Automation benefits in the formation process of lead-acid batteries

Abstract

In this work, the automated formation process of lead-acid battery and its industrial positive impact on the battery efficiency are evaluated toward the manual process. The problems in the lead-acid batteries formation are related to the α-PbO2 and β-PbO2 production during the first electric charge. The lead-acid battery formation problems frequently occur when electrical current sources with manual control are used. The main drawback of the manual method is addressed to the electric current interruptions between the plates during the battery charging. Thus, the lead oxides phases in the plates were used as parameter to correlate the chemical composition to the failure on the batteries formation process. X-ray powder diffraction technique was used to identify the lead phases. The results showed that the use of automated electric power supply has higher efficiency than the manual one. The benefits of automation include the increased productivity, reduction on the production costs, and lower consumption of natural resources.