Batteries in prematurely obsolete phones could be re-used in small solar power systems in developing nations say researchers at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea.
“Among e-waste, mobile phones have the singular difference of a lifespan shorter than the lifespan of the battery that powers them,” states their recently published paper.
The average realistic lifespan of a mobile phone these days is a year and half to 2 years before its owner upgrades. However, the lifespan of the lithium ion battery that powers it is more than 1500 cycles. This means that based on one cycle a day, when these batteries are recycled they may still have more than half of their usable life remaining.
The research team believes re-used Li-ion batteries from mobile phones offer a great opportunity to provide clean electricity in isolated villages of developing countries for a lower cost; while providing a safer and better quality of light than the carbon and toxin-spewing kerosene lamps often used in these communities.
“When one mobile phone battery is recycled, about 130 g of CO2 will be kept away from the environment daily,” says the research paper, published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.
” When three batteries are assembled in a system, a full room will be illuminated allowing studying, safety, healthy lighting, or other income generating activities.”
These lighting systems could be recharged with a small solar panel. Based on their own construction of a prototype; the researchers state the full systems could be manufactured for under USD $25 and have a maintenance-free lifespan of about 3 years before the battery pack needs replacing.
Aside from the environmental and health benefits of these systems, there would be strong financial incentive. If such systems were provided under a micro-loan arrangement of $3 a month, a household previously using kerosene lighting would save money during the repayment period and fully repay the system in less than a year.
When these batteries are finally dead, the valuable materials they contain can be extracted. For example, the average mobile phone battery contains 3.5 g of copper.
The paper, “A second life for mobile phone batteries in light emitting diode solar home systems,” can be viewed in full here.
