Effect of Smartphone Battery Technology Development on Potential Environmental Impacts from Heavy Metals = Effect of Smartphone Battery Technology Development on Potential Environmental Impacts from Heavy Metals

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Advancement in technology has led to high sophisticated functions of smartphones and an increase in its use worldwide at a phenomena pace. This has triggered a rise in the searched for sustainable energy efficient sources to support the sophisticated functions of these products. In these circumstances, lithium ion batteries have become dominant in the use of these products due to its advantages associated with high energy density, product longevity, small size and weight, excellent low-temperature, load and cycle characteristics, no memory effect, and only a slow loss of charge when not in use. However, the environmental impacts such as pollution and adverse human effects that may result from this stream of products when deposited as waste with its heavy metal content and potential toxic materials need to be taken into consideration. This study therefore evaluates and compares environmental impact potentials from heavy metals in waste lithium ion smartphone batteries with respect to battery model replacement. In this work, the Total Threshold Limit Concentration (TTLC) analysis is used to determine whether the waste lithium ion smartphone batteries would be classified as hazardous waste. A life cycle impact assessment method is also used to evaluate resource depletion, cancer, non-cancer, and eco-toxicity potentials. We found out that technological advancement didn’t reduce hazardous waste potentials in lithium ion smartphone batteries due to excessive levels of Co, Cu and Ni. Technological development did not also lead to a reduction of the total metal concentration of heavy metals in lithium ion smartphone batteries. The life cycle impact assessment results show that overall, resource depletion potentials, water and soil toxicity potentials increased as technology advances but with a decreased in cancer toxicity for air, non-cancers and eco-toxicity potentials. This study therefore can provide support to lithium ion battery manufacturers and policy makers to control the hazardous content and toxicity of lithium ion batteries so as to encourage recovery, recycling and reuse of these products while minimizing environmental impacts.