In the cult movie trilogy The Matrix, artificially intelligent machines of the future use human beings as batteries. While this has true scientific basis, until now it is humanity that is running on batteries, especially when it has to make use of such equipment as mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players and digital cameras on a regular basis and can't live without them.
The industry that gives you the power to call friends, take snapshots on holiday or create an important document on the road takes battery-making extremely seriously.
A former employee of one of the major brands of batteries in the world was arraigned a few weeks ago and charged in an American court with sharing confidential corporate documents on AA batteries with two of his company's competitors. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (Lm80,000).
Furthermore, American company 3M filed suits against Sony Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd, Hitachi Ltd., CDW Corp. and Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. claiming infringement of lithium-ion battery-related patents it registered in the US.
Sony suffered a setback not so long ago when it had to recall millions of lithium batteries that equip laptop computers worldwide after some of them reportedly caught fire.
There are two main choices people are faced to make when it comes to batteries. One is the type of battery to go for. The other is how often to use batteries.
"I suspect people only use batteries when necessary because the cost factor is a good deterrent," Alfred Vella, a professor of chemistry and dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Malta, says.
Even the manufacturers themselves feel that money is an essential element when choosing between the different types of batteries.
"The battery market has exploded in recent years, with a variety of battery ranges that, at times, might leave shoppers confused as to which battery they should get. People, therefore, just go for what they consider to be the cheapest which, in most cases, does not end up being the most cost-effective solution," Lara Scicluna, marketing executive at Miller Distributors Ltd, local representative for Energizer batteries, explains.
"The proliferation of new high-tech devices on the market has led to great developments in the battery product. Batteries have been divided into product categories, which are ideal for different battery-operated devices, giving the maximum energy required to get the optimal performance out of such devices."
For a low-drain device, such as a TV set, top box remote control, smoke detectors, alarm clocks etc, good standard alkaline batteries will perform well. However, alkaline batteries were not designed to meet the very high-power demands of today's electronic devices such as a digital camera. They work best if the power is used slowly and in a hot climate like ours it helps to store them in a fridge.
High-drain devices such as digital cameras, MP3 players, laptop computers and portable LCD TV sets need more high-end batteries and the extra cost should pay off. Lithium-ion batteries can be smaller or lighter, have a higher voltage and hold a charge much longer than other types of batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries are more expensive than similar capacity NiMH or NiCd batteries. However, NiCd batteries contain the highly-toxic metal cadmium that has to be disposed of very carefully through recycling. Furthermore, NiMH batteries usually have a higher capacity than NiCd types of the same size.
NiMH and NiCd batteries self-discharge at a much faster rate than alkaline batteries and the best option is to keep them refrigerated.
The alternative for items used on a regular basis and which require high energy, such as MP3 players, are rechargeable batteries because these can be charged up hundreds of times, making the product the most economical.
The local representatives of Energizer batteries are distributing a guide to help users choose the most ideal battery according to the device it will be used for.
However, choosing the right battery is only half the story. There is also an important environmental issue attached to the use of batteries and this is their disposal.
"The metals contained in these batteries (say, Ni, Cd) are very toxic, especially if they convert into salt forms by oxidation, as is prone to happen in the environment," Prof. Vella warns. "Waste containing such metals is harder to dispose of safely because such metals can be mobilised as volatile or water soluble compounds (salts) during the lifecycle of the waste. Thus, for example, cadmium salts could escape as toxic vapours if cadmium-containing waste is incinerated. Moreover, the metals in flat batteries potentially constitute a precious resource as they could be recovered and re-used."
No wonder WasteServ Malta warns that "batteries are not to be disposed of with other waste". In fact, it collects the separated, used batteries and stores them safely until a market for recycling and/or safe disposal is identified. One of the destinations for used batteries is France.
Used batteries can be disposed of at any local council office or at several outlets around the country. A full list of these outlets is available at http://www.wasteservmalta.com. Mobile phone batteries, and handsets, are being collected for disposal by Vodafone Malta.
According to the Maltese Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment about six million batteries and 60,000 accumulators are imported and used in Malta every year.
The European Commission's Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators, which entered into force in September 2006, aims at minimising the negative impact of such gadgets on the environment. It caters for, among other things, the correct disposal, collection and recycling of batteries.
A new UN-led alliance called StEP (Solving the E-waste Problem) was launched early last month to tackle the increasing amount of electronic and electrical waste, including batteries, that is likely to reach 40 million metric tons a year soon, or enough to fill a line of dump trucks stretching half way round the world.
The future of batteries for small portable devices could well be fuel cells. For many years on the drawing board and in the labs of scientists, they result more economic and much more fuel-efficient in the long run. Fuel-cell powered computers and mobile phones that run for several days without the need of re-charging them should become a reality in the next few years.
The industry that gives you the power to call friends, take snapshots on holiday or create an important document on the road takes battery-making extremely seriously.
A former employee of one of the major brands of batteries in the world was arraigned a few weeks ago and charged in an American court with sharing confidential corporate documents on AA batteries with two of his company's competitors. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (Lm80,000).
Furthermore, American company 3M filed suits against Sony Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd, Hitachi Ltd., CDW Corp. and Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. claiming infringement of lithium-ion battery-related patents it registered in the US.
Sony suffered a setback not so long ago when it had to recall millions of lithium batteries that equip laptop computers worldwide after some of them reportedly caught fire.
There are two main choices people are faced to make when it comes to batteries. One is the type of battery to go for. The other is how often to use batteries.
"I suspect people only use batteries when necessary because the cost factor is a good deterrent," Alfred Vella, a professor of chemistry and dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Malta, says.
Even the manufacturers themselves feel that money is an essential element when choosing between the different types of batteries.
"The battery market has exploded in recent years, with a variety of battery ranges that, at times, might leave shoppers confused as to which battery they should get. People, therefore, just go for what they consider to be the cheapest which, in most cases, does not end up being the most cost-effective solution," Lara Scicluna, marketing executive at Miller Distributors Ltd, local representative for Energizer batteries, explains.
"The proliferation of new high-tech devices on the market has led to great developments in the battery product. Batteries have been divided into product categories, which are ideal for different battery-operated devices, giving the maximum energy required to get the optimal performance out of such devices."
For a low-drain device, such as a TV set, top box remote control, smoke detectors, alarm clocks etc, good standard alkaline batteries will perform well. However, alkaline batteries were not designed to meet the very high-power demands of today's electronic devices such as a digital camera. They work best if the power is used slowly and in a hot climate like ours it helps to store them in a fridge.
High-drain devices such as digital cameras, MP3 players, laptop computers and portable LCD TV sets need more high-end batteries and the extra cost should pay off. Lithium-ion batteries can be smaller or lighter, have a higher voltage and hold a charge much longer than other types of batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries are more expensive than similar capacity NiMH or NiCd batteries. However, NiCd batteries contain the highly-toxic metal cadmium that has to be disposed of very carefully through recycling. Furthermore, NiMH batteries usually have a higher capacity than NiCd types of the same size.
NiMH and NiCd batteries self-discharge at a much faster rate than alkaline batteries and the best option is to keep them refrigerated.
The alternative for items used on a regular basis and which require high energy, such as MP3 players, are rechargeable batteries because these can be charged up hundreds of times, making the product the most economical.
The local representatives of Energizer batteries are distributing a guide to help users choose the most ideal battery according to the device it will be used for.
However, choosing the right battery is only half the story. There is also an important environmental issue attached to the use of batteries and this is their disposal.
"The metals contained in these batteries (say, Ni, Cd) are very toxic, especially if they convert into salt forms by oxidation, as is prone to happen in the environment," Prof. Vella warns. "Waste containing such metals is harder to dispose of safely because such metals can be mobilised as volatile or water soluble compounds (salts) during the lifecycle of the waste. Thus, for example, cadmium salts could escape as toxic vapours if cadmium-containing waste is incinerated. Moreover, the metals in flat batteries potentially constitute a precious resource as they could be recovered and re-used."
No wonder WasteServ Malta warns that "batteries are not to be disposed of with other waste". In fact, it collects the separated, used batteries and stores them safely until a market for recycling and/or safe disposal is identified. One of the destinations for used batteries is France.
Used batteries can be disposed of at any local council office or at several outlets around the country. A full list of these outlets is available at http://www.wasteservmalta.com. Mobile phone batteries, and handsets, are being collected for disposal by Vodafone Malta.
According to the Maltese Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment about six million batteries and 60,000 accumulators are imported and used in Malta every year.
The European Commission's Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators, which entered into force in September 2006, aims at minimising the negative impact of such gadgets on the environment. It caters for, among other things, the correct disposal, collection and recycling of batteries.
A new UN-led alliance called StEP (Solving the E-waste Problem) was launched early last month to tackle the increasing amount of electronic and electrical waste, including batteries, that is likely to reach 40 million metric tons a year soon, or enough to fill a line of dump trucks stretching half way round the world.
The future of batteries for small portable devices could well be fuel cells. For many years on the drawing board and in the labs of scientists, they result more economic and much more fuel-efficient in the long run. Fuel-cell powered computers and mobile phones that run for several days without the need of re-charging them should become a reality in the next few years.