:Lead acid batteries are made up of plates, Lead, and Lead oxide with a 35% sulfuric acid and 65% water electrolyte solution. Lead acid batteries represent almost 60% of all batteries sold worldwide. They are used for starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) service on automobiles and trucks, as well as providing power for automobiles, forklifts, submarines, and almost all other motive vehicles.

Lead acid batteries are noted for their ability to withstand varied forms of maltreatment, and are often used as back-up power sources should the primary battery or electrical power fail. Lead acid batteries use a simple set of reactions to provide energy. All styles of these batteries use the same active materials. The positive electrode is Lead dioxide (PbO2), which is converted to Lead sulfate (PbSO4), while the negative electrode is a spongy metallic Lead (Pb), which is also converted to Lead sulfate (PbSO4).

The electrolyte is a dilute mixture of sulfuric acid that provides the sulfate ion for the discharge reactions. There are three common types of Lead acid batteries: flooded (or wet), absorbed glass mat (AGM), and gel cell.

Lead can be recovered by either separating the different materials that make up the battery (Lead, plastics, acid, etc.) prior to metallurgical processing. Alternatively, batteries can be processed as a whole through heat treatment in a particular type of furnace with metals being recovered at the end of his process.