Why your phone battery gets worse over time - George Zaidan

Prevoditelj: Ozren Blagaić Recezent: Petra Lauš

A drop of gasoline, a match, and a battery, all store energy—

Kap benzina, šibica i baterija sve čuvaju energiju,

but, after each expends its energy, only the battery is recyclable.

no nakon što potroše tu energiju, samo se baterija može reciklirati.

That's because, chemically speaking,

To je, kemijski gledano, zato što

a dead battery is actually not that different from a fresh one.

prazna baterija zapravo nije puno drugačija od pune.

Most of the batteries we use today take advantage

Većina današnjih baterija radi na principu

of the fact that some metals like to release electrons

da neki metali otpuštaju elektrone,

and others like to accept them.

dok ih drugi primaju.

For example, in a typical alkaline double-A battery,

Na primjer, u tipičnoj alkalnoj AA bateriji,

zinc metal reacts with hydroxide ions,

metal cink reagira s hidroksidnim ionima,

changing into zinc oxide and releasing electrons at the negative terminal.

i pretvara se u cinkov oksid te otpušta elektrone na negativnom polu.

The electrons travel through, say, a light bulb,

Ti elektroni prolaze, recimo, žaruljom

and then return to the battery at the positive terminal,

te se vraćaju u bateriju na pozitivnom polu,

where they’re accepted by manganese dioxide.

gdje ih prihvaća manganov dioksid.

Different batteries use different combinations of metals,

Baterije koriste različite kombinacije metala,

and sometimes non-metals like graphite,

a ponekad i nemetale poput grafita,

but the basic idea is to use a pair of chemical reactions

no u principu koristimo par kemijskih reakcija

to generate a stream of electrons.

kako bismo proizveli tok elektrona.

Almost all batteries, even single-use batteries,

Gotovo sve baterije, čak i one jednokratne,

are theoretically rechargeable.

teoretski su punjive.

That's because the metals and other chemicals are still right there.

To je zato što su metali i ostale kemikalije i dalje u bateriji.

That’s very different than in, say, gasoline,

Tu se razlikuju od, recimo, benzina,

where the liquid hydrocarbon molecules are converted to gases.

u kojemu se tekuće molekule ugljikovodika pretvaraju u plinove.

You can't convert exhaust back into gasoline,

Ispušni plinovi se ne mogu ponovno pretvoriti u benzin,

but, with some work you can convert, say, zinc oxide back to zinc.

no uz malo truda se, recimo, cinkov oksid može vratiti u cink.

So then what's the difference between these and these?

U čemu se onda ovo dvoje razlikuje?

The short answer is that trying to recharge a single-use battery

Ukratko, punjenje jednokratne baterije

doesn’t just force these reactions to run in reverse.

neće samo natjerati te reakcije da idu u obrnutome smjeru.

It also results in a bunch of side reactions that produce

To također dovodi do puno sekundarnih reakcija koje proizvode

useless contaminants,

beskorisne zagađivače

reducing a battery’s capacity;

i time smanjuju kapacitet baterije

and it could even damage the internal structure of the battery,

ili čak oštećuju unutrašnji sastav baterije,

leading to a loss of electrical contact and failure.

što uzrokuje gubitak električnog kontakta ili kvar.

Rechargeable batteries are engineered to avoid these issues.

Punjive baterije su dizajnirane da izbjegnu te probleme.

Look at this lithium-ion battery.

Pogledajte ovu litij-ionsku bateriju.

Both sides have an atomic-level structure that you can imagine as lots of docks.

Obje strane imaju atomsku strukturu koju možete zamisliti kao puno dokova.

So when the battery is powering something,

Dakle, kada baterija nešto pokreće,

the lithium “ships” give up their electrons to power the circuit,

litijski “brodovi” otpuštaju svoje elektrone kako bi napajali krug

and then sail over to the other side of the battery,

i onda otplove na drugu stranu baterije,

dock in an orderly, organized way,

uredno pristanu

and meet up with their now-lower-energy electrons.

i susretnu se sa svojim elektronima koji sada imaju manje energije.

When the battery is being charged, the opposite happens.

Kada se baterija puni, proces je obrnut.

Over the course of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of charge cycles,

Tijekom stotina, ponekad i tisuća, punjenja

some of the lithium ion ships sort of veer off course

neki od litij-ionskih brodova kao da skrenu s puta

and engage in side reactions,

i sudjeluju u sekundarnim reakcijama,

producing stuff that increases the internal resistance of the battery,

koje proizvode tvari koje povećavaju unutrašnji otpor baterije,

which in turn makes it lose efficiency and power

što dovodi do gubitka učinkovitosti i snage

until it inevitably dies.

i neizbježnog kvara.

Even when that happens, you can bring dead batteries back to life—

Čak i tada, reciklažom se “mrtve” baterije mogu oživjeti,

whether they’re rechargeable or not— by recycling them.

bilo punjive ili ne.

The heart of most battery recycling is a process called smelting,

Taljenje je glavni način recikliranja baterija

which is basically just melting the metallic parts.

što, u stvari, znači otapanje metalnih dijelova.

This drives off impurities,

To uklanja nečistoće

returning metals back to their initial, orderly state.

i vraća metale u njihovo prvotno, uredno stanje.

Unfortunately, in many countries you can’t just toss household batteries

Nažalost, u mnogim državama kućne baterije ne mogu se baciti

in with your regular recycling.

s ostatkom otpada za recikliranje.

You have to take them to a battery collection point or recycling center.

Moraju se odnijeti na sabirno mjesto ili u reciklažno dvorište.

Same goes for more complicated rechargeable batteries:

Isto vrijedi i za kompliciranije punjive baterije:

you need to bring them to a collection point

morate ih odnijeti na sabirno mjesto

or send them back to the company you bought them from.

ili ih vratiti tvrtki od koje ste ih kupili.

It’s a pain, but absolutely worth the time and effort,

To je naporno, ali uistinu vrijedno truda i vremena

because recycling batteries is critical.

jer je recikliranje baterija iznimno bitno.

Not only does it prevent potentially toxic battery metals

Ne samo da sprječava curenje

potencijalno otrovnih metala iz baterija u okoliš,

from leaking into the environment,

it conserves scarce— and vital— resources.

nego čuva oskudne i bitne resurse.

Earth has about 22 million tons of lithium—

Na Zemlji postoji oko 22 milijuna tona litija,

enough for about 2.5 billion EVs.

dovoljno za otprilike 2,5 milijardi električnih vozila.

That sounds like plenty, but it’s only 25% higher than the number of EVs

To zvuči puno, no samo je 25% više od broja električnih vozila

experts believe it’ll take to reach net zero emissions by 2050,

koje stručnjaci smatraju potrebnim kako bismo postigli

ugljičnu neutralnost do 2050. godine,

and that doesn’t even account for laptops, phones, and anything else

a to je bez laptopa, mobitela ili bilo čega

that uses a lithium-ion battery.

za što se koriste litij-ionske baterije.

Currently, though, most lithium-ion batteries are not manufactured

Zasada proizvodnja većine litij-ionskih baterija

with recycling in mind.

ne uzima u obzir recikliranje.

The designs are intricate and non-standard,

Njihov je dizajn kompleksan i nije standardiziran

and the components are held together by almost indestructible glues.

te su dijelovi spojeni gotovo neuništivim ljepilima.

So today, less than 5% of lithium-ion batteries are recycled.

Danas se reciklira manje od 5% litij-ionskih baterija.

Regulations that clearly define who is responsible for a spent battery

Recikliranje se može drastično pospješiti propisima koji jasno određuju

and what should happen to it can boost recycling dramatically.

čija su odgovornost prazne baterije i što je s njima činiti.

For example, lead-acid batteries are generally subject to stringent regulations

Olovne baterije su, na primjer, uglavnom strogo regulirane

and are recycled at much higher rates than lithium-ion batteries.

te ih se reciklira puno više nego litij-ionske baterije.

Over the next century, we’ll need to recycle huge numbers of EV batteries,

Tijekom sljedećih sto godina, morat ćemo reciklirati veliki broj

baterija iz električnih vozila,

so scientists are working on making the battery recycling process cheaper

zbog čega znanstvenici nastoje učiniti proces recikliranja baterija jeftinijim

and more environmentally friendly.

i sigurnijim za okoliš.

Smelting uses a lot of energy and, depending on the type of battery,

Taljenje zahtijeva puno energije i, ovisno o tipu baterije,

can release harmful by-products.

može proizvesti štetne nusprodukte.

In addition to regulations, industrial processes, and our own individual choices,

Tehnologija baterija će nastaviti napredovati

uz odredbe, industrijske procese i naše individualne odluke

battery tech will also continue to evolve.

There are proof-of-concept batteries being developed that can convert

Razvijaju se eksperimentalne baterije koje mogu pretvoriti

physical force, ambient sound, and even pee into electricity.

fizičku snagu, pozadinske zvukove i čak urin u električnu energiju.

But if your top priority is to make your number one source of power, number one,

No, ako vam je prioritet pretvaranje obavljanja nužde u glavni izvor energije,

sorry to say, but urine for a long wait.

nažalost ćete se morati strpjeti.