Proposal of a Pulse Charging Method for Alkaline Primary Batteries Using a Self-Built Arduino-Based Prototype and an Open Source Protocol

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Abstract
Batteries, especially useful for portable instruments, are the most widely used alternative to direct current. Their operating principle is based on irreversible or reversible chemical reactions, which are called primary (non-rechargeable) or secondary (rechargeable), respectively. Primary batteries never completely discharge and their residual charge depends on the energy demand of the instrument in which they are used. Even if correctly disposed of, therefore, and with the possibility of recycling the constituent materials and purchasing and using consciously, only 2 of the 3Rs, namely “Recycle” and “Reuse”, are respected; recovering the residual charge would also allow compliance with the last of the 3Rs, namely “Reduce”. Direct energy recovery methods have been proposed but the simplest method to “reduce”, analogously to what is done with secondary batteries, remains being recharging, which, unfortunately, is a risky operation, as it can cause the battery to explode or leak corrosive solution. Following our previous research, in which we proposed a method for measuring the residual charge of alkaline batteries, we now propose a method for charging the batteries whose residual charge we measured in our previous work. In this research, a hand-built external circuit, Arduino UNO R3, was used to generate the charging pulses and as a controller and measuring instrument and an Open-Source protocol for the recharging process. The results demonstrated the feasibility of the method, as the voltage of 50% of the batteries increased and, further, only 18% of the batteries leaked and none exploded.

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