Battery Advantages And Disadvantages

In the modern age of technology, the abundance of batteries cannot easily be overlooked. Batteries convert chemical energy into electrical energy and power several electronic devices such as cell phones, laptops, tablets, PDAs, and iPods to name a few. Furthermore, they provide power to households and several industrial enterprises around the world. Indeed, these batteries have become very advantageous to people because of the convenience they provide in everyday encounters. However, batteries can also be harmful despite the advantages they offer. According to the Environmental Education Programme of Richland City, United States, an average US resident owns about two button batteries, ten disposable alkaline batteries, and disposes of about eight household batteries annually. The study of EEP was conducted in 2003, which was twelve years ago. The world population in 2003 was approximately 6 billion, according to the World Population Data Sheet. If the amount of batteries disposed by the entire world population during that year were to be computed, it would be an overwhelming amount of solid waste with detrimental effects to the environment and on humans as well. The current global battery disposal would be expected to be much worse because of population growth. Moreover, ordinary batteries – examples of which are lithium-ion batteries and alkaline batteries – pose a threat to humans and the environment because of their harmful components. Such components are lead and cadmium