Publication detail

Material flow analysis as an approach to battery classification for effective waste management: A case study in the Czech Republic

KROPÁČ, J. PÁLEŠOVÁ, L. PLUSKAL, J. JIA, X. ŠOMPLÁK, R. PAVLAS, M. ŠYC, M. MONCMANN, B.

English title

Material flow analysis as an approach to battery classification for effective waste management: A case study in the Czech Republic

Type

WoS Article

Language

en

Original abstract

The sustainable management of waste batteries remains a key challenge due to inefficiencies in current classification systems, which hinder its effective recycling, reuse, and material recovery. This study aims to address these issues by conducting a Material Flow Analysis of the battery waste streams in the Czech Republic and offer guidance for optimising the classification system by identifying the inefficiencies of current reporting system. Up-to-date data were collected from the national waste register, collective take-back systems, and mixed municipal waste analysis. The results include an overview of the main flows influencing the waste generation and Material Flow Analysis of the waste batteries, visualized using Sankey diagrams. The quantity of batteries discarded in mixed municipal waste was identified as 0.9 kt, which is a high value compared to the number of waste batteries collected in 2022 via the separate municipal sorting infrastructure (1.1 kt). The results highlight significant inefficiencies in waste battery management, particularly in addressing the batteries ending up in mixed municipal waste. This study concludes that improving battery classification can facilitate sustainable waste management, achieve more efficient material recovery, and extend battery life cycles in the Czech Republic.

Keywords in English

Waste batteries; Material flow analysis; Classification system; Waste management; Circular economy; Waste reporting system; Recycling

Released

2026-09-01

Publisher

Elsevier BV

Journal

Energy Conversion and Management-X

Volume

31

Number

September

Pages from–to

102028–

Pages count

13

BIBTEX


@article{BUT211792,
  author="Jiří {Kropáč} and Lenka {Pálešová} and Jaroslav {Pluskal} and Xuexiu {JIA} and Radovan {Šomplák} and Martin {Pavlas} and  {} and  {}",
  title="Material flow analysis as an approach to battery classification for effective waste management: A case study in the Czech Republic",
  journal="Energy Conversion and Management-X",
  year="2026",
  volume="31",
  number="September",
  pages="13",
  doi="10.1016/j.ecmx.2026.102028",
  issn="2590-1745",
  url="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590174526005118"
}