Novel insight into the behavior of carbon in the positive active material of the lead-acid battery

Low-cost wood sawdust was investigated as a primary source for preparing active carbon to enhance the lead-acid battery. This can give a scope to determine the suitable active functional groups required to develop that battery. The fraction, -1.0 mm in size, was a potential feedstock for the active carbon preparation using phosphoric acid activation. The resulting precursor/H3PO4 mixture was pre-activated by solidifying at 150 degrees C for 2 h to eliminate water, leaving it a black adhesive solid. The hardened mixture was heated at 450 degrees C for an hour at a rate of 10 degrees C min(-1) to complete the carbonization process. The produced active carbon was washed repeatedly with deionized water, dried at 105 degrees C, and saved in plastic for analysis and use, it was called (oxid-AC). The resulting active carbon has been identified using different analytical methods such as; XRD, SEM, FTIR, and BET. Results obtained revealed that the activated carbon additive, with a 2.5 % weight percentage, can reduce effectively the accumulation of PbSO4 at the positive active material (PAM) of the lead-acid battery. The role of the active carbon in improving the PAM behavior can be explained based on lead (II) ion adsorption on the carbon surface.