 
 n\ 
 
 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data: 
 
 Phillips, Thomas A 
 
 Economic evaluation of an electrolytic process to recover lead from 
 scrap batteries. 
 
 (Information circular ; 9071) 
 
 Bibliography: p. 10. 
 
 Supt.ofDocs.no.: 128.27: 9071. 
 
 1. Lead— Electrometallurgy. 2. Lead — Electrometallurgy — Economic 
 aspects. 3. Storage batteries— Recycling. 4. Electrolytic cells. I. 
 Title. II. Series: Information circular (United States. Bureau of Mines) ; 
 9071. 
 
 -T-N-2&&rfcHh- [TN785] 622s [669\4] 85-600314 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 Abstract 1 
 
 Introduction 2 
 
 Process and plant description 2 
 
 Feed preparation section 2 
 
 Anode casting section 3 
 
 Leaching section 3 
 
 Electrolysis section A 
 
 Electroref ining A 
 
 Electrowinning A 
 
 Ammonia recovery section 5 
 
 Economics 5 
 
 Capital costs 5 
 
 Operating costs 7 
 
 Products 7 
 
 Profitability 8 
 
 Alternate leach process 9 
 
 Conclusions 10 
 
 References 10 
 
 Appendix A. — Utility requirements, direct labor requirements, major items of 
 equipment, daily thermal and utility requirements, and equipment cost 
 
 summaries 11 
 
 Appendix B. — Alternate leach process 18 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 1. Electrolytic process for recovering lead from battery scrap 3 
 
 2. Selling price of lead versus interest rate of return on investment after 
 
 taxes « 9 
 
 TABLES 
 
 1 . Estimated capital cost 6 
 
 2. Estimated annual operating cost 8 
 
 3 . Product values 9 
 
 A-l. Raw material and utility requirements 11 
 
 A-2. Direct labor requirements 11 
 
 A-3. Major items of equipment 12 
 
 A-A. Daily thermal requirements 12 
 
 A-5. Daily utility requirements 12 
 
 A-6. Equipment cost summary, feed preparation section 13 
 
 A-7. Equipment cost summary, anode casting section 1A 
 
 A-8. Equipment cost summary, leaching section 15 
 
 A-9. Equipment cost summary, electrolysis section 16 
 
 A-10. Equipment cost summary, ammonia recovery section 17 
 
 B-l. Estimated capital cost, alternate leach process... 18 
 
 B-2. Estimated annual operating cost, alternate leach process 19 
 
 B-3. Product values , alternate leach process 19 
 

 UNIT OF MEASURE 
 
 ABBREVIATIONS USED 
 
 IN THIS REPORT 
 
 A/m 2 
 
 ampere per square 
 
 meter 
 
 kW'h/lb 
 
 kilowatt hour per pound 
 
 °C 
 
 degree Celsius 
 
 
 
 lb 
 
 pound 
 
 cm 
 
 centimeter 
 
 
 
 lb/d 
 
 pound per day 
 
 d/wk 
 
 day per week 
 
 
 
 lb/h 
 
 pound per hour 
 
 d/yr 
 
 day per year 
 
 
 
 ra 
 
 meter 
 
 ft 
 
 foot 
 
 
 
 Mgal 
 
 thousand gallon 
 
 ft* 
 
 square foot 
 
 
 
 min 
 
 minute 
 
 f t 3 
 
 cubic foot 
 
 
 
 MMBtu 
 
 million British thermal unit 
 
 gal 
 
 gallon 
 
 
 
 pet 
 
 percent 
 
 g/L 
 
 gram per liter 
 
 
 
 st 
 
 short ton 
 
 h 
 
 hour 
 
 
 
 st/d 
 
 short ton per day 
 
 h/d 
 
 hour per day 
 
 
 
 thm 
 
 therm 
 
 kW 
 
 kilowatt 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 volt 
 
 kW»h 
 
 kilowatt hour 
 
 
 
 yr 
 
 year 
 
 kW'h/kg 
 
 kilowatt hour per 
 
 ki 
 
 Logram 
 
 
 
ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF AN ELECTROLYTIC PROCESS 
 TO RECOVER LEAD FROM SCRAP BATTERIES 
 
 By Thomas A. Phillips ' 
 
 ABSTRACT 
 
 This publication is an economic evaluation of the Bureau of Mines 
 electrolytic process for recovering lead from scrap lead-acid batteries. 
 In this process, scrap batteries are crushed and separated into metal 
 and sludge fractions. The metal fraction is cast as anodes and electro- 
 refined. Lead in the sludge fraction is converted to lead carbonate by 
 reaction with an ammonium carbonate-ammonium bisulfite solution. The 
 lead carbonate is then dissolved in a fluosilicic acid electrolyte from 
 which pure lead metal is electrowon. 
 
 A cost estimate is presented for a plant capable of processing 10,000 
 scrap batteries per day. The fixed capital cost for this plant is esti- 
 mated to be $14 million on a fourth quarter 1984 basis. Operating costs 
 are estimated to be $0.15/lb Pb recovered. Assuming a lead selling 
 price of $0.17/lb, the interest rate of return on investment after taxes 
 is 11 pet. A lead selling price of about $0.21/lb is needed to obtain a 
 20-pct-interest rate of return. 
 
 1 Chemical engineer, Avondale Research Center, Bureau of Mines, Avondale, MD. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The recovery of secondary lead from scrap is melted and cast as anodes that 
 
 scrap lead-acid batteries currently re- 
 quires that the batteries be smelted in 
 a furnace. Typically, reverberatory and/ 
 or blast furnaces are used. These invar- 
 iably release some sulfur dioxide and 
 lead fumes to the atmosphere; owing to 
 tightening emission and workplace expo- 
 sure standards, these emissions are dif- 
 ficult to adequately control. 
 
 Researchers at the Bureau of Mines Rol- 
 la Research Center have developed alter- 
 nate technology to recover lead from bat- 
 tery scrap. The metallic portion of the 
 
 are electroref ined. Lead in the battery 
 sludge is leached and electrowon by a 
 novel technique patented by the Bureau of 
 Mines (J_).2 
 
 The technical feasibility of this ap- 
 proach has been demonstrated and reported, 
 in RI 8602 (2) and RI 8857 (_3 ) . This re- 
 port contains an economic evaluation of 
 the Bureau's process to aid in assessing 
 its potential. Capital and operating 
 costs are included for a commercial-scale 
 plant based on a conceptual flowsheet de- 
 veloped from the Bureau's research. 
 
 PROCESS AND PLANT DESCRIPTION 
 
 In the proposed process, scrap bat- 
 teries are crushed and separated into 
 four products: Waste sulfuric acid, 
 plastic and rubber casing material, me- 
 tallic lead, anc 1 a fine sludge. The 
 waste acid is neutralized with lime and 
 discarded. The plastic casing material 
 may have some market potential, and the 
 rubber is a waste product. 
 
 The metallic portion of the scrap is 
 melted and cast as anodes, which are 
 electroref ined using a fluosilicic acid 
 electrolyte. Lead in the sludge, as 
 either a dioxide or sulfate, is insoluble 
 in fluosilicic acid, so it is converted 
 to lead carbonate by treatment with a 
 solution of ammonium carbonate and ammo- 
 nium bisulfite. The lead carbonate is 
 then leached with fluosilicic acid to 
 produce a solution from which lead is 
 electrowon. The major operations are 
 shown in figure 1. 
 
 Based on this process, a plant has been 
 designed to recover about 82 st/d Pb from 
 10,000 scrap batteries. This scale is 
 approximately the scale of a large sec- 
 ondary smelter. For description, the 
 plant has arbitrarily been divided into 
 five sections: Feed preparation, anode 
 casting, leaching, electrolysis, and am- 
 monia recovery. The sizes of the major 
 items of equipment for each section are 
 shown in table A-3. Daily thermal and 
 utility requirements for each section are 
 also shown in appendix A. The plant is 
 designed to operate 7 d/wk with the feed 
 
 preparation and anode casting sections 
 operating one shift and the remainder of 
 the plant operating three shifts. 
 
 FEED PREPARATION SECTION 
 
 Scrap batteries are assumed to be de- 
 livered to the plant by truck and dumped 
 on an acid-proof pad. The batteries are 
 picked up by a front-end loader and fed 
 to a crushing and classification system. 
 This system is available as a packaged 
 unit and is capable of classifying bat- 
 tery scrap into the proper components. 
 
 In the system, whole batteries are fed 
 to a stainless steel hammer mill and 
 crushed to a "workable" size. Discharge 
 from the hammer mill flows through a se- 
 ries of classifiers, which separate the 
 scrap into distinct fractions, including 
 a metal fraction consisting of grid metal 
 and battery posts and a sludge fraction 
 of lead sulfate, lead oxide, lead diox- 
 ide, and fine metallic lead particles. 
 The plastic casing components and hard 
 rubber components are also recovered as 
 two separate fractions. 
 
 Waste acid from the batteries and water 
 used in the classification system are 
 collected and mixed with lime to neutral- 
 ize the acid. An average acid strength 
 of 14 pet l^SO^ is assumed for material 
 
 ^Underlined numbers in parentheses re- 
 fer to items in the list of references 
 preceding the appendixes. 
 

 
 Li 
 
 me 
 
 
 Scrap batte 
 
 1 
 
 r ies 
 
 
 (NH,,) 2 C0 3 
 
 NH,,HS0 3 
 
 solution 
 
 H ? 
 
 
 
 NEUTRALIZATION 
 
 
 FEED PREPARATION 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Gypsum 
 
 
 
 
 Sludge 
 
 
 \ 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 Metal 1 ic 
 lead 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 
 CARBONATE LEACH 
 
 ADSORPTION 
 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 Fi 1 trate 
 
 and 
 washi ngs 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 1 'nh 3 
 
 C0 2 
 
 
 
 MELTING 
 
 
 w 
 
 1 
 
 , 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 1 
 
 an 
 wash 
 
 d 
 
 
 FILTRATION 
 
 AMMONIA RECOVERT 
 
 
 water 
 
 
 Waste 
 
 
 
 
 Fine lead 
 met a 1 
 
 
 
 PbC0 3 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 CASTING 
 
 
 FILTRATION 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 Recyc le 
 electrodes 
 
 
 ACID LEACH 
 
 
 * j| H 2 Sjt- 6 
 
 f 
 
 Gypsum 
 
 e 
 
 
 Ano 
 
 1 
 
 des 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 ~~t ' 
 
 
 
 Fi Iter 
 
 
 FILTRATION 
 
 
 aid 
 
 
 1 
 
 Recyc le e lect rol y t 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 L 
 
 
 Makeup electrolyte 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ r 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 ELECTRO-REFINING 
 
 
 ' ELECTROLYTE FILTRATION 
 
 
 ELECTROWINNING 
 
 
 f V 
 
 t imo 
 lime 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 < 
 Lead r 
 
 letal An 
 s 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 \ 
 Lead 
 
 1 
 met a 1 
 
 
 
 FIGURE 1. - Electrolytic process for recovering lead from battery scrap. 
 
 balance calculations , although it may 
 vary from 4 to 20 pet. The neutralized 
 slurry flows to a pond, where the solids 
 settle. Periodically the pond is dredged 
 to remove the solids for disposal. Over- 
 flow from the pond is pumped through a 
 sand filter for reuse in the process or 
 discharge to a sewer. 
 
 ANODE CASTING SECTION 
 
 Metal from the feed preparation section 
 is fed to a melting furnace along with 
 recycled anodes from electroref ining and 
 fine lead prills recycled from the leach- 
 ing section. Upon melting, a slag forms 
 from the oxidized portion of the feed, 
 protecting the molten lead from further 
 oxidation. (A portion of the slag is 
 periodically skimmed from the furnace, 
 allowed to cool, and discarded.) Molten 
 lead from the casting furnace is poured 
 into molds, forming the anodes. Each 
 anode is approximately 0.75 m by 1.5 m by 
 1 cm. These are arbitrary dimensions. 
 
 LEACHING SECTION 
 
 Sludge from the feed preparation sec- 
 tion is mixed with an ammonium carbonate- 
 ammonium bisulfite solution and heated to 
 55° C. Average retention in the carbon- 
 ate leach is 1 h. During this time, the 
 following reactions are assumed to take 
 place: 
 
 PbSO^ + (NH 1+ ) 2 C0 3 * PbC0 3 + (NH 1+ ) 2 SO t+ 
 
 and Pb0 2 + NH^HS0 3 + (NH^) 2 C0 3 
 
 ■*■ PbC0 3 + (NH 1+ ) 2 S0 1+ + NH^OH. 
 
 The lead carbonate formed is insoluble 
 and is recovered and washed on a rotary- 
 vacuum drum filter. A filter aid is re- 
 quired to give adequate filtration rates. 
 Both filtrate and washings are pumped to 
 the ammonia recovery section. 
 
 To dissolve the lead carbonate, the 
 filter cake is mixed with recycled 
 fluosilicic acid electrolyte from the 
 
electrolysis section. The electrolyte 
 initially contains about 120 g/L free 
 H 2 SiF 6 and about 50 to 70 g/L Pb as 
 PbSiF 6 . Leaching at 45° C for 30 min in- 
 creases the lead content of the electro- 
 lyte to about 100 g/L. The primary leach 
 reaction is assumed to be 
 
 PbC0 3 + H 2 SiF 6 ■> PbSiF 6 + H 2 + C0 2 . 
 
 Unreacted solids, primarily metallic 
 lead, lead sulfate, and some phosphate 
 compounds, are mixed with additional fil- 
 ter aid and separated from the loaded 
 electrolyte in a rotary— vacuum drum fil- 
 ter. The filter cake is discharged to a 
 screen, and much of the metallic lead is 
 separated for recycle to the anode cast- 
 ing section. Solids passing the screen 
 are allowed to dewater and then col- 
 lected for disposal. These solids are 
 stable and can be discarded in a land- 
 fill. Loaded electrolyte from the filter 
 is pumped to the electrolysis section. 
 
 ELECTROLYSIS SECTION 
 
 Elect roref ining 
 
 Anodes from the anode casting section 
 are placed in electroref ining cells. It 
 is assumed that 30 anodes will be refined 
 per cell. Cathodes are 0.16-cm-thick 
 lead starter sheets. Spacing between 
 electrodes is 3 cm. The electrolyte is 
 fluosilicic acid, which flows by gravity 
 from a head tank through the electro- 
 refining cells to a sump. From the sump 
 the electrolyte is pumped up through a 
 clarifying filter to the head tank. 
 Makeup electrolyte is taken from the 
 electrowinning circuit. 
 
 Anodes are pulled from the cells every 
 3 days to remove the slime blanket that 
 forms. This slime contains 70 pet Sb, 
 11 pet Pb, less than 5 pet As, less than 
 1 pet Sn, and less than 0.1 pet Ag. It 
 is assumed that the slime can be sold to 
 recover these metal values. 
 
 When 60 pet of the anode is consumed, 
 it is pulled from the refining cell and 
 returned to the anode casting section to 
 be remelted and recast as an anode. Cur- 
 rent density in the cell is about 170 
 A/m 2 at a cell voltage of 0.3 V. Average 
 
 current efficiency in laboratory studies 
 was about 98 pet with an average power 
 consumption of 0.09 kW*h/kg Pb recovered. 
 The cathode lead assays 99.99 pet Pb. 
 
 Electrowinning 
 
 Loaded electrolyte from the leaching 
 section is fed to a head tank from which 
 it flows to the electrowinning cells. 
 These cells are identical to the electro- 
 refining cells with the exception of the 
 anode, which is titanium coated with in- 
 soluble lead dioxide. The anode was de- 
 veloped and patented (4_) at the Bureau's 
 Rolla Research Center. Cell voltage is 
 maintained at 2.5 V with a current den- 
 sity of 170 A/m 2 . 
 
 During electrowinning about one-third 
 of the lead in solution is reduced. The 
 cell reaction is assumed to be 
 
 2PbSiF 6 + 2H 2 -► 2Pb + 2H 2 SiF 6 + 2 . 
 
 Normally the reaction would be 
 
 2PbSiF 6 + 2H 2 + Pb + Pb0 2 + 2H 2 SiF 6 . 
 
 The presence of phosphate in the electro- 
 lyte (found normally in byproduct fluo- 
 silicic acid) seems to favor the first 
 reaction. Over 99 pet of the lead re- 
 acted is recovered as metallic lead at 
 the cathode. The small quantity of lead 
 recovered as Pb0 2 at the anode is recy- 
 cled to the carbonate leach. Current ef- 
 ficiencies are 95 pet or better with 
 overall power consumption of 0.8 kW-h/kg 
 Pb recovered. 
 
 The lead remaining (about 70 g/L) in 
 the electrolyte forms a recirculating 
 load in the acid leach-electrowinning 
 circuit. Reducing a higher percentage of 
 lead would reduce current efficiencies. 
 
 Spent electrolyte flows from the elec- 
 trowinning cells to a sump from which it 
 is returned to the leaching section. In 
 the test work to date impurity buildup 
 has not been a problem. Some electrolyte 
 will be lost to the acid leach residue 
 and other causes such as drag out. Make- 
 up fluosilicic acid should be byproduct 
 acid from the manufacture of phosphate 
 fertilizer to take advantage of its natu- 
 ral phosphate content. 
 
AMMONIA RECOVERY SECTION 
 
 Leachate from the ammoniacal treatment 
 contains ammonium carbonate, ammonium 
 sulfate, and some ammonium hydroxide. 
 This stream is mixed with lime and fed to 
 a steam stripping tower. The lime ties 
 up the sulfate ions, freeing the ammonia, 
 which is pulled off the tower as a vapor. 
 The ammonium carbonate decomposes and 
 leaves the tower as ammonia and carbon 
 
 dioxide. Gypsum formed in the stripping 
 tower is separated from the remaining so- 
 lution by filtration. 
 
 Filtrate from the gypsum filter is used 
 to absorb the ammonia and carbon dioxide 
 gases from the stripping. Makeup ammonia 
 and carbon dioxide are also absorbed in 
 this step. Sulfur dioxide is then bub- 
 bled through this solution to produce 
 ammonium bisulfite for the recycle leach 
 solution. 
 
 ECONOMICS 
 
 The intent of an economic evaluation 
 is to present a capital and operating 
 cost estimate of a commercial-size plant. 
 Such estimates may be used as an aid for 
 studies and decisions on the course of 
 future research. 
 
 In the preparation of any economic 
 evaluation, it is necessary to make many 
 assumptions. In general, the assumptions 
 that are made are expected either to 
 apply to the majority of the potential 
 plants or to have only a small effect on 
 the process capital and operating costs. 
 An example of such an assumption in this 
 report is that most of the plant operates 
 three shifts per day, 7 d/wk. 
 
 However, if an assumption is neces- 
 sary that may not apply to a majority of 
 plants and that may have a major effect 
 on capital or operating costs, then the 
 assumption is generally excluded from the 
 evaluation. An example of such an exclu- 
 sion is that land cost has not been in- 
 cluded in the capital or operating cost 
 estimates. When an assumption has been 
 made or when it has been deliberately ex- 
 cluded, this fact is documented in the 
 report. 
 
 • Because of the large number of assump- 
 tions necessarily present in its economic 
 evaluations, the Bureau strives to pre- 
 sent its evaluations in a format suf- 
 ficiently detailed and flexible to al- 
 low a user to make any adjustments that 
 would fit the evaluation to a particular 
 situation. 
 
 CAPITAL COSTS 
 
 The capital cost estimate is of the 
 general type called a study estimate by 
 
 Weaver and Bauman (5_) . This type of es- 
 timate, prepared from a flowsheet and a 
 minimum of equipment data, can be ex- 
 pected to be within 30 pet of the actual 
 cost for the plant described. The esti- 
 mated fixed capital cost on a fourth 
 quarter 1984 basis (Marshall and Swift 
 (M and S) index of 785.2) for a plant 
 processing 10,000 batteries per day is 
 about $14 million, as shown in table 1. 
 Based on an average production of 164,000 
 lb/d Pb, this translates to a capital in- 
 vestment of $0.26 per annual pound. 
 
 Equipment costs for the process are 
 based on cost-capacity data and manufac- 
 turers' cost quotations. Exceptions are 
 the electroref ining and electrowinning 
 cells. These have been hand designed and 
 costed based on commercial electroref in- 
 ing and electrowinning cell designs. 
 Equipment costs for each section are 
 shown in tables A-6 through A-10. Cost 
 data are brought up to date by the use 
 of inflation indexes. In developing the 
 plant capital costs, corrosion-resistant 
 materials of construction were used where 
 appropriate. For example, the leach 
 tanks are steel, lined with polyester, 
 and acid-resistant brick. 
 
 Factors for piping, etc. , except for 
 the foundation and electrical factors, 
 are assigned to each section, using as a 
 basis the effect fluids, solids, or a 
 combination of fluids and solids may have 
 on the process equipment. The founda- 
 tion cost is estimated for each piece of 
 equipment individually, and a factor for 
 the entire section is calculated from the 
 totals. The electrical factor is based 
 on motor horsepower requirements for each 
 section. A factor of 10 pet, referred to 
 
TABLE 1. - Estimated capital cost 1 
 
 Fixed capital: 
 
 Feed preparation section $1,767,800 
 
 Anode casting section 1 ,567 ,800 
 
 Leaching section 1 ,776,300 
 
 Electrolysis section 4,650,700 
 
 Ammonia recovery section 453 ,000 
 
 Steamplant 94,900 
 
 Subtotal 10,310,500 
 
 Plant facilities, 10 pet of above subtotal 1,031,100 
 
 Plant utilities, 12 pet of above subtotal 1,237,300 
 
 Basic plant cost 12,578,900 
 
 Escalation costs during construction 483,300 
 
 Total plant cost 13,062,200 
 
 Land cos t 
 
 Subtotal % 13,062,200 
 
 Interest during construction period 1 ,007 ,100 
 
 Fixed capital cost 14,069,300 
 
 Working capital: 
 
 Raw material and supplies 300,000 
 
 Product and in-process inventory 673,300 
 
 Accounts receivable 673,300 
 
 Available cash 493,700 
 
 Working capital cost 2,140,300 
 
 Capitalized startup costs 140,700 
 
 Subtotal 2,281,000 
 
 Total capital cost 16,350,300 
 
 1 Basis: M and S equipment cost index of 785.2. 
 
 as miscellaneous, is added to each sec- labor for auxiliary buildings such as of- 
 
 tion to cover minor equipment and con- f ices , shops, laboratories, and cafete- 
 
 struction costs that are not shown with rias , and the cost of nonprocess equip- 
 
 the equipment listed. ment such as office furniture, together 
 
 For each section, the field indi- with safety, shop, and laboratory equip- 
 
 rect cost, which covers field supervi- ment. Also included are labor and mate- 
 
 sion, inspection, temporary construction, rial costs for site preparation such as 
 
 equipment rental, and payroll overhead, site clearing, grading, drainage, roads, 
 
 is estimated at 10 pet of the direct and fences. The cost of water, power, 
 
 cost. Engineering cost is estimated at and steam distribution systems is in- 
 
 5 pet, and administration and overhead eluded under plant utilities, 
 
 cost is estimated at 5 pet of the con- Inflation during construction can be a 
 
 struction cost. A contingency allowance major economic factor; therefore, an es- 
 
 of 10 pet and a contractor's fee of 5 pet timation of the effects of inflation is 
 
 are included in the section cost. included as escalation costs during con- 
 
 The costs of plant facilities and plant struction. An expenditure schedule based 
 
 utilities are estimated as 10 and 12 pet, on the basic plant cost is adjusted on a 
 
 respectively, of the total process sec- monthly basis to obtain the escalation 
 
 tion costs and include the same field cost. Over a construction period of 18 
 
 indirect costs, engineering, administra- months the inflation rate is assumed to 
 
 tion and overhead, contingency allowance, be constant at 5 pet annually, 
 
 and contractor's fee as are included in The cost for interest on the capital 
 
 the section costs. Included under plant borrowed for construction is included as 
 
 facilities are the costs of material and interest during construction. A simple 
 
annual interest rate of 10 pet has been 
 assumed. The same expenditure schedule 
 used to calculate escalation costs during 
 construction is used to adjust the inter- 
 est rate over the construction period. 
 Land investment is not included in this 
 estimate. Cost for the plant owner's su- 
 pervision is not included in the capital 
 cost of the processed plant. 
 
 Working capital is defined as the funds 
 in addition to fixed capital, land in- 
 vestment, and startup costs that must be 
 provided to operate the plant. Working 
 capital, also shown in table 1, is esti- 
 mated from the following items: (1) Raw 
 material and supplies inventory (cost of 
 raw material and operating supplies for 
 30 days), (2) product and in-process in- 
 ventory (total operating cost for 30 
 days), (3) accounts receivable (total op- 
 erating cost for 30 days) , and (4) avail- 
 able cash (direct expenses for 30 days) . 
 
 Capitalized startup costs are estimated 
 as 1 pet of the fixed capital, which is 
 shown in table 1 . 
 
 OPERATING COSTS 
 
 The estimated operating costs are based 
 on 330 d/yr operation over the life of 
 the plant. This allows 35 d/yr downtime 
 for inspection, maintenance, and unsched- 
 uled interruptions. The operating costs 
 are divided into direct, indirect, and 
 fixed costs. 
 
 Direct costs include raw materials, 
 utilities, direct labor, plant mainte- 
 nance, payroll overhead, and operating 
 supplies. The raw material costs do not 
 include transportation costs. Electric- 
 ity, water, and natural gas are purchased 
 utilities. Raw material and utility re- 
 quirements per pound of lead are shown in 
 table A-l. 
 
 Direct labor costs are estimated on the 
 basis of assigning 4.2 employees to each 
 position that operates 24 h/d, 7 d/wk, 
 and 1.4 employees to each position that 
 operates 8 h/d, 7 d/wk. Sectional labor 
 requirements are shown in table A-2. The 
 cost of labor supervision is estimated as 
 15 pet of the labor cost. 
 
 Plant maintenance is separately esti- 
 mated for each piece of equipment and for 
 
 the buildings, electrical system, piping, 
 plant utility distribution systems, and 
 plant facilities. 
 
 Payroll overhead, estimated as 35 pet 
 of direct labor and maintenance labor, 
 includes vacation, sick leave, Social 
 Security, and fringe benefits. The cost 
 of operating supplies is estimated as 20 
 pet of the cost of plant maintenance. 
 
 Indirect costs are estimated as 40 
 pet of the direct labor and maintenance 
 costs. The indirect costs include the 
 expenses of control laboratories, ac- 
 counting, plant protection and safety, 
 plant administration, marketing, and com- 
 pany overhead. Research and overall com- 
 pany administrative costs outside the 
 plant are not included. 
 
 Fixed costs include the cost of taxes 
 (excluding income taxes), insurance, and 
 depreciation. The annual costs of both 
 taxes and insurance are each estimated as 
 1 pet of the plant construction cost. 
 Depreciation is based on a straight-line, 
 10-yr period. 
 
 The estimated annual operating cost for 
 the proposed plant is about $8.2 million, 
 as shown in table 2. Based on a produc- 
 tion of 164,380 lb/d Pb, 330 d/yr, this 
 corresponds to a cost of $0.15/lb Pb. 
 
 PRODUCTS 
 
 Products from the proposed process in- 
 clude 164,380 lb/d Pb and 5,832 lb/d Sb 
 slimes. In addition, about 60,000 lb/d 
 plastic and rubber will be recovered. 
 Between 56,400 and 83,300 lb/d byproduct 
 gypsum will be recovered depending on 
 the strength of the waste battery acid. 
 At an average of 14 pet H^SO^ the quan- 
 tity of gypsum will be 73,230 lb. About 
 22,000 lb/d residue from the acid leach 
 step is also recovered. 
 
 The lead, antimony slimes, and plastic 
 products should be marketable. Both the 
 byproduct gypsum and the leach residue 
 will be relatively stable waste products, 
 which can be disposed of in a landfill. 
 The rubber recovered will probably be 
 considered a hazardous waste and will 
 have to be handled as such. Product val- 
 ues or disposal costs are shown in ta- 
 ble 3. The assumed disposal cost for 
 
TABLE 2. - Estimated annual operating cost 
 
 Annual 
 
 Cost per 
 
 cost 
 
 pound lead 
 
 $2,348,800 
 
 $0,043 
 
 373,400 
 
 .007 
 
 29,100 
 
 .001 
 
 283,000 
 
 .005 
 
 264,700 
 
 .005 
 
 82,400 
 
 .002 
 
 120,800 
 
 .002 
 
 1,700 
 
 1.000 
 
 11,800 
 
 1.000 
 
 700 
 
 1.000 
 
 3,516,400 
 
 .065 
 
 512,100 
 
 .009 
 
 4,900 
 
 1.000 
 
 201,600 
 
 .004 
 
 718,600 
 
 .013 
 
 542,900 
 
 .010 
 
 81,400 
 
 .002 
 
 624,300 
 
 .012 
 
 303,600 
 
 .006 
 
 60,700 
 
 .001 
 
 303,500 
 
 .006 
 
 667,800 
 
 .013 
 
 346,000 
 
 .006 
 
 133,600 
 
 .002 
 
 6,006,700 
 
 .114 
 
 516,800 
 
 .010 
 
 130,600 
 
 .002 
 
 130,600 
 
 .002 
 
 1,406,900 
 
 .026 
 
 8,191,600 
 
 .151 
 
 Direct cost: 
 Raw materials: 
 
 Whole batteries at $50/st 
 
 Fluosilicic acid at $92/st 
 
 Ammonia at $ 2 1 0/ s t 
 
 Carbon dioxide at $90/st , 
 
 Sulfur dioxide at $210/st . .... 
 
 Filter aid at $150/st 
 
 Lime at $30.75/st 
 
 Glue at $0.85/lb 
 
 Calcium lignin sulfonate at $0.25/lb 
 
 Chemicals for steamplant water treatment 
 
 Total 
 
 Utilities: 
 
 Electric power at $0.047/kW«h 
 
 Process water at $0.25/Mgal 
 
 Natural gas at $4.50/MMBtu 
 
 Total 
 
 Direct labor: 
 
 Labor at $9/h , 
 
 Supervision, 5 pet of labor 
 
 Total. 
 
 Plant maintenance: 
 
 Labor 
 
 Supervision, 20 pet of maintenance labor 
 
 Materials 
 
 Total 
 
 Payroll overhead, 35 pet of above payroll 
 
 Operating supplies, 20 pet of plant maintenance.... 
 
 Total direct cost 
 
 Indirect cost, 40 pet of direct labor and maintenance 
 Fixed cost: 
 
 Taxes, 1 pet of total plant cost 
 
 Insurance, 1 pet of total plant cost 
 
 Depreciation, 10-yr life 
 
 Total operating cost 
 
 1 Numbers have been rounded down to $0,000. 
 
 gypsum and leach residues is a compro- 
 mise between typical costs for urban and 
 rural disposal. The values used for the 
 lead and plastic products are based on 
 published prices for competitive mate- 
 rials (i.e., primary lead and plastic 
 resins) . 
 
 PROFITABILITY 
 
 Based on the estimated operating cost 
 and the projected product values, the in- 
 terest rate of return on investment after 
 
 taxes is 11 pet, using the interest rate 
 of return method for calculations. Nor- 
 mally, consideration of a new project 
 would require a 15-pct rate of return on 
 investment after taxes as a minimum. 
 This preceding calculation is based on 
 the March 1985 lead price of $0.17/lb. 
 Secondary lead is listed at $0.21/lb. 
 Based on this value, the interest rate of 
 return on investment after taxes is 20 
 pet. Since the price of lead is not sta- 
 ble at the moment, figure 2 is presented 
 to show how the estimated interest rate 
 
TABLE 3. - Product values 
 
 
 Daily 
 production 
 
 Estimated 
 unit value 
 
 Annual returns 
 (debits) on sales 
 
 Value per pound 
 lead product 
 
 Products: 
 
 164,380 lb 
 
 5,832 lb 
 
 54,000 lb 
 
 $0.17/lb 
 .58/lb 
 ,05/lb 
 
 $9,222,000 
 
 1,116,000 
 
 891,000 
 
 $0.17 
 
 
 .021 
 .016 
 
 
 NAp 
 
 NAp 
 
 11,229,000 
 
 .207 
 
 Waste products: 
 
 36.6 st 
 11.2 st 
 
 3.0 st 
 
 -10.00/st 
 
 -10.00/st 
 
 -100.00/st 
 
 -121,000 
 -37,000 
 -99,000 
 
 -.002 
 
 
 -.001 
 -.002 
 
 
 NAp 
 
 NAp 
 
 -257,000 
 
 -.005 
 
 
 NAp 
 
 NAp 
 
 10,972,000 
 
 .202 
 
 NAp Not applicable. 
 
 ^otal daily production of plastic and rubber 
 values, the plastic product is estimated to be 
 rubber is estimated to be 10 pet. 
 
 is 60,000 lb. To compute product 
 90 pet of the total and the waste 
 
 of return on investment after taxes will 
 change with changing lead prices. In- 
 cluded in the rate of return calculations 
 are the revenues (debits) for the poten- 
 tial byproducts, as shown in table 3. 
 
 ALTERNATE LEACH PROCESS 
 
 To date, the main emphasis of the Bu- 
 reau's research has been to develop a 
 process to efficiently extract lead from 
 battery scrap as pure metal. One pro- 
 posed alternative would be to change the 
 leach procedure. Only the lead sul- 
 fate would be leached, leaving the lead 
 dioxide in the leach residue. The leach 
 
 S 25 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 Q 
 < 
 
 
 
 LU 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 U. 
 
 
 
 o „„ 
 
 
 
 LU 20 
 
 
 ^s^ — 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 tr 
 
 
 
 Q. 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 _j 
 
 
 
 _j 
 
 
 
 W ^ 
 
 1 I 
 
 I i 
 
 5 10 15 20 25 3i 
 
 INTEREST RATE OF RETURN ON INVESTMENT AFTER TAXES, pet 
 
 FIGURE 2. - Selling price of lead versus interest 
 rate of return on investment after taxes. 
 
 residue would then be sold to a lead 
 smelter for its lead content. 
 
 The advantage of this flowsheet is that 
 the leach-electrowinning circuit would 
 be simplified. Less ammonium carbonate 
 leach solution is required, and the need 
 for ammonium bisulfite is eliminated. 
 Less lead will be electrowon; therefore, 
 the electrowinning circuit is smaller. 
 Ammonia recovery equipment is also 
 smaller as less ammonia has to be circu- 
 lated. Since electroref ining requires 
 less energy than electrowinning, electri- 
 cal energy requirements are reduced from 
 0.20 kW-h/lb to 0.178 kW'h/lb Pb. 
 
 The Bureau has not investigated the 
 alternate process and has no actual data 
 to verify that these advantages will be 
 realized. For this reason, a detailed 
 cost evaluation of this process is not 
 presented. It is possible, however, to 
 project costs for a hypothetical process 
 assuming that only the outlined changes 
 occur without any additional complica- 
 tions. All costs presented are intended 
 to indicate what the potential of this 
 process may be, and any comparison to 
 the original process has to be qualified 
 owing to the lack of supportive data 
 available. 
 
 Fixed capital costs for the alternate 
 leach process are reduced about $1.3 mil- 
 lion, or 9 pet. Operating costs per unit 
 of recovered lead are increased about 1.3 
 
10 
 
 pet, or $0.002/ lb Pb recovered. Byprod- 
 uct credits, however, for this process 
 are much higher (table B-3) . This re- 
 sults in an estimated interest rate of 
 return on investment after taxes of 15.4 
 pet with a lead price of $0.17/lb. At 
 $0.21/lb Pb, the interest rate of return 
 
 on investment will be 25 pet. Thus, the 
 alternate leach process appears to have 
 more economic potential, if a market for 
 the leach residue is available. Capital 
 and operating costs for this process are 
 presented in tables B-l and B-2. 
 
 CONCLUSIONS 
 
 1. The fixed capital cost for a plant 
 sized to process 10,000 scrap batteries 
 per day is estimated to be about $14 mil- 
 lion based on fourth quarter 1984 equip- 
 ment costs. 
 
 2. The estimated operating cost for 
 this plant is $0.15/lb Pb recovered. 
 
 3. At a selling price of $0.17/lb, the 
 interest rate of return on investment af- 
 ter taxes is calculated to be 11 pet. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 1. Cole, E. R. , Jr., A. Y. Lee, and 
 D. L. Paulson. Electrowinning of Lead 
 From H 2 SiF 6 Solution. U.S. Pat. 
 4,272,340, Jan. 9, 1981. 
 
 2. . Electrolytic Method of Re- 
 covery of Lead From Scrap Batteries. Bu- 
 Mines RI 8602, 1981, 19 pp. 
 
 3. Lee, A. Y. , E. R. Cole, Jr., 
 and D. L. Paulson. Electrolytic Method 
 of Recovery of Lead From Scrap Bat- 
 teries, Scale-up Study Using 20-Liter 
 
 Multielectrode 
 1984, 20 pp. 
 
 4. Smith, L. 
 E. R. Cole, Jr 
 Lead Dioxide 
 4,159,231, June 
 
 5. Weaver, J 
 Cost and Profi 
 25 in Perry's 
 book, ed. by R. 
 ton. McGraw-Hi 
 
 Cell. BuMines RI 8857, 
 
 L., R. G. Sandberg, and 
 Method, of Producing a 
 Coated Anode. U.S. Pat. 
 16, 1979. 
 B . , and H . C . Bauman . 
 tability Estimation. Sec. 
 Chemical Engineer's Hand- 
 H. Perry and C. H. Chil- 
 li, 5th ed., 1973, p. 47. 
 
11 
 
 APPENDIX A. — UTILITY REQUIREMENTS, DIRECT LABOR REQUIREMENTS, 
 
 MAJOR ITEMS OF EQUIPMENT, DAILY THERMAL AND UTILITY 
 
 REQUIREMENTS, AND EQUIPMENT COST SUMMARIES 
 
 Raw material and utility requirements 
 per pound of lead are shown in table A-l. 
 The labor requirements and the major 
 items of equipment for each section are 
 shown in tables A-2 and A-3, respec- 
 tively. Daily thermal and utility 
 
 requirements for each section are shown 
 in tables A-4 and A-5, respectively. The 
 equipment cost summaries for each section 
 in the process are contained in tables 
 A-6 to A-10. 
 
 TABLE A-l. - Raw material and utility requirements 
 
 Raw materials, lb: 
 
 Whole batteries 
 
 Fluosilicic acid 
 
 Ammonia 
 
 Carbon dioxide 
 
 Sulfur dioxide 
 
 Filter aid. . . . « 
 
 Lime 
 
 Glue 
 
 Calcium lignin sulfonate 
 
 Utilities: 
 
 Electric power kW*h. . 
 
 Process water gal. . 
 
 Natural gas thm. . 
 
 Quantity per 
 pound lead 
 
 1.732 
 .150 
 .005 
 .116 
 .046 
 .020 
 .145 
 .000 
 .001 
 
 .201 
 .365 
 .083 
 
 TABLE A-2. - Direct labor requirements, 
 operators per shift 
 
 Section 
 
 Shifts per week 
 
 21 
 
 2 14 
 
 35 
 
 Feed preparation 
 
 Anode casting 
 
 Electrolysis 
 
 Ammonia recovery 
 
 Steamplant 
 
 Total 
 
 *3 shifts per day, 7 d/wk. 
 2 2 shifts per day, 7 d/wk. 
 3 1 shift per day, 5 d/wk. 
 
 0.0 
 
 
 2.5 
 .5 
 1 
 
 4.0 
 
12 
 
 TABLE A-3. - Major items of equipment 
 
 Section and equipment 
 
 Size 
 
 Feed preparation 
 Anode casting: 
 
 Melting furnace 
 
 Anode casting wheel...... 
 
 Leaching: 
 
 Carbonate leach tank. 
 
 Carbonate leach filter... 
 
 Acid leach tank 
 
 Acid leach filters 
 
 Electrolysis: 
 
 Electroref ining cells.... 
 
 Melting furnace 
 
 Casting machine 
 
 Electrowinning cells 
 
 Rectifier 
 
 Ammonia recovery section: 
 
 Bubble tank 
 
 2-effect evaporator 
 
 Rotary-vacuum drum filter 
 
 Reclamation system. 
 
 1,800 batteries per hour, 
 
 135 ft 3 . 
 
 15 anodes per hour. 
 
 1,200 gal. 
 250 ft 2 . 
 6,000 gal. 
 400 ft 2 . 
 
 175 lb/h. 
 550 ft 3 . 
 100 ft long. 
 300 lb/h. 
 1,600 kW. 
 
 1,800 gal. 
 
 144 ft 2 per effect. 
 
 50 ft 2 . 
 
 TABLE A-4. - Daily thermal requirements 
 
 Section and item 
 
 Steam, 
 MMBtu 
 
 Natural gas , 
 MMBtu 
 
 Anode casting: Melting furnace 
 Leaching: 
 
 Carbonate leach tank 
 
 Acid leach tank 
 
 Subtotal 
 
 Electrolysis: Melting furnace. 
 Ammonia recovery: Evaporator.. 
 
 General plant 
 
 Total process requirements 
 
 Steamplant 
 
 Grand total 
 
 0.00 
 
 7.00 
 8.60 
 
 15.60 
 
 .00 
 
 33.20 
 
 .00 
 
 48.80 
 ■48.80 
 
 .00 
 
 11.28 
 
 .00 
 .00 
 
 .00 
 
 9.53 
 
 .00 
 17.00 
 
 37.81 
 97.92 
 
 135.73 
 
 TABLE A-5. - Daily utility requirements 
 
 Section and major process water consumer 
 
 Electric 1 power, 
 kW'h 
 
 Process water, 
 Mgal 
 
 Feed preparation: Reclamation system. 
 
 Section total , 
 
 Anode casting , 
 
 Leaching: 
 
 Carbonate leach filter 
 
 Acid leach filters 
 
 Section total 
 
 Electrolysis 
 
 Ammonia recovery: Bubble tank , 
 
 Section total 
 
 Steamplant 
 
 General plant 
 
 Plant total 
 
 NAp 
 
 1,380 
 
 247 
 
 NAp 
 
 NAp 
 
 1,801 
 
 22,496 
 
 NAp 
 
 369 
 
 115 
 
 6,610 
 
 9 
 
 .5 
 
 9 
 
 .5 
 
 .0 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 .7 
 
 .7 
 
 6 
 
 .4 
 
 .0 
 
 37 
 
 .8 
 
 37 
 
 8 
 
 33,018 
 
 5.1 
 
 .0 
 
 59.5 
 
 NAp Not applicable. 
 
 1 Individual electric power consumers not shown; only major process water consumer shown. 
 
13 
 
 TABLE A-6. - Equipment cost summary, feed preparation section 
 
 Item Equipment 1 Labor Total 
 
 Belt conveyor, 
 Belt conveyor, 
 Lime storage. 
 Screw feeder. , 
 Slurry tank.. 
 
 Pumps 
 
 Storage tanks, 
 
 Pump 
 
 Sand filter. . 
 Holding tank. 
 
 $17,800 
 
 $5,100 
 
 $22,900 
 
 20,200 
 
 5,800 
 
 26,000 
 
 11,400 
 
 3,000 
 
 14,400 
 
 2,300 
 
 500 
 
 2,800 
 
 1,500 
 
 700 
 
 2,200 
 
 1,900 
 
 1,100 
 
 3,000 
 
 15,900 
 
 4,100 
 
 20,000 
 
 1,700 
 
 1,000 
 
 2,700 
 
 41,300 
 
 1,500 
 
 42,800 
 
 21,100 
 
 8,900 
 
 30,000 
 
 Total 135,100 31,700 166,800 
 
 Reclamation system 2 910, 600 
 
 Front-end loader 39,700 
 
 Total equipment cost x factor indicated: 
 
 Foundations, x 0.511 69,100 
 
 Structures, x 0.070 9,500 
 
 Instrumentation, x 0.050 6,800 
 
 Electrical, x 0.142 19,100 
 
 Piping, x 0.200 27 ,000 
 
 Painting, x 0.020 2,700 
 
 Miscellaneous, x 0.100 13,500 
 
 Total 147,700 
 
 Total direct cost 1,264,800 
 
 Field indirect, 10 pet of total direct cost 126,500 
 
 Total construction cost 1,391,300 
 
 Engineering, 5 pet of total construction cost 69,600 
 
 Administration and overhead, 5 pet of total construction cost 69,600 
 
 Subtotal 1,530,500 
 
 Contingency, 10 pet of above subtotal 153, 100 
 
 Subtotal 1,683,600 
 
 Contractor's fee, 5 pet of above subtotal 84,200 
 
 Section cost 1,767,800 
 
 ^•Basis: M and S equipment cost index of 785.2. 
 2 Installed cost. 
 
14 
 
 TABLE A-7. - Equipment cost summary, anode casting section 
 
 Item Equipment 1 Labor Total 
 
 Surge bin $5,600 $1,500 $7 
 
 Apron feeder 8,200 1,600 9 
 
 Melting furnace 244,900 9,500 254 
 
 Bag dust collector 28 , 400 500 28 
 
 Anode casting wheel 208,400 19,000 227 
 
 $5,600 
 
 $1,500 
 
 8,200 
 
 1,600 
 
 244,900 
 
 9,500 
 
 28,400 
 
 500 
 
 208,400 
 
 19,000 
 
 Total 495,500 32,100 527 
 
 Slag mold 2 1 
 
 Straddle carrier 2 264 
 
 Forklift trucks 30 
 
 Total equipment cost x factor indicated: 
 
 Foundations, x 0.083 41 
 
 Buildings, x 0.079 39 
 
 Structures , x 0.050 24 
 
 Instrumentation, x 0.100 49 
 
 Electrical, x 0.018 9 
 
 Piping, x 0.150 74 
 
 Painting, x 0.020 9 
 
 Miscellaneous, x 0.100 49 
 
 Total 297 
 
 Total direct cost 1,121 
 
 Field indirect, 10 pet of total direct cost 112 
 
 Total construction cost 1,234 
 
 Engineering, 5 pet of total construction cost 61 
 
 Administration and overhead, 5 pet of total construction cost 61 
 
 Subtotal 1,357 
 
 Contingency, 10 pet of above subtotal 135 
 
 Subtotal 1 , 493 
 
 Contractor's fee, 5 pet of above subtotal 74 
 
 Section cost 1,567 
 
 1 Basis: M and S equipment cost index of 785.2. 
 2 Installed cost. 
 
 100 
 800 
 400 
 900 
 400 
 
 600 
 300 
 800 
 500 
 
 300 
 000 
 800 
 600 
 100 
 300 
 900 
 600 
 
 600 
 
 800 
 200 
 
 000 
 700 
 700 
 
 400 
 700 
 
 100 
 700 
 
 800 
 
15 
 
 TABLE A-8. - Equipment cost summary, leaching section 
 
 Item Equipment 1 Labor Total 
 
 Sludge bin $6,000 $1,600 $7,600 
 
 Screw feeder 2,300 500 2,800 
 
 Carbonate leach tank 7,000 2,100 9,100 
 
 Carbonate leach filter 89,800 12,000 101,800 
 
 Pump 1,500 700 2,200 
 
 Belt conveyor 5,800 1,500 7,300 
 
 Bucket elevator 6,000 2,200 8,200 
 
 Acid leach tank 50,300 4,800 55,100 
 
 Acid holding tank 28,700 4,100 32,800 
 
 Pump 5,300 700 6,000 
 
 Vibrating screen 8,700 1,400 10,100 
 
 Hopper 300 100 400 
 
 Acid leach filters 367,300 24,500 391,800 
 
 Belt conveyor 19,100 4,800 23,900 
 
 Pump 4,900 1,000 5,900 
 
 Total 603,000 62,000 665,000 
 
 Total equipment cost x factor indicated: 
 
 Foundations, x 0.114 68,600 
 
 Buildings, x 0.237 164,700 
 
 Structures, x 0.090 54,300 
 
 Instrumentation, x 0.100 60,300 
 
 Electrical, x 0.058 34,900 
 
 Piping, x 0.250 150,800 
 
 Painting, x 0.020 12, 100 
 
 Miscellaneous , x 0. 100 60,300 
 
 Total 606,000 
 
 Total direct cost 1,271,000 
 
 Field indirect, 10 pet of total direct cost 127,100 
 
 Total construction cost 1,398,100 
 
 Engineering, 5 pet of total construction cost 69,900 
 
 Administration and overhead, 5 pet of total construction cost 69 ,900 
 
 Subtotal 1,537,900 
 
 Contingency, 10 pet of above subtotal 153,800 
 
 Subtotal 1 , 691 , 700 
 
 Contractor's fee, 5 pet of above subtotal 84,600 
 
 Section cost 1,776,300 
 
 1 Basis: M and S equipment cost index of 785.2. 
 
16 
 
 TABLE A-9. - Equipment cost summary, electrolysis section 
 
 Item Equipment 1 Labor Total 
 
 Bridge crane $88,000 $4,600 $92 
 
 Electrolyte head tank 19,300 4,000 23 
 
 Electrorefining cells 180,100 39,900 220 
 
 Melting furnace 123,000 17,100 140 
 
 Casting machine 179,400 28,500 207 
 
 Sumps 7,900 6,200 14 
 
 Pumps 9,200 2,600 11 
 
 Electrowinning cells 245,600 22,600 268 
 
 Sumps 9,000 8,200 17 
 
 Pumps 15,300 3,700 19 
 
 Recycle tank 27,800 4,100 31 
 
 Pump 3,600 1,200 4 
 
 Starter sheet preparation 54,600 19,000 73 
 
 $88,000 
 
 $4,600 
 
 19,300 
 
 4,000 
 
 180,100 
 
 39,900 
 
 123,000 
 
 17,100 
 
 179,400 
 
 28,500 
 
 7,900 
 
 6,200 
 
 9,200 
 
 2,600 
 
 245,600 
 
 22,600 
 
 9,000 
 
 8,200 
 
 15,300 
 
 3,700 
 
 27,800 
 
 4,100 
 
 3,600 
 
 1,200 
 
 54,600 
 
 19,000 
 
 Total 962,800 161,700 1,124 
 
 Rectifier 2 353 
 
 Total equipment cost x factor indicated: 
 
 Foundations, x 0.130 125 
 
 Buildings, x 0.886 852 
 
 Structures, x 0.070 67 
 
 Insulation, x 0.030 28 
 
 Instrumentation, x 0.100 96 
 
 Electrical, x 0.235 226 
 
 Piping, x 0.350 337 
 
 Painting, x 0.020 19 
 
 Miscellaneous , x 0. 100 96 
 
 Total 1 , 849 
 
 Total direct cost 3,327 
 
 Field indirect, 10 pet of total direct cost 332 
 
 Total construction cost 3,660 
 
 Engineering, 5 pet of total construction cost 183 
 
 Administration and overhead, 5 pet of total construction cost 183 
 
 Subtotal 4,026 
 
 Contingency , 10 pet of above subtotal 402 
 
 Subtotal 4,429 
 
 Contractor's fee, 5 pet of above subtotal 221 
 
 Section cost 4,650 
 
 1 Basis: M and S equipment cost index of 785.2. 
 2 Installed cost. 
 
 600 
 300 
 000 
 100 
 900 
 100 
 800 
 200 
 200 
 000 
 900 
 800 
 600 
 
 500 
 500 
 
 600 
 900 
 400 
 900 
 300 
 000 
 000 
 300 
 300 
 
 700 
 
 700 
 800 
 
 500 
 000 
 000 
 
 500 
 700 
 
 200 
 500 
 
 700 
 
17 
 
 $5,400 
 
 $2,500 
 
 27,200 
 
 3,600 
 
 2,400 
 
 400 
 
 1,900 
 
 700 
 
 2,000 
 
 600 
 
 2,300 
 
 500 
 
 1,300 
 
 800 
 
 27,300 
 
 15,000 
 
 9,900 
 
 1,500 
 
 51,200 
 
 6,800 
 
 200 
 
 600 
 
 1,300 
 
 700 
 
 15,400 
 
 4,800 
 
 TABLE A-10. - Equipment cost summary, ammonia recovery section 
 
 Item Equipment 1 Labor Total 
 
 Bubble tank 
 
 Vent scrubber 
 
 Pump 
 
 Mixing tank 
 
 Storage bin 
 
 Screw feeder 
 
 Pump 
 
 2 -effect evaporator 
 
 Pumps 
 
 Rotary— vacuum drum filter 
 
 St orage tank 
 
 Pump 
 
 Belt conveyor 
 
 Total 147 ,800 38,500 
 
 Total equipment cost x factor indicated: 
 
 Foundations , x 0.080 
 
 Structures , x 0.070 
 
 Instrumentation, x 0.100 
 
 Electrical, x 0.163 
 
 Piping, x 0.400 
 
 Painting, x 0.020 
 
 Miscellaneous, x 0.100 
 
 Total 
 
 Total direct cost 
 
 Field indirect, 10 pet of total direct cost 
 
 Total construction cost 
 
 Engineering, 5 pet of total construction cost 
 
 Administration and overhead, 5 pet of total construction cost 
 
 Subtotal 
 
 Contingency, 10 pet of above subtotal 
 
 Subtotal 
 
 Contractor's fee, 5 pet of above subtotal.. 
 
 Section cost 
 
 1 Basis: M and S equipment cost index of 785.2. 
 
 $7 
 
 900 
 
 30 
 
 ,800 
 
 2 
 
 ,800 
 
 2 
 
 ,600 
 
 2 
 
 ,600 
 
 2 
 
 ,800 
 
 2 
 
 ,100 
 
 42 
 
 300 
 
 11 
 
 ,400 
 
 58 
 
 ,000 
 
 
 800 
 
 2 
 
 ,000 
 
 20 
 
 ,200 
 
 186 
 
 ,300 
 
 11 
 
 ,800 
 
 10 
 
 ,300 
 
 14 
 
 800 
 
 24 
 
 ,100 
 
 59 
 
 ,100 
 
 3 
 
 ,000 
 
 14 
 
 800 
 
 137 
 
 900 
 
 324 
 
 200 
 
 32 
 
 ,400 
 
 356 
 
 ,600 
 
 17 
 
 ,800 
 
 17 
 
 ,800 
 
 392, 
 
 200 
 
 39 
 
 ,200 
 
 431 
 
 ,400 
 
 21 
 
 600 
 
 453 
 
 000 
 
18 
 
 APPENDIX B. —ALTERNATE LEACH PROCESS 
 
 The estimated capital cost and the an- and B-2, respectively. Table B-3 shows 
 nual operating cost, for the alternate product values, 
 leach process, are shown in tables B-l 
 
 TABLE B-l. - Estimated capital cost, 1 alternate leach process 
 
 Fixed capital: 
 
 Feed preparation section $1,767,800 
 
 Anode casting section 1 , 567 ,800 
 
 Leaching section 1,252,400 
 
 Electrolysis section 4,176,700 
 
 Ammonia recovery section 511, 100 
 
 Steamplant 94,900 
 
 Subtotal 9 , 370 , 700 
 
 Plant facilities, 10 pet of above subtotal 937,100 
 
 Plant utilities, 12 pet of above subtotal 1, 124,500 
 
 Basic plant cost 11,432,300 
 
 Escalation costs during construction 439,200 
 
 Total plant cost 11,871,500 
 
 Land cost 
 
 Subtotal 1 1 , 87 1 , 500 
 
 Interest during construction period 915,300 
 
 Fixed capital cost 12,786,800 
 
 Working capital: 
 
 Raw material and supplies 258,700 
 
 Product and in-process inventory 602 , 200 
 
 Accounts receivable 602,200 
 
 Available cash 437,100 
 
 Working capital cost 1,900,200 
 
 Capitalized startup costs 127,900 
 
 Subtotal 2,028,100 
 
 Total capital c ost 14,814,900 
 
 1 Basis: M and S equipment cost index of 785.2. 
 
TABLE B-2. - Estimated annual operating cost, alternate leach process 
 
 19 
 
 Annual 
 
 Cost per 
 
 cost 
 
 pound lead 
 
 $2,348,800 
 
 $0,049 
 
 373,400 
 
 .008 
 
 10,000 
 
 i.OOO 
 
 110,400 
 
 .002 
 
 82,400 
 
 .002 
 
 87,000 
 
 .002 
 
 1,700 
 
 1 .000 
 
 11,800 
 
 .001 
 
 700 
 
 i.OOO 
 
 3,026,200 
 
 .064 
 
 399,900 
 
 .008 
 
 3,900 
 
 i.OOO 
 
 199,900 
 
 .004 
 
 603,700 
 
 .012 
 
 542,900 
 
 .011 
 
 81,400 
 
 .002 
 
 624,300 
 
 .013 
 
 276,100 
 
 .006 
 
 55,200 
 
 .001 
 
 276,200 
 
 .006 
 
 607,500 
 
 .013 
 
 334,500 
 
 .007 
 
 121,500 
 
 .003 
 
 5,317,700 
 
 .112 
 
 492,700 
 
 .010 
 
 118,700 
 
 .002 
 
 118,700 
 
 .002 
 
 1,278,700 
 
 .027 
 
 7,326,500 
 
 .153 
 
 Direct cost: 
 Raw materials: 
 
 Whole batteries at $50/st 
 
 Fluosilicic acid at $92/st 
 
 Ammonia at $210/st 
 
 Carbon dioxide at $90/st 
 
 Filter aid at $150/st 
 
 Lime at $30.75/st 
 
 Glue at $0.85/lb 
 
 Calcium lignin sulfonate at $0.25/lb 
 
 Chemicals for steamplant water treatment 
 
 Total 
 
 Utilities: 
 
 Electric power at $0.047/kW«h 
 
 Process water at $0.25/Mgal 
 
 Natural gas at $4.50/MMBtu 
 
 Total 
 
 Direct labor: 
 
 Labor at $9/h 
 
 Supervision, 15 pet of labor 
 
 Total 
 
 Plant maintenance: 
 
 Labor 
 
 Supervision, 20 pet of maintenance labor 
 
 Materials 
 
 Total 
 
 Payroll overhead, 35 pet of above payroll 
 
 Operating supplies, 20 pet of plant maintenance.... 
 
 Total direct cost 
 
 Indirect cost, 40 pet of direct labor and maintenance 
 Fixed cost: 
 
 Taxes, 1 pet of total plant cost 
 
 Insurance, 1 pet of total plant cost 
 
 Depreciation, 10-yr life 
 
 Total operating cost 
 
 lumbers have been rounded down to $0,000. 
 
 TABLE B-3. Product values, alternate leach process 
 
 
 Daily 
 production 
 
 Estimated 
 unit value 
 
 Annual returns 
 (debits) on sales 
 
 Value per pound 
 lead product 
 
 Products: 
 
 144,890 lb 
 
 39,840 lb 
 
 5,832 lb 
 
 54,000 lb 
 
 $0.17/lb 
 .07/lb 
 .58/lb 
 .05/lb 
 
 $8,128,000 
 
 960,000 
 
 1,116,000 
 
 891,000 
 
 $0.17 
 
 
 .02 
 .023 
 
 
 .019 
 
 
 NAp 
 
 NAp 
 
 11,095,000 
 
 .232 
 
 Waste products: 
 
 28.6 st 
 3.0 st 
 
 -10.00/st 
 -100.00/st 
 
 -94,000 
 -99,000 
 
 -.002 
 
 
 -.002 
 
 Subtotal 
 
 NAp 
 
 NAp 
 
 -183,000 
 
 -.004 
 
 
 
 
 NAp 
 
 NAp 
 
 10,912,000 
 
 .228 
 
 NAp Not applicable. 
 
 ^otal daily production of plastic and 
 the plastic product is estimated to be 90 
 mated to be 10 pet. 
 
 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1986—605-017/40,016 
 
 rubber is 60,000 lb. To compute product values, 
 pet of this total and the waste rubber is esti- 
 
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