Evaluation of N,N,N-dimethylbutylammonium methanesulfonate ionic liquid for electrochemical recovery of lead from lead-acid batteries

Abstract Physicochemical and electrochemical properties of N,N,N-dimethylbutylammonium methanesulfonate, [DMBA][MS], ionic liquid (IL) have been determined, and the potential application for electrochemical recovery of lead from lead-acid batteries is discussed. To optimise the transport properties of the IL, the dependencies were measured of conductivity, density and viscosity with varying amounts of excess acid with water as a diluent in the electrolyte mixture. The molar conductivity obtained from the molar concentration and ionic conductivity measurements was used to quantify the ionicity of these IL mixtures. The solubility of PbII from PbCO3 was also shown to depend strongly on the IL composition. Preliminary results of the electrochemical kinetics of PbII reduction showed fast Pb deposition and potential-controlled electrodeposition morphologies of Pb, which may be advantageous for the design of up-scaled lead electrowinning processes.