Thermodynamics Project II (2 Copies)

Department of Chemical Engineering and Energy Sustainability
Faculty of Engineering
KNC 2113 Thermodynamics II
Project Report
On
Material and Energy Balance of Grid Production for Lead-Acid Battery

Manufacturing at Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya
Berhad Company No. 628324-W
Alvin Anak Ahjun
Calvin Anak Jose Jol
Tan Min Chong
Bachelor of Engineering with Honours

(Chemical Engineering)
2017/2018
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK
Material and Energy Balance of Grid Production for Lead-Acid Battery
Manufacturing at Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya
Berhad Company No. 628324-W
Alvin Anak Ahjun (55421)
Calvin Anak Jose Jol (58517)
Tan Min Chong (60044)
A report is submitted
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering with Honours
(Chemical Engineering)
Faculty of Engineering
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK
2017
2
DECLARATION OF ORIGINAL WORK
This declaration is made on the 22nd day of December 2017.
Students’ Declaration:
We, ALVIN ANAK AHJUN (55421), CALVIN ANAK JOSE JOL (58517) AND TAN MIN
CHONG (60044), DEPT. OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND ENERGY
SUSTAINABILITY, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING hereby declare that the work entitled,
MATERIAL AND ENERGY BALANCE OF GRID PRODUCTION FOR LEAD-ACID
BATTERY MANUFACTURING AT AMALGAMATED BATTERIES MANUFACTURING
(ABM) FUJIYA BERHAD COMPANY NO. 628324-W is our original work. We have not
copied from any other students’ work or from any other sources except where due reference
or acknowledgment was made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for me by
another person.
ALVIN ANAK AHJUN (55421)

22nd DECEMBER 2017 CALVIN ANAK JOSE JOL (58517)
Date submitted TAN MIN CHONG (60044)
Lecturer Declaration:
I NAZERI ABDUL RAHMAN hereby certifies that the work entitled, MATERIAL AND
ENERGY BALANCE OF GRID PRODUCTION FOR LEAD-ACID BATTERY
MANUFACTURING AT AMALGAMATED BATTERIES MANUFACTURING (ABM)
FUJIYA BERHAD COMPANY NO. 628324-W was prepared by the above-named students
and was submitted to the “FACULTY” as a partial KNC2113 Thermodynamics II
fulfillment for the conferment of BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING WITH HONOURS
(CHEMICAL ENGINEERING), and the aforementioned work, to the best of my knowledge,
is the said students’ work
Received for examination by: NAZERI ABDUL RAHMAN Date: 22nd DECEMBER 2017
(Name of the lecturer)
3
I declare this Report is classified as (Please tick (√)):
 CONFIDENTIAL (Contains confidential information under the Official Secret

Act 1972)*
 RESTRICTED (Contains restricted information as specified by the

organization where research was done)*
 OPEN ACCESS
Validation of Report
We therefore duly affirmed with free consent and willingness declared that this said Report
shall be placed officially in Department of Chemical Engineering and Energy Sustainability
with the abide interest and rights as follows:
• This Report is the sole legal property Department of Chemical Engineering and Energy
Sustainability, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
• The Department of Chemical Engineering and Energy Sustainability has the lawful right
to make copies for the purpose of academic and research only and not for another purpose.
to digitize the content to for the Local Content Database.
to make copies of the Report for academic exchange between Higher Learning Institute.
• No dispute or any claim shall arise from the student itself neither third party on this
report once it becomes the sole property of Department of Chemical Engineering and
Energy Sustainability, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
• This Report or any material, data and information related to it shall not be distributed,
published or disclosed to any party by the student except with Department of
Chemical Engineering and Energy Sustainability, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
permission.
Student’s signature _____________________ Lecturer’s signature: ________________

Student’s signature _____________________ (22nd DECEMBER 2017)
Student’s signature _____________________
(22nd DECEMBER 2017)
Current Address:
DEPT. OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, 93400 KOTA
SAMARAHAN, SARAWAK
Notes: * If the Report is CONFIDENTIAL or RESTRICTED, please attach together as
annexure a letter from the organization with the period and reasons of confidentiality and
restriction.
4
APPROVAL SHEET
This research report which entitled “Material and Energy Balance of Grid
Production for Lead-Acid Battery Manufacturing at Amalgamated
Batteries Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya Berhad Company No. 628324-W”
was prepared by, Alvin Anak Ahjun (55421), Calvin Anak Jose Jol (58517) and Tan
Min Chong (60044), as a partial KNC 2113 Thermodynamics II course fulfilment
for the Bachelor of Engineering with Honours (Chemical Engineering) is hereby
read and approved by:
_______________________________ 22nd December 2017
MR. NAZERI ABDUL RAHMAN Date
(KNC 2113 Thermodynamics II Course Lecturer)
5
Dedication
Dedicated to our beloved parents, who give us endless support, inspiration and
encouragement for our studies
6
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to express gratitude to their lecturers, Dr. Nazeri
Abdul Rahman and Mr. Harunal Rejan bin Ramji for their guidance in completing
the research report, and to all the individuals who have helped the researchers by
sharing their knowledge and experiences. The authors give special thanks to
Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya Berhad Company No.
628324 especially to Mdm Angeline Tay, Mr. Alan Tay Tik Poh, Mr. Thian Sui
Kong and Ms. Anne Eklip for allowing and guiding us for the research purposes.
Last but not least, the authors cherish their family and friend for their endless
support for completing the research report.
7
Abstract
The science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related

industries in Malaysia provides a better understanding of its application. As such,
this research has been conducted based on materials and energy balance
fundamental. The chemical process analysis was studying the grid cast production
for the manufacturing of lead-acid battery at Amalgamated Batteries
Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya Berhad in Pending Industrial Estate, Kuching. The
overall information that emerges from the literature is compelling has allowed the
research to extend its knowledge in terms of chemical process. Chemical process for
grid cast production is a complex process that involves deep understanding of
materials and energy balance. Also, analyzing the equipment roles and relating
them with the chemical process has introduced the research with mathematical
calculation and technology approaches. The research was properly analyzed with
Microsoft Excel and SuperPro as the simulation software. At the same time, the
research has found that the heat capacity is affected much by the small difference
in temperature at low temperature. As a result, the research has deepened its
capability to investigate the effect of chemical process due to materials and energy
analysis towards the environment. The research provides improvement for the
chemical process through materials and energy balance analysis towards the
equipment, waste management and design. This needs to be done as to ensure the
grid cast production in ABM Company is sustainable. In short, the research is able
to calculate the material and energy balance of grid cast production process
through the simulation on Microsoft Excel and SuperPro software.
Keywords:
Materials and Energy Balance, Chemical Process, Sustainable
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Abstrak
Pendidikan Sains, Teknologi, Kejuruteraan dan Matematik (STEM) yang

berkaitan industri di Malaysia menyediakan pemahaman yang mendalam tentang
penggunaannya. Oleh itu, kajian ini telah dijalankan berdasarkan asas imbangan
barangan dan tenaga. Analisis terhadap proses kimia telah dipelajari tentang
pengeluaran grit kas yang bertujuan untuk pembuatan bateri asid plumbum di
Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya Berhad di Pending
Industrial Estate, Kuching. Keseluruhan maklumat telah didapati melalui rujukan
sumber mampu mengembangkan idea tentang proses kimia. Proses kimia untuk
pengeluaran grit kas adalah proses yang sukar turut melibatkan pemahaman
mendalam tentang imbangan barangan dan tenaga. Malah, analisa terhadap
peranan peralatan dengan mengkaitkan mereka kepada proses kimia telah
memperkenalkan kajian melalui pengiraan matematik dan pendekatan teknologi.
Kajian ini telah dianalisis dengan Micosoft Excel dan SuperPro sebagai program
simulasi. Pada masa yang sama, kajian mendapati kapasiti haba adalah berkait
rapat dengan perubahan suhu pada kadar yang rendah. Kesannya, kajian ini
mendalami kebolehannya untuk menyiasat kesan proses kimia melalui imbangan
barangan dan tenaga terhadap alam sekeliling. Kajian ini mengulas
penambahbaikan terhadap proses kimia melalui analisis imbangan barangan dan
tenaga terhadap peralatan, pengurusan bahan buangan dan rupa bentuk. Perkara
ini harus dilakukan bagi memastikan pengeluaran grit kas di ABM Company
adalah mapan. Pendek kata, kajian ini mampu mengira imbangan barangan dan
tenaga terhadap proses pengeluaran grit kas melalui simulasi Microsoft Excel dan
program SuperPro.
Keywords:
Imbangan Barangan dan Tenaga, Proses Kimia, Mapan
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Table of Contents
Pages
Title Page 2
Work Declaration 3
Approval Sheet 5
Dedication 6
Acknowledgement 7
Abstract 8
Table of content 10
List of tables and figures 12
List of abbreviation and nomenclature 15
17
1.0 Introduction
17
1.1 Overview
17
1.2 Research Problems
18
1.3 Research Aim
18
1.4 Research Objectives
19
1.5 Research Scopes
19
1.6 Brief Description of Methodology
22
1.7 Significant of Study
23
2.0 Literature Review
35
3.0 Methodology
4.0 Results and Discussion 39
39
4.1 Grid Casting Machine
41
4.2 Equipment of Grid Casting Machine
43
4.3 Operation of Grid Casting Machine
43
4.4 Production Process of Grid Cast
10
49
4.5 Mass Balance Calculation
61
4.6 Energy Balance Calculation
66
4.7 Recommendation
5.0 Conclusion 67
References 68
Appendix A 74
Appendix B 84
11
List of Tables
Table Title Page

Table 2.0 Type of chemical reaction in chemical process (Helmenstine, 2017) 24
Table 2.1 The principles of thermodynamics (Saad, 1997). 24
Table 2.2 Thermal interaction between systems and surrounding (O’Connell & John, 2005) 25
Table 2.3 Three Types of Chemical Plant Accidents (Crowl & Louvar, 2011) 25
Table 2.4 Classification of Work Injuries (Speegle, 2005) 25
Table 2.5 The physical lead properties that allowed it to be used in technology invention 27
(Winter, 2017)
Table 2.6 Metals Used in Solar Photovoltaic Installations (Fthenakis, 2009) 27
Table 2.7 Differences between flat plate and tubular plate in lead-acid battery (Storage 28
Battery System, 2017)
Table 2.8 Positive Plate Construction (Storage Battery System, 2017 28
Table 2.9 Lead Blast Furnace Capacity (Consortium Battery Equipment, 2017). 29
Table 2.10 Capabilities typical shapes of grid cast (Storage Battery System, 2017). 30
Table 2.11 Type of Lead Oxide and its application (Lead Battery Recycling, 2017). 31
Table 2.12 Starter battery and deep-cycle battery (Buchmann, 2014) 32
Table 2.13 Properties of lead metal (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2017) 33
Table 2.14 Sequential Process Layouts for Grid Casting (Haq, 2016) 33
Table 2.15 Metal Value per Ton of Battery (Buchmann, 2017)

34
Table 2.16 Battery collector for recycling purposes in India (Prajapati, 2016) 34
12
Table 4.0 Specification of Grid Casting Machine at ABM Company 41
Table 4.1 Heating Period for Melting Process 45
Table 4.2 Different thickness of grid cast at different temperature 45
Table 4.3 Production Rate of Grid Cast 47
Table 4.4 Total Production of Grid Cast for a single grid casting machine in ABM 47
Company
Table 4.5 Grid casting overall mass balance 50
Table 4.6 Mass balance of lead oxide in furnace 51
Table 4.7 Mass balance of lead in furnace equipment in flow rate 52
Table 4.8 Mass balance of lead in furnace equipment in mass 53
Table 4.9 Mass balance of lead in mold equipment in flow rate 54
Table 4.10 Mass balance of lead in mold equipment in mass 55
Table 4.11 Mass balance of lead in trim equipment in flow rate 56
Table 4.12 Mass balance of lead in trim equipment in mass 57
Table 4.13 Furnace mass balance in flow rate 59
Table 4.14 Mold mass balance in flow rate 60
Table 4.15 Trim mass balance in flow rate 60
Table 4.16 Energy balance of lead in furnace by one electric heater 61
Table 4.17 Total energy balance of lead in furnace 63
Table 4.18 Energy balance of lead in mold 64
13
List of Figures
Figure Title Page

Figure 1.0 Research Site Route (Google Maps, 2017) 19
Figure 2.0 Two basic categories of layout in the chemical process (Kraus, 2011). 23
Figure 2.1 Molding process (Lawless, 2013) 31
Figure 3.0 Research Methodology 84
Figure 3.1 Group Photo with the Production Manager, Mr. Thian Sui Kong 85
Figure 3.2 Group Photo with Ms. Anne Eklip 85
Figure 3.3 Labelled Grid Casting Machine 85
Figure 3.4 Grid Cast is channeled to the trim part 86
Figure 3.5 Pumps that deliver the molten lead to the ladle 86
Figure 3.6 Tonnes of lead-antimony ingots 86
Figure 3.7 Ready-made grid cast 87
Figure 3.8 Metal scrap conveyor 87
Figure 3.9 Furnace for melting lead ingots 87
Figure 3.10 Giving appreciation token to the Managing Director, Mr. Alan Tay Tik Poh 88
Figure 4.0 Grid Casting Machine in ABM Company 40
Figure 4.1 Process Flow Diagram 43
Figure 4.2 Flow diagram 49
Figure 4.3 Simulation of mass flow rate 58
Figure 4.4 Simulation of mass rate 59
Figure 4.5 The pathway of input enthalpy 62
Figure 4.6 The pathway of output enthalpy 63
Figure 4.7 The pathway of input enthalpy 65
14
Figure 4.8 The pathway of output enthalpy 66
Abbreviations
List of Abbreviation
ABM Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing

PFD Process Flow Diagram
Nomenclature
List of Nomenclature
A Atomic Species A
B Atomic Species B
AB Molecule
H+ Hydrogen ion
OH- Hydroxide ion
H2O Water
X- X species ion
Aq Aqueous
L Liter
∆fHo Changes in heat formation
∆fGo Changes in Gibbs energy formation
So Entropy at standard condition
CpH Specific heat capacity and enthalpy
H298.15K Standard enthalpy at room temperature
kJ Kilojoule
mol Mole
oC Degree Celcius
% Percentage
t Time
kg Kilogram
kcal Kilocalorie
hr Hour
LPG Liquefied Pressured Gas
15
in2 Inches square
ft2 Feet square
oz Ounce
lb Pound
µ Micro
g Gram
$ Dollars
R Gas constant
T Temperature
a1 Specific heat capacity
b1 Specific heat capacity
psig Pound-force per square inch
kW Kilowatt
X1 Mole flow rate at stage 1
PbO Lead Oxide
hrs Hours
mm Millimetre
O2 Oxygen gas
∆Hin Changes in enthalpy into the system
∆Hout Changes in enthalpy out of system
Q Heat
Nout Mole flow rate out of system
Nin Mole flow rate into the system
K Kelvin
16
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Overview
According to Glossary of Statistical Terms (2003), material and energy

balance is an accounting tables that supply knowledge on the materials input into
an economy delivered by the natural environment for transformation and apply the
input in economic processes such as extraction, conversion, manufacturing,
consumption and its return to the natural environment as residuals or wastes.
Therefore, the research is mainly focused to understand the flow and mechanism of
materials and energy balance in chemical production industry in Malaysia. This is
because industrial wastes are the major source of dangerous waste in Malaysia
where the nation’s approach to hazardous waste management is very well designed
and in line with the nation’s development plan (Aja et al., 2016). This research has
a significant contribution towards for better understanding of materials and energy
fundamental so that more recommendations are able to be suggested to improve
the chemical process. However, the research only based on the designated chemical
process that only involves the heavy raw material. Besides, the research is only
based on the assumption that the processing mechanism is ideal without
considering the external effect of the surrounding. To understand the fundamental
of materials and energy balance, the research has been conducted on the grid cast
production at Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya Berhad.
In any product processes, most of it is produced by the specific organization.

For example, lead-acid battery in Sarawak is manufactured by ABM Fujiya Berhad
(Company No. 628324-W). The factory is situated in Lot 2224, Section 66, Lorong
Pangkalan, Off Jalan Pangkalan, Pending Industrial Estate, 93450, Kuching,
Sarawak, East Malaysia. According to Bloomberg (2017), ABM Fujiya Berhad is a
factory that manufactures storage batteries was founded in 1971. The aim is to
continue the factory scope of production with continual improvement in qualities
and competitiveness by offering its customer with the best products (ABM Fujiya,
2014).
Apart from that, the factory is primarily manufacturing complete units of

automotive batteries in various sizes ranging from 7-plate batteries to 33-plate
batteries. To date, ABM Fujiya Berhad has been awarded Super Excellent Brand
17
2009, Outstanding Business Awards 2010, 2012 and the Brandlaureate SMEs
Bestbrands Blue Chip Award 2013.
1.2 Research Problem
Production of the grid for a lead-acid battery is strongly related to the

chemical process. According to Treptow (2002), owners of the automobile have
widely installed the lead-acid storage battery with rechargeable power sources.
Moreover, the production of the grid for lead-acid battery also requires the
fundamentals of materials and energy balance in order to achieve sustainability.
However, lead exposure, especially at grid casting section in automobile battery
manufacturing, has caused radiation which harms the environment (Ahmad et al.,
2008). On the top of that, conventional recycling of the lead-acid battery produces
harmful by-products such as a waste sulphuric acid (Conn, Claisse and Lorimer,
2007). Hence, studying the grid casting process for the production of the grid for
lead-acid batteries manufacturing is important to determine to improve the mass
and energy balance of the chemical process.
1.3 Research Aim

The main aim of this research is to calculate the material and energy
balance at the grid casting section during the production of grid cast for lead-acid
battery.
1.4 Research Objectives

The objectives of the study are as follows;
i. To understand the working principle of grid casting section during the
grid production for lead-acid battery at Amalgamated Batteries
Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya Berhad,
ii. To calculate the material and energy balance of the process at the grid
casting section on grid production for lead-acid battery at Amalgamated
Batteries Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya Berhad using Excel and
SuperPro software and compare the two calculated results and,
iii. To make a few recommendations as to improve the process after
evaluating the grid casting section during the production of the grid for
lead-acid battery.
18
1.5 Research Scopes
This research involves the understanding of the chemical process at the grid
casting section on grid production for lead-acid battery manufacturing along with
its materials and energy balance. Besides, observation will be made to analyze the
by-product during the production process. All of these will be conducted at ABM
Fujiya Berhad, Lot 2224, Section 66, Lorong Pangkalan, Off Jalan Pangkalan,
Pending Industrial Estate, 93450, Kuching, Sarawak, East Malaysia. Figure 1.0
shows the mapping of the research site.
Figure 1.0 Research Site Route (Google Maps, 2017)
1.6 Brief Description of Methodology

To achieve the aim and objectives of this research, plan with series of tasks
which is methodology have been planned. The sequence of the plan is explained as
follows;
i. Literature review
This research was conducted by collecting as many as information regarding
chemical process, material and energy balance, unit operation and grid
casting section during the grid production for lead-acid battery. This
information was gathered through books, journals, websites and others
media relevant to the process as the references. The information is used as
19
the references to support the results and discussion of this research. Among
sources of information is from Science Direct online journal, Materials and
Energy Balance Fundamental book, Introduction to Chemical Engineering
Thermodynamic book and some thesis that has been done regarding the
chemical process,
ii. Preparing Investigation Forms

Investigation forms and questionnaires were prepared. Questions are
designed to gather information about the grid casting process during the
grid production for lead-acid battery, the material and energy used in the
process and the production system along with the unit operation in the
factory. The main focus here is to analyze the material and energy balance
concept at the grid casting section on grid production for the lead-acid
battery.
iii. Study visit to the site

In order to study the material and energy balance at the grid casting section
on grid production for lead-acid battery, a site visit was conducted at ABM
Fujiya Berhad, Lot 2224, Section 66, Lorong Pangkalan, Off Jalan
Pangkalan, Pending Industrial Estate, 93450, Kuching, Sarawak, East
Malaysia. The visit was conducted on 29 November 2017 where the
researchers were warmly welcome by the factory management. Among the
staff that has supported this research was Mdm Angeline from Department
of Human Resources, Mr. Alan Tay Tik Poh as the Executive Director, Mr.
Thian Sui Kong as the Production Head and Ms. Anne Eklip as the worker
representative. The visit aims to deepen the understanding and broaden the
knowledge about material and energy balance of the process in each unit
operation during the grid production. As a result, the researchers were able
to observe the working flow at grid casting machine along with the
equipment to run the grid cast production process.
iv. Developing an Excel and SuperPro Programming

After visiting the Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya
Berhad Company and collecting the data, material balance and energy
balance calculation of grid production are performed through Excel and
20
SuperPro. The data are tabulated in Excel so that the materials and energy
balance can be calculated. All the values obtained are based on standard
references values which is obtained from Material and Energy Balance book
and Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics book.
v. Data Analysis
The collected data from the Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (ABM)
Fujiya Berhad Company and calculated data through Excel and SuperPro
are analyzed and compared for the precision. Flowsheets of the grid casting
process are designed from the collected data.
vi. Result and Discussion

Flowsheets which represent the grid casting section process during the grid
production for lead-acid battery at Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing
(ABM) Fujiya Berhad Company are used to represent the data. Process
Flow Diagrams (PFD) in the flowsheets should provide information about
the grid production for the lead-acid battery. The discussion mainly focused
on the process involved, the function of equipment and waste product from
the process. Meanwhile, comparisons of data are well-explained in order to
understand the effect of materials and energy balance in the chemical
process.
vii. Suggestions for improvement in the process

After the material and energy balance of the process is calculated and
represented in the flowsheets, the problems in the process are determined.
Finally, the improvement of the process is suggested and developed by
applying the theories and concept learns in thermodynamics and material
and energy balance. The suggestions are made based on the literature that
have been found in order to ensure the suggestions are real and capable to
be implemented.
viii. Report Writing

The collected, calculated and analyzed data are represented by writing a
report. The report contains information about the research on material and
energy balance of grid casting section, problem statement, aim, objectives,
21
content, acknowledgment, abstracts, introduction, literature reviews,
methodology, results, discussion, conclusion and references.
ix. Submission of Report and Presentation

The report is submitted on the submission date (22 December 2017) and
presentation of the report will be conducted. It aims to convey messages
regarding the grid casting section on grid production for lead-acid battery
and to seek advice from the experts.
1.7 Significance of Study

The findings of this study will redound to the benefit of student considering
that materials and energy balance plays an essential role in chemical process. The
greater demand for students with engineering background justifies the need for
more exposure towards the real industries application. Besides, technology
application is introduced in this research by using Excel and SuperPro Simulation
able to strengthen the student knowledge in terms of materials and energy balance
and chemical process. Besides, this research allows the researchers to suggest few
improvements towards the chemical process in the industries based on their
current knowledge state.
22
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Chemical Process

Malaysia has an abundance of raw materials from tropical forests,
geological minerals and other marine sediments. As such, Malaysia has
recorded rise in economic activities due to the transformation of the raw
materials into valuable products. This could only be done with the chemical
process. According to Malne (2012), a chemical process is a method intended in
manufacturing or on an industrial scale to change the composition of chemicals
and materials in chemical plants or chemical industries.
As a result, the emergence of chemical engineering field brings huge
impacts towards the society and economy. Lucas (2014) described that
chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with chemical
production and manufacture of products through chemical processes which
include designing equipment, systems and processes for refining raw materials
which are for mixing, compounding and processing materials to make valuable
products. Besides, enhancement in the chemical process and product design is
essential to meet a multitude of societal demands through environmental
control, sustainability requirements, life cycle analysis, low-cost products, the
high cost of raw materials and energy resources (Frenkel, 2010).
Kraus (2011) indicates that there are two basic categories of layout in
chemical processing industries which are plant layout to cover all process
equipment and storage and process layout to determine equipment or blocking
(as shown in Figure 2.0). Hence, discussion of environmental sustainability is
incomplete without understanding the roles of organization identity and
managerial agency through which sustainability is instilled in the organization
practices in a business ecosystem (Rajala, Westerlof & Lampikoski, 2015).
Layout in Chemical
Process
Process Layout Plant Layout
Figure 2.0 Two basic categories of layout in the chemical process (Kraus, 2011)
23
2.2 Type of Chemical Process
Chemical process involves various chemical reactions as in Table 2.0.
According to Helmenstine (2017), there are 4 main types of chemical reactions
which are a direct combination, analysis reaction, single displacement and double
displacement.
Table 2.0 Type of chemical reaction in chemical process (Helmenstine, 2017)
Chemical Reaction Definition
Oxidation-Reduction or Redox Reaction Changes in the oxidation numbers of atoms that
involve the transfer of an electron between
chemical species.
Direct Combination or Synthesis Reaction Two or more chemical species combine to form a
more complex product.
𝐴 + 𝐵 → 𝐴𝐵
Chemical Decomposition or Analysis Reaction Broken into smaller chemical species.
𝐴𝐵 → 𝐴 + 𝐵
Single Displacement or Substitution Reaction One element being displaced from a compound by
another reactant.
𝐴 + 𝐵𝐶 → 𝐴𝐶 + 𝐵
Metathesis or Double Displacement Reaction Two compounds exchange bonds or ions in order
to form different compounds.
𝐴𝐵 + 𝐶𝐷 → 𝐴𝐷 + 𝐶𝐵
Acid-Base Reaction H+ ion in the acid reacts with OH- in the base to
form water and ionic salt.
𝐻𝐴 + 𝐵𝑂𝐻 → 𝐻2 𝑂 + 𝐵𝐴
Combustion Type of redox reaction in which a combustible

material combust with an oxidizer to form
oxidized products and generates heat.
Isomerization The structural arrangement of a compound is
changed but it’s not atomic composition remains
the same.
Hydrolysis Reaction Addition of water to the compound.
𝑋 − (𝑎𝑞) + 𝐻2 𝑂(𝑙) ↔ 𝐻 + + 𝑂𝐻 − (𝑎𝑞)
2.3 Thermodynamic of Chemical Process

Generally, pressure, volume and temperature are the 3 main parameters in
thermodynamics. According to Saad (1997), thermodynamic mainly involves the
transformation of energy from one to another region. Table 2.1 shows the
principles of thermodynamics.
Table 2.1 The principles of thermodynamics (Saad, 1997).
24
Principles of Definition
thermodynamics
Zeroth law of Thermal equilibrium and the concept of temperature changes.
thermodynamic
First law of The concept of internal energy and principle of conservation of energy.
thermodynamic
Second law of The natural direction of changes of distribution of energy and introduction the
thermodynamic release of entropy.
Third law of Absolute zero of entropy
thermodynamic
Table 2.2 Thermal interaction between systems and surrounding (O’Connell &
John, 2005)
Boundary Constraints on Interactions
Open Any interaction is possible.
Closed Impenetrable by matter, but other kinds of interactions can occur.
Penetrable by some chemical species, but not by others; all others
Semipermeable
interactions are possible.
Thermal interactions are not possible, but non-thermal interactions can
Insulated
occur.
Rigid Boundary cannot be mechanically deformed.
Isolated No interactions can occur.
2.4 Working Safety in Chemical Process

Public perceptions towards the working environment especially in chemical
process are an acceptable rick where the major objection is due to involuntary
nature of acceptable risk (Crowl & Louvar, 2011). Table 2.3 shows the type of
chemical plant accidents.
Table 2.3 Three Types of Chemical Plant Accidents (Crowl & Louvar, 2011)
Type of Probability of Potential for Potential for economic
accident occurrence fatalities loss
Fire High Low Intermediate
Explosion Intermediate Intermediate High
Toxic release Low High Low
Working injuries are crucial matter, especially among the chemical plant workers.
Table 2.4 shows the classification of working injuries in the workplace.
Table 2.4 Classification of Work Injuries (Speegle, 2005)
Classification of Working Injuries
Motor Vehicles Accident
Overexertion (working beyond their
physical limit)
Impact accident
Falls
Chemical Exposure
Compression
Exposure to radiation
Rubbing or abrasions
Exposure to extreme temperature
25
Thus, working safety must be placed into attention especially to the most
frequent types of accidents and the causes of each accident (Speegle, 2005).
2.5 Material and Energy Balance

According to Cengel and Cimbala (2004), one of the laws of conservation
is the laws of conservation of mass which stated that the mass can be created
nor destroyed but can be conserved. The fundamental of material balance is
based on the principle of the conservation of mass. Felder and Rousseau (2005)
said that in a processing unit, the general material balance is represented by
Equation 1:
Input Generation Output Consumption Accumulation

(Enters (Produces (Leaves (Consumes (Build up
Equation (1)
through + within the - through - within the = within the
system system) system system) system)
boundaries) boundaries)
Material enters the system known as input or feed and the material
produce is the generation. This two made up the mass enter the system.
Meanwhile, the output of the system and reactant that consumed in the
reaction made the part of mass out from the system. The mass balance in a
process is performed by balancing the mass enter the system and the mass out
from the system.
On the other hand, energy balance is based on the First Law of
Thermodynamics. First Law of Thermodynamics stated that the total energy of
a system can neither be created nor destroyed but it can be converse from one
form to another (Smith, Van Ness, & Abbott, 2005). For a system undergoes
energy balance, the net energy transferred to the system is the differences
between the energy into the system minus the energy out of the system.
Chemical process can be represented by a flowsheet. Process Flow
Diagram (PFD) is a standard method of flowsheet for engineering design.
According to Solen and Harb (2005) described that the PFD consists of
interconnected flow streams and equipment represented by symbols or icon
which provide detail information about the process. Details information about
26
each unit operation in the process is needed to perform material and energy
balance calculation. PFD is suitable for presenting a process that required
material and energy balance calculation.
2.6 Importance of Lead Metal

Lead is a high demand raw metal resource in heavy industries. According to
Technology Metal Research (2017), technology metal is generally rare metals that
are asserted for the production of high technology devices and engineered system.
These include the mass production of miniaturized electronics and associates
device, advanced weapon system and storage of electricity. As such, the principle
consumption of lead is for the lead-acid storage battery which is grid cast or and
battery plate where lead alloy is the raw material for production purposes (Gravity,
2015). The properties of lead are important in order to determine its quality and
quality in manufacturing production as shown in Table 2.5.
For example, lead is currently being used in a solar photovoltaic installation
that is used to generate electricity from the sun (Fthenakis, 2008). Table 2.6 shows
some heavy metals that are required to build one solar photovoltaic system.
Table 2.5 The physical lead properties that allowed it to be used in technology
invention (Winter, 2017)
State ∆f H ° ∆f G ° S° Cp H °
H298.15
Units kJ / mol kJ / mol J / K mol J / K mol kJ / mol
Solid *0 0 *64.80 ± 0.30 26.4 * 6.870 ± 0.030
Gas *195.2 ± 0.8 162 *175.375 ± 0.005 20.79 *6.179 ± 0.001
Table 2.6 Metals Used in Solar Photovoltaic Installations (Fthenakis, 2009)

Range of Estimate
Metal Notes
(kilograms/megawatt)
Aluminum (Al) 102 -
Boron (B) 0.0008 -
Lower estimate is for CIGS solar cells; higher
Cadmium (Cd) 0.93 – 83.51
estimate is for CdTe photovoltaics.
Lower estimate is for CIGS solar cells; higher
Copper (Cu) 16.97 – 2194.1 estimate is for a mix of 80 percent c-Si, 10 percent
a-Si, 5 percent CdTe, 5 percent CIGS.
Range is for CIGS but from the two different
Gallium (Ga) 0.12 – 6.17
sources.
Germanium (Ge) Unknown -
Indium (In) 4.5 – 83.79
sources.
Lower estimate is for c-Si; higher estimate is for a
Lead (Pb) 72.38 – 269.3 mix of 80 percent c-Si, 10 percent a-Si, 5 percent
CdTe, 5 percent CIGS.
Thin film technologies may use a back electrode
Molybdenum (Mo) 0 – Unknown
composed partially or completely of molybdenum.
27
Information on the use of molybdenum per unit of
installed capacity is limited.
Nickel (Ni) Unknown -
Selenium (Se) 0.5 – 84.41
sources.
Lower estimate is for c-Si; higher estimate is for a-
Silicon (Si) 0 – 18.4
Si.
Silver (Ag) 5.17 – 19.2 -
Steel Unknown Use for solar panel structures.
Lower estimate is for CIGS; higher estimate is for
Tellurium (Te) 4.7 – 90.38
CdTe.
Lower estimate is for CIGS; higher estimate is for
Tin (Sn) 5.95 – 463.1 a mix of 80 percent c-Si, 10 percent a-Si, 5 percent
CdTe, 5 percent CIGS.
Zinc (Zn) 29.99 -
2.7 Grid Cast Function in Lead-Acid Battery

Grid cast is the constituent part of the battery because of corrosion takes
places primarily on the positive grid and it experiences overcharging and operation
above 35oC (Lusanga, n.d.). The benefit of grid cast is it has high resistance to
corrosion, low electrical resistance and requires low water consumption. However,
flat plate and tubular plate has different reliability of charge cycles as shown in
Table 2.7.
According to United States Department of Labor (2017), lead oxide paste is
applied to the grid cast in a pasting machine to fill the space of the grid for lead-
acid battery manufacturing. Table 2.8 shows the positive plate construction.
Table 2.7 Differences between flat plate and tubular plate in lead-acid battery
(Storage Battery System, 2017)
Explanation of Tubular
Flat Plate Tubular
Advantages
Reliability Reliable Most Reliable
Charge Cycles
50 – 1000 1100 – 1800
( at 80% DOD)
The external shape of the positive
Electrolyte
Medium Low plate allows for easier movement for
Stratification Risk
the electrolyte.
Float Current Medium Low
Because of the higher relative
Thermal
Medium High electrolyte amounts and easier
Management
convective heat transport
Interface Surface
Medium High
Area
Electrical Well-defined pore size permits easy
Mid-to-low Low
Resistance movement to the electrolyte
Life Expectancy 15 – 18 years 20+ years
Because there is no electrolyte
Charge Retention Long Longest
pollution from the reinforcing agents
Table 2.8 Positive Plate Construction (Storage Battery System, 2017)
28
Plate Description
Plante’s plates Made of pure lead and lead alloy
Pasted plates Flat and positive plated by pasting lead oxide
Tubular Frame structure consisting of vertical spaces
connected to common bus bar
2.8 Blast Furnace

Dynamic model is a computerized application where variation in the change
of composition and various operating practices in the dynamics of the process that
includes the recalculation of set points and immediate feedback in real time
(Kostial, 2000). It is crucial in designing process equipment for better performance.
In this terms, ironmaking blast furnace is one of the equipment that World Steel
Association confirms as the predominant energy consuming process in the
production of steel (Martin, 2017).
Basically, blast furnace is used for smelting-production of metals such as
iron, lead, zinc and copper where the melting process is done in lead blast furnace,
iron blast furnace and zinc blast furnace respectively (Science Aid, 2017). Besides,
Consortium Battery Equipment (2017) describes the furnace structure has rugged
cylindrical metallic frame, upper part (fumes scavenger), furnace upper part
(protected by plate hood and pump) where the insulation of furnace and furnace
walls with multiple layers of insulating and refractory materials. Table 2.9 shows
the lead blast furnace capacity.
Table 2.9 Lead Blast Furnace Capacity (Consortium Battery Equipment, 2017)
Lead (Pb) capacity 4500 kg
Melting capacity 2500-4000 kg`
Thermal capacity 250.00 – 400.00 kcal/hr`
Fuel Natural gas or LPG
Maximum temperature 550 oC
In large blast furnace system, it has fewer heat losses and enables installation of
heat recovery equipment more effectively such as clod blast blows, hot blast oven
with minimum energy use that is 10.4 GJ (Worell, 2010).
2.9 Trimming Process

Machining involves the removal processes in which a cutting tool removes
unwanted material from workpiece to produce desired shape and able be formed
through existing part such as casting and forging (Custom Part Net, 2017).
According to Groover (2010), trimming process removes flash on the work part with
29
die forging or sheaving where punch forces are applied through the wall and die
cutting while the work part is still hot. Golovashchenko and Illinich (n.d.) described
that conventional trimming process has 3 major criteria to ensure the good quality
of a product which hare surface accuracy of upper and lower die, issue (burs,
shivers and splits) and tooling alignment.
Lu and Ou (2012) postulates that the precision in forging material is usually
involving hot forging with high temperature onto material surfaces with extrusion,
forging and lastly trimming before cooling the trimmed material to room
temperature (25oC).
2.10 Molding Process

According to Custom Part Net (2017), the capabilities injection of molding
machine able to produce thin-walled material for a wide variety of application and
manufacturing products using injection molding that varies in in size, complexity
and application. British Plastic Federation (2017) describes that molding process
starts where material is introduced into the injection molding machine which
consists of reciprocating screw (driven by a hydraulic or electric motor) and the
molten liquid is fed into a temperature controlled split mold. Table 2.10 shows the
capabilities of molding machine to produce grid cast for lead-acid battery.
Lawless (2013) indicates that molding equipment consists of two main parts which
are molding machine (injection unit and clamping unit) and injection press
(hydraulic, mechanical, electric and hybrid molding machine). Figure 2.1 shows
the molding process
Table 2.10 Capabilities typical shapes of grid cast (Storage Battery System, 2017)
Typical Feasible
Thin-walled: Cylindrical
Shapes Thin-walled: Cubic Flat
Thin-walled: Complex
Envelope: 0.01 in2 – 80 ft2
Part Size
Weight: 0.5 oz -55 lb
Composites
Materials Thermoplastics Elastomer
Thermosets
Surface Finish – Ra 4 -16 µin 1 -32 µin
Tolerance ±0.008 in ±0.002 in
Max. Wall Thickness 0.03 – 0.25 in 0.015 – 0.5 in
Quantity 10 000 – 100 0000 1000 – 100 0000
Lead Time Months Weeks
- Can form complex shapes and fine details
- Excellent surface finish
Advantages - Good dimensional accuracy
- High production rate
- Low labor cost
30
- Scrap can be recycled
- Limited to thin-walled parts
Disadvantages - High tooling and equipment cost
- Long lead time possible
Application Housing, containers, caps and fittings
Clamping Injection Dwelling Cooling Open Ejection
Figure 2.1 Molding process (Lawless, 2013)
2.11 Formation of Lead Oxide

According to Winter (2017), lead oxide or PbO is formed as resulted in the
reaction of lead with air. The surface of metallic lead is protected by a thin layer of
lead oxide or PbO and heating the lead to 600oC to 800oC does lead react with
oxygen in the air to form PbO as shown in the Equation 2 (Winter, 2017).
2𝑃𝑏 (𝑙) + 𝑂2 (𝑔) → 2 𝑃𝑏𝑂 Equation (2)
Semeniuk et al. (2017) found that lead oxide property able to apply to make
polycrystalline lead oxide (poly-PbO) that is photoconductors for utilization in X-
ray detectors.
Besides, lead oxide is also a raw material in making lead glass for electronic
elements, optical glass, antirust paint, and ceramic store battery (Lead Battery
Recycling World, 2017). As such, periodic table is used in order to analyze the
properties of lead as shown in Figure 2.2 as shown in Appendix A. Table 2.11
shows type of lead oxides for suitable manufacturing products.
Table 2.11 Type of Lead Oxide and its application (Lead Battery Recycling, 2017)
Type of Lead Oxide Application
Red Lead (Pb3O4) - Utilized battery manufacture
- Crystal glass, ceramic and anti-
corrosive
- Polymer stabilizer and vulcanizer
- Optical glass and anti-rust paint
- Weak Oxidizer in chemical
industry
Litharge or Yellow - Electric storage battery
- Storage battery for heavy duty
- Ceramic and glass industries
- Manufacture power cable
31
2.12 Lead-Acid Battery
Energy is the product of work done which cannot be created or destroyed.
However, energy can be stored in many forms such as chemical form, electrical
form, kinetic form and potential form. With the advancement of technology,
various devices have been invented for energy storage purposes. This includes
lead-acid battery such as starter battery and deep-cycle battery (Buchmann,
2014) (as shown in Table 2.12).
According to Gilmore (2016), the simple lead-acid battery was invented
by Gustave Plante’s due to the availability of industrial scale of electricity and
its commercialization was spearheaded by Camille Alphase Fauve in 1880
where the lead acid battery was made of lead oxides, sulphuric acid and water.
As such, lead-acid battery continues to be the main energy storage unit for a
wide range of applications such as hybrid electric vehicles and photovoltaic
system (Haddad, Shahat and Kaalani, 2015).
In addition, the process of lead-acid battery manufacturing usually
involves an energy-intensive step that is a formation in which active electrode
materials are converted into electrochemically active energy (White, Deveau
and Swan, 2016). Apart from that, the lead-acid battery is able to supply high
current and maintain a large power to weight ration along with proven
technology also low maintenance in advanced sealed batteries (Brauer, 2013).
As a result, the production of lead-acid battery has boosted the marketing
range in the automobile industry. Wisions (2014) described that lead-acid
battery is the oldest type of rechargeable batteries that represent around 40%
of the world battery market which is still preferred an option in the automotive
sector.
Table 2.12 starter battery and deep-cycle battery (Buchmann, 2014)
Depth of discharge Starter battery Deep-cycle battery
100% 12-15 cycles 150-200 cycles
50% 100-120 cycles 400-500 cycles
30% 130-150 cycles 1000 and more
2.13 Grid Production for Lead-Acid Battery

Lead is one of the most abundance heavy metal on earth. According to
Jaishankar (2014), lead is a bright silvery metal and slightly bluish in a dry
atmosphere which is highly toxic metal whose widespread use has caused
environmental pollution. In addition, lead has no biological role since it
32
properties are harmful to human health (as shown in Table 2.13). Meanwhile,
lead metal has brought various contribution in technology invention. Paul et al.
(2014) described that lead is currently used in the production of grid for lead-
acid batteries, ammunition, metal products such as solders and pipes and
devices to shield X-rays.
Buchmann (2017) described that lead alloy is the main component of the
grid structure in the lead-acid battery. As such, grid production for lead-acid
batteries is initiated by melting the lead ingots to grid casting of the molten
lead to produce the grids. According to Gell (2013), positive grid and negative
grid are part of battery construction that is essential for the planned battery
longevity and electrical and chemical performance. At grid casting section,
production of lead-acid battery grid undergoes various processes which are
melting, pumping, dispensing through valve, ladling the liquid lead and
molding (as shown in Figure 2.14) ( Haq, 2016).
Table 2.13 Properties of lead metal (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2017)
Group 14
Period 6
Block P
Atomic number 82
State at 20oC Solid
Electron configuration [Xe] 4f145d106s26p2
Melting point 327.462°C, 621.432°F, 600.612 K
Boiling point 1749°C, 3180°F, 2022 K
Density (g cm-3) 11.3
Relative atomic mass 207.2
Key isotopes 208Pb
Figure 2.2 Sequential Process Layouts for Grid Casting (Haq, 2016)
Dispense
Lead Bar Lead Furnace Lead Pump Ladle
Valve
Grid Stake Catch Plate Cutter Conveyer Belt Mould
33
2.14 Battery Recycling Industry
According to Gies (2005), battery recycling industry is practiced by most
developed countries with 98 % recycling rate. This is because recycling lead from
unused battery is less cost rather than mining new lead. Also, lead covered 65 % of
lead-acid battery mass but, lead is toxic metal and its disposal is heavily regulated
(Gies, 2005).
Ahsan et al. (2014) described that recycling is the reprocessing of wastes

either into the same product (closed-loop recycling) or a different product (open-
loop recycling). This process will recover the useful products and reduction in waste
quantities.
At the same time, battery recycling is a business since its annual market in
2015 brings a profit of $ 33 billion as shown in Table 2.15 (Buchmann, 2017).
Another example of battery collector in India is shown in Table 2.16.
Table 2.15 Metal Value per Ton of Battery (Buchmann, 2017)
Metal Value (per

Battery Chemistry Recycling
ton)
Lithium Cobalt Oxide $ 25 000 Subsidy needed
Cobalt $ 50 000 (2017) Relevant, subsidy Lead acid remains the

most suitable battery
Lithium Iron to recycle; 70% of its
$ 400 Subsidy needed
Phosphate weight contains
reusable leads.
Lead Acid $ 1 500 Profitable
Nickel $ 10 000 - $ 17 000 Subsidy needed
Cadmium $ 2 200 Subsidy needed
Table 2.16 Battery collector for recycling purposes in India (Prajapati, 2016)
Total Total
% Take Back
Reporting Production Collection of % Take Back
State Per Total
Period of Lead Lead Regulatory
Production
Batteries Batteries
Andhra
2007 – 2009 331 5980 826 825 51 175
Pradesh
2008 – 2010 Delhi 211 822 15 830 7 7
2008 – 2009 Gujarat 866 521 539 284 158 214
2005 – 2009 Haryana 8517 935 NA 15
34
2008 – 2009 Kerala 1427 478 80 79
3.0 Methodology
To achieve the aim and objectives of this research, a plan with series of tasks which
is methodology is planned. The sequence of the plan in methodology is shown in
Figure 3.0 and explain as follows;
i. Literature review
This research is conducted by gathering as many as relevant information
about chemical process, unit operation, equipment involved in grid casting
process, material and energy balance and grid casting section during the
grid production for lead-acid battery. This relevant information is collected
via book, journals and article borrowed from CAIS, an online journal from
science direct, online article and online material from reliable websites and
from others media relevant to the research process as the references.
ii. Preparing Investigation Forms

Investigation forms and questionnaires are prepared after has general
knowledge of grid casting production that gains through literature review.
Questions are designed to gather information about the grid casting process,
equipment, unit operation and equipment in the factory. The questionnaires
also containing questions regarding the material and energy balance to get
data required for mass and energy balance calculation. The investigation
forms and questionnaires are given the production manager, Mr. Alan Tay
Tik Poh to be filled.
iii. Study visit to the site

In order to study the material and energy balance at the grid casting section
on grid production for lead-acid battery, site visit is conducted on 29th
November 2017, at ABM Fujiya Berhad, Lot 2224, Section 66, Lorong
Pangkalan, Off Jalan Pangkalan, Pending Industrial Estate, (3450, Kuching,
Sarawak, East Malaysia. The visit aims to deepen the understanding and
broaden the knowledge about material and energy balance of the process in
each unit operation during the grid production. The visit is guide by Mr.
Thian Sui Kong as the Head Production in the grid casting section with the
35
help of Miss Ann Eklip as a tour guide during the visit to the factory. The
investigation forms and questionnaire prepared are filled by Mr. Alan Tay
Tik Poh.
iv. Developing an Excel and SuperPro Programming

After visiting the Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya
Berhad Company, the collected data of the grid casting section are used in
material and energy balance calculation performed by Excel and SuperPro
software. The mass balance of the grid casting process is performed by both
Excel and SuperPro. Meanwhile, the energy balance calculation only is done
by Excel.
v. Data Analysis
The collected data from the Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (ABM)
Fujiya Berhad Company and calculated data through Excel and Aspen are
analyzed and compared for the precision. Flowsheets of the gird casting
process are designed from the collected data. The data analysis is divide into
two part which is mass balance part and energy balance part. The mass
balance calculation and equation on Excel are as followed:
Input Generation Output Consumption Accumulation
(Enters (Produces (Leaves (Consumes (Build up
Equation (1)
through + within the - through - within the = within the
system system) system system) system)
boundaries) boundaries)
According to McBride (1993), the calculation for enthalpy is shown in

Equation 2.
𝐻 𝑂 (𝑇) 𝑎2 𝑇 𝑎3 𝑇 2 𝑎4 𝑇 3 𝑎5 𝑇 4 𝑏1
𝑅𝑇
= 𝑎1 + 2
+ 3
+ 4
+ 5
+ 𝑇
Equation (3)
The SuperPro software is used to run the simulation on mass balance by

computing the equipment and mass in the SuperPro.
vi. Result and Discussion

The results from the Excel calculation are tabulated in table and presented.
The tabulated data consist of input material, output material, accumulated
and waste of the overall process. Input and output of each of the equipment
36
used in grid casting also presented in a table. Meanwhile, the results from
SuperPro are used to compare the data calculated from the Excel
programming. Flowsheets which represent the grid casting section process
during the grid production for lead-acid battery at Amalgamated Batteries
Manufacturing (ABM) Fujiya Berhad Company are used to represent the
data. Process Flow Diagrams (PFD) in the flowsheets provide information
about the grid production for the lead-acid battery.
vii. Suggestions for improvement in the process

After the material and energy balance of the process is calculated and
represented in the flowsheets, the problems in the process are determined.
Finally, the improvement of the process is suggested and developed by
applying the theories and concept learns in thermodynamics and material
and energy balance.
viii. Report Writing

The collected, calculated and analyzed data are represented in report,
journal and a poster. The report contains information about the research on
material and energy balance of grid casting section, problem statement, aim,
objectives, content, acknowledgment, abstracts, introduction, literature
reviews, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion and references.
ix. Submission of Report and Presentation

The report is submitted on the submission date on 22nd December 2017 and
presentation of the report will be conducted. It aims to convey messages
regarding the grid casting section on grid production for lead-acid battery
and to seek advice from the experts.
37
Literature Review
Preparing Investigation
Forms
Study Visit to the Site
Developing an Excel and

Aspen Programming
Data Analysis
Results and Discussion
Suggestions for
Improvement in the
Process
Report Writing
Submission of Report
and Presentation
Figure 3.0 Research Methodology
38
4.0 Results and Discussion
4.1 Grid Casting Machine
Figure 4.0 shows the drawn schematic diagram of grid casting machine
with AutoCAD Software which is obtained from the ABM Company for the
research purposes. Grid Casting Machine is suitable to process both low antimony
and calcium alloy. In addition, the machine consists of 5 major equipment which is
furnace, pump, mold, compressor and trim. All of this equipment run continuously
during the production of grid cast. Based on Figure 4.0, the grid casting machine
is connecting two parts of production system with 1 melting furnace.
Generally, Figure 4.0 shows top view orthographic dimension of grid

casting machine design at ABM Company. The dimension of melting furnace is
1365 mm x 965 mm. Meanwhile, the distance between two production system is
1520 mm. Feed lines are connecting the furnace to the production system. Apart
from that, grid casting machine is supplied with cooling system in order to improve
the process efficiency.
To be exact, ABM Company has 3 operating factories in manufacturing

lead-acid batteries while 2 of them involve grid cast production. As such, ABM
Company owns approximately 22 grid cast machines where each machine could
produce roughly 1000 grid casts per hour in continuous process.
For safety purposes, maintenance is conducted for every 2 hours on the grid
casting machine. This is usually being done on the grid casting mold by spraying
lubricants in the mold and coating it with coat powder. By doing so, it able to
smoothing the machine due to high temperature operates on that grid cast mold.
Apart from that, the ABM Company has bought grid casting machines
mainly from the United States. Some of them has ranging aged from 8 years to 20
years but, most of them can function and continue to run the production process 24
hours for 6 days. The factory will stop their production process on Sunday.
Moreover, grid casting machine will be operated by 2 workers with 12 hours
working shift. It has been mentioned by the supervisor, Mr. Thian Sui Kong that
all of them are well-trained and professional workers who operate the grid casting
machine. Table 4.0 shows the data collection which is specifications of the grid
casting machine while conducting the research at ABM Company.
39
Figure 4.0 Grid Casting Machine in ABM Company
40
Table 4.0 Specification of Grid Casting Machine at ABM Company
Function Suitable for antimony and calcium alloyed

grids production.
Specifications - 2 trim die sets with cooling water

piping.
- Induction system for lead feeding

pipe.
- Recirculating water cooling systems.
- Control system monitor.
- Fire shield for ladle.
- Internal scrap conveyor with heavy-

duty rough top belt.
- Ladle hood
- Shut-off valves on gas, air and water

inlet.
- Adjustable grid stacker.
- Die entry grid support.
- Die exit rollers.
4.2 Equipment of Grid Casting Machine
4.2.1 Furnace
A furnace or ladle pot function is to melt the lead-antimony ingots.

The furnace operates at 490oC while it generates heat through heater at
490oC. The main electricity supply is from the Sarawak Energy Berhad. The
furnace capacity is able to sustain 1 ton of lead-antimony ingots within 1
hour. Besides, the furnace is an open system since it is directly exposed to
the surrounding which in specifically at the mouth of the furnace. This is
because it is the input for the raw materials.
4.2.2 Lead Pump
A lead pump is used to transfer liquid lead at 490oC to the ladle

through feed line and dispense valve. The pump operates at 5 kg psig of
pressure in order to deliver molten lead into the production system.
4.2.3 Feed line
41
It is a cylindrical shaped supply line which functioned as a medium
to transfer the molten lead to the dispense valve. As such, 14 kW
electrical heaters are used to heat the feed line to keep the temperature
at the required level. This will prevent the molten lead from solidified.
4.2.4 Lead Dispense Valve
Leads dispense valve acts as the equipment that ensures the molten
lead is fully transferred into the ladle. It continuously operates at 490oC
to channel the molten lead to the ladle.
4.2.5 Ladle Part
The molten leads are collected in ladle part. In order to ensure the
physical state of the molten lead, gas burners will continuously combust
through LPG source. This ensures that the temperature of the molten
lead is maintained at 490oC.
4.2.6 Mold Part
High-temperature changes take place here which is 490oC to 90OC.

As such, the molten leads are solidified to produce grid cast. In this
section, there are 2 parts of mold equipment. Both parts have
individually two heaters to maintain the even temperature in the mold.
At 95.6oC, the mold able to produce thick layer of grid cast while thin
layer of grid cast is produced at 125oC.
4.2.7 Trim Part
The formed grid casts are sent to the transfer rulers through transfer
belt. Here, the grid cast will be trimmed into specific dimensions where
the unexpected part or scrap part is removed from the product.
4.2.8 Scrap Conveyor
Scrap Conveyor will channel the scrap parts of the product to the
furnace.
4.2.9 Water cooling system
The compressor will produce work in order to ensure the circulation

of water in the cooling system. Water cooling system is crucial is grid
42
casting machine because it prevent the machine from overheating. The
water cooling system is activated with one horsepower pump and
functioned at 40oC.
4.3 Operation of Grid Casting Machine
Two skilled and professional workers are required to run the

machine within 12 hours shift. For every two hours, the machine is
maintained by applying lubricants on the mold part. This will prevent the
mold from overheating and dry. Apart from that, the mold will be cleaned as
to remove accumulated solidified leads. Coat powders are also applied in the
mold part so that the machine can run the production process smoothly.
However, electricity supply is the main issue towards the grid cast
production. This is because once there is no electricity supply to the factory,
the whole grid casting machine system will shut down. As a result, there
will be no grid cast produced during the shutdown period.
4.4 Production Process of Grid Cast
The production of grid cast in the grid casting machine is run

through continuous process. Continuous process is a process where the
production of grid cast is run without the disturbance of other process and is
also running all the time with 24 hours system.
Figure 4.1 shows the process flow diagram for the grid cast
production in ABM Factory.
Figure 4.1 Process Flow Diagram
43
Figure 4.1 shows the 3 major processes on grid casting machine
which involves furnace, mold part and trim part. The processes are
discussed in details as follow:
4.4.1 Input Process
In the production of grid cast for lead-acid battery, the main

raw material involved is lead-antimony or lead-calcium ingots. For this
research, lead-antimony ingots were discussed furtherly as the main raw
materials in grid casting machine of ABM Company. ABM Company
imported their lead-antimony ingots mainly from Peninsular Malaysia.
This is because their factory yet to establish the smelting section for lead
ingot production. Single lead-antimony ingot is weighed approximately
25 kg. Thus, 1 ton of lead-antimony ingots was involved for 1-hour grid
cast production. In order to transfer the lead-antimony ingots to the grid
casting machine site, lift fork is the main transportation because of its
high capacity to sustain heavy materials.
4.4.2 Melting of Lead-Antimony Ingots
At 490oC, the lead ingots are slowly heated and melted in the
furnace of the grid casting machine. This is where the solid lead-
antimony ingots become the molten state of lead in order to produce grid
casts. This is because the property of lead metal indicates that the exact
melting point of lead metal is 327.46oC. As such, 490oC is a suitable
temperature in order to operate the furnace so that it able to change the
solid phase to liquid phase efficiently. It is noted that 490oC is the
operating temperature where the furnace itself needs to achieve the
equilibrium condition with surrounding temperature of the factory and
also the output heat of the grid casting machine. Therefore, the
operating temperature of the furnace should beyond the melting point of
the lead metal. For the melting process, the blast furnace is generated
with electricity supply from the Sarawak Energy Berhad. The input
electricity to operate the electric furnace is 418 V which is also in accord
with the industrial electricity supply. Note that each furnace is supplied
with 2 electric heaters in order to melt 1 ton of lead-antimony ingots
hourly. Table 4.1 shows the melting process along with its process
period.
44
Table 4.1 Heating Period for Melting Process
Equipment Heating Period
Furnace 2 hrs
Mould Part 1.5 hrs
4.4.3 Molding Process of Molten Lead
Molten lead is transferred into the ladle pot which is above the mold
part. Within the process, molten lead is channeled along the feed line at
490oC to prevent the molten lead from solidified. It is also run by a pump
at 5 kg psig pressure to deliver the molten lead under pressure. To
ensure direct channel to the ladle part, dispense valve will be constantly
heated at 490OC as to prevent the molten lead from solidified into the
ladle pot. At 490OC, the ladle pot will keep the molten lead at 490oC
before entering the mold part. Besides, gas burner that is supplied with
the LPG will continuously burn in order to maintain the temperature in
the ladle at 490oC. After that, the molten lead will be delivered through
injection to the mold part at fast rate. The molten lead will fill in the
empty caps in the mold to form the hot grid cast. Then, the mold will
slowly clamp to the wall to compress the molten lead. At the same time,
there are two mold parts in the grid casting machine. Each part would
produce different thickness of grid cast at different temperature. Also,
high-temperature changes occurred in the mold part in order to solidify
the molten lead in the mold part. At 95.6oC, thick mold will be produced
with 1.5 mm at slow rate. This is because by comparing it with the
melting point of lead metal, the solidity of the grid cast is higher at low
temperature. At 125oC, thin grid cast is produced due to high
temperature and also clamping process is occurred at maximum
pressure due to the properties of the lead at such temperature. The
thickness of the grid cast at this temperature is 1.1 mm and the
production process is faster than low temperature. Table 4.2 shows the
molding process at different temperature at mold part of grid cast
machine.
Table 4.2 Different thickness of grid cast at different temperature

Temperature 95.6OC 125.0 OC
Thickness 1.5 mm 1.1 mm
Production time for single grid cast 6s 5s
45
Thus, the higher the temperature on the mold part produces thin
grid cast at fast production time.
4.4.4 Trimming Process of Grid Cast
Trimming process is the most crucial part that ensures the

quality of the grid cast that is produced during the production. This is a
simple process but required few specifications. After the molding
process, the gird cast is transferred to the trim part through the tray.
Tray catches the casted plate and delivers it to short conveyer belt.
Here, short conveyor belt will channel the grid cast to the trim part.
Before trimming process, the grid cast will properly align for perfect
cutting. It will remove the unwanted part or oversized grid cast. Then,
finishing roller will transfer the grid to the cutter. Next, the cutter will
cut the grid according to specification of ABM Company. For
maintenance purposes, oil and coolant spray is applied on the cutter to
maintain its sharpness for smooth operation. Lastly, the scrap parts
from the grid cast will be recycled back and transferred to the melting
furnace. This trimming process happens at the same time in 2 parts of
the trim cutter of the grid casting machine.
4.4.5 Recycling Scrap Metal from the Grid Cast
Scrap parts from the trimming process are transferred back

into the melting furnace for recycling purposes. Solid lead scrap is slowly
melting in the 490oC hot molten lead to because of the input material for
this continuous process.
4.4.6 Final Product
After undergoing trimming process, desired grid cast delivers

to the catch plate and properly arranged. Note that the grid cast is still
hot due to the heat effect of the reaction during the molding process and
trimming process. Therefore, the grid cast is allowed to cool down for few
minutes in the grid stack. Finally, the grid cast is ready to be delivered
to the pasting section for the plate preparation of the lead-acid batteries.
Apart from that, the production rate of grid cast is varying of each
thickness. Since the grid casting machine has two production parts, each
46
part has different production rates. Table 4.3 shows the production rate
of grid cast as final production in grid casting machine.
Table 4.3 Production Rate of Grid Cast

Production Part of Grid Thickness of Grid Cast, Production Rate, pieces per
Cast mm min
Part A 1.1 10
Part B 1.5 13
Table 4.3 shows the production rate capacity within a minute which
is obtained from the data displayed on the control system of grid casting
machine. The grid casting machine is actually capable to produce two
different thickness of grid cast with a period. Part A is mainly produced
grid cast with 1.1 mm thickness at 10 pieces per minutes while Part B
produces grid cast with 1.5 mm thickness at 13 pieces per minute.
The weight of each grid cast produced is approximately 100 g each.
Hence, single grid casting machine is able to produce roughly 1000
grid casts within one hour. Table 4.4 shows the total production of grid
cast in daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
Table 4.4 Total Production of Grid Cast for a single grid casting
machine in ABM Company
Production Period Total Production, pieces
Daily 24 000
Weekly 144 000
Monthly 576 000
Yearly 6 912 000
Table 4.4 shows the production period and total production grid cast
pieces for 4 periods of time. To sum up, single grid casting machine is
able to generate 6 912 000 pieces of grid cast pieces in one year at ABM
Company factory.
4.4.7 Waste Product from the Grid Cast Production
The waste product which is also known as gross product is mainly

produced inside the melting furnace itself. This is because of the reaction
of molten lead with the surrounding air to produce lead oxide. The
chemical reaction of the waste product is described in Equation 2.
2𝑃𝑏 (𝑙) + 𝑂2 (𝑔) → 2 𝑃𝑏𝑂 Equation (2)
47
Molten lead is reacted with the surrounding air mainly the oxygen to
produce lead oxide. This happens because the furnace undergoes heating
process at 490oC so combustion process has happened on the top layer of
the molten lead. It was observed the top layer of the molten lead was
covered with grey powdered lead oxide since its melting point is beyond
the heating temperature. Therefore, the lead oxide waste is manually
removed from the furnace and place inside the waste collector.
Meanwhile, the waste products will be exported to Peninsular Malaysia
for the recycling purposes. The details of the waste products
management have not been shared by the factory due to ground
confidential.
4.4.8 ABM Future Plan towards the Sustainable Production of the

Manufacturing Process
ABM Company has huge future plan regarding expanding

their marketing and production capacity. According to the Managing
Director, Mr. Alan Tay Tik Poh, he reiterated that Sarawak Government is
the key role in ensuring the continuity of the lead acid battery production in
their factory. It is important for the Sarawak Government to support their
vision and mission in terms of funding.
According to Mr. Alan Tay Tik Poh, ABM Company is currently

planning to build one lead-acid battery recycling center and smelting section
that would cost them about RM 40 million which is only for the facilities
alone. Therefore, their future plan needs to be supported by the Sarawak
Government in terms of continuing giving the factories operation license.
Also, Mr. Alan Tay Tik Poh described that protecting the environment
especially in the industries is their real focus to ensure the sustainable
production mainly in ABM Company Factory for continual of their vision
and mission.
4.4.9 Safety Precaution in ABM Factory
The research visit was conducted on 29 November 2017 at ABM

factory in accord with safety precaution. The workers were professionally
trained to control every machine in the factory of every section especially
48
the grid casting machine. Besides, safety helmet, protecting mask and
safety boots are the main safety criteria when entering the factory. This is
because the machines in the factory are running continuously with 24 hours
each day at high pressure and temperature. Also, safety routes in the
factory is important for the workers and visitors as to avoid any serious
accident with the forklifts which continuously run their transportation
activities to deliver materials such as lead ingots and lead-acid batteries.
4.5 Mass Balance Calculation Results
4.5.1 Excel Programming Results
The production of lead-acid battery using lead as an electrode consist of

several process and part. Grid casting process is one of it. Figure 4.2 is the
process flow diagram of the grid casting process. By referring to Figure 4.2, a
mass balance process can be made.
X2 (O2 from
10 Kg/hr
air)
Desire mass × Amount

125 Kg/hr X1 X4
Furnace Mould Trim
X3
PbO:
5% Input
Figure 4.2 Flow diagram
The material used for grid casting is different according to the type of
battery need to produce. In this research, the lead-acid battery is selected and the
grid casting process is using lead as material. The output is adjusted according to
desired thickness and amount of production in an hour.
By using the law of conservation of mass, the input mass and generation
mass must be equal to the sum of output mass, consumption mass and
accumulated mass. As illustrated in Figure 4.2, the mass of input stream must
equal to the mass of output stream in each of the unit.
49
The calculation of mass balance of this process is carried out using a
spreadsheet. A simple programming is done in order to calculate the mass in each
of the streams. Table 4.5 shows the overall mass balance of grid casting. The mass
balance of Table 4.5 is in unit of mass flow rate. The grid casting process required
three equipment which is furnace, mold and trim. The calculated data of mass flow
rates of each stream are shown in the table.
Table 4.5 Grid casting overall mass balance
Overall mass balance

Unit Kg Hr-1
Equipment Furnace Mold Trim
Amount Input Recycle Waste Output Input Output Accumulate Input Output Recycle
in back
1000 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 110 19.2 110 100 10
1010 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 111 18.2 111 101 10
1020 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 112 17.2 112 102 10
1030 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 113 16.2 113 103 10
1040 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 114 15.2 114 104 10
1050 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 115 14.2 115 105 10
1060 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 116 13.2 116 106 10
1070 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 117 12.2 117 107 10
1080 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 118 11.2 118 108 10
1090 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 119 10.2 119 109 10
1100 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 120 9.2 120 110 10
1110 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 121 8.2 121 111 10
1120 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 122 7.2 122 112 10
1130 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 123 6.2 123 113 10
1140 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 124 5.2 124 114 10
1150 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 125 4.2 125 115 10
1160 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 126 3.2 126 116 10
1170 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 127 2.2 127 117 10
1180 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 128 1.2 128 118 10
1190 125 10 5.8 129.2 129.2 129 0.2 129 119 10
Based on Table 4.5, furnace has four streams involving lead mass balance
and which are input stream, output stream connected to mold section, recycle in
stream, connecting from trim section and waste stream and all four streams have
constant mass flow rate regardless the desired amount of the grid need to be
produced. Meanwhile, the streams in mold and trim section are changed according
50
to the amount of grid needed to be produced in an hour. From the Table 4.5, it is
shown that overall mass is conserve as the 125 kg/hr of lead add to the furnace for
melting is produce 100 kg/hr of grid and 19.2 has an accumulation of 19.2 Kg/hr in
the mold. The accumulated in mold would decrease as the amount of the product
produce increase. The grid produce per hour would reach a maximum number
which is 1190 pieces per hour. An increase in the production amount will be
required an added of input. An ingot has mass of 25 kg and 5 ingots are melt inside
the furnace in an hour. The input rate is 125 kg/hr. The furnace has recycled in 10
kg/hr of from the trim section. The total production of the grid in an hour is set by
the system at varied. The usual total production in an hour is 1000 pieces per hour.
The waste product is produce under the furnace as the liquid lead on top of
the furnace tank before transfer to mold in molding section is react with air. Lead
oxide produces from the reaction will suspend on top of the liquid. This cause the
efficiency of the furnace decrease and maintenance work is required from time to
time to remove the waste product. This also causes the increase of cost in the
production process as the maintenance cost would add up it the production cost.
Besides that, the waste are send to Peninsular Malaysia to recycle and produce
raw material again. This due to the absence of treatment plant to recycle the waste
product to produce lead ingot again. The company has plan to build a recycling
plant plan to treat the lead oxide waste product but the capital cost are enormous
as the equipment to cycle the waste are expensive. However, considering in the
long run, the construction of recycle plant would reduce the utility cost of the grid
casting process.
The waste produce is 5% of the input amount of the lead. Thus, the amount
of lead react with air to produce lead oxide can be calculated using Equation 4.
1
𝑃𝑏 + 2 𝑜2 = 𝑃𝑏𝑂 (Equation 4)
Table 4.6 are the results of the calculation performed by Excel. Since the
reaction taken in 1 atm and the furnace expose to the surrounding, the amount of
oxygen inside the furnace is same as it percentage in air.
Table 4.6 Mass balance of lead oxide in furnace
Lead Oxide reaction

Material Stoichiometry Number Molar Moles Waste Output waste Output
51
of atom mass (mol) mass (g) mass (kg) waste flow
(g/mol) rate (kg hr-1)
Pb 1 1 207.2 5.6 1160 1.16 5.8
O2 0.5 2 15.999 2.8 89.6 0.0896 0.45
PbO 1 1 223.199 5.6 1250 1.25 6.25
As shown in Table 4.6, the mass of the waste, lead oxide is 1.25 kg or
6.25 kg/hr which is 5% of the of the input. From the Equation 4, the
amount of lead react is 1.16 Kg per ingot or 5.8 kg/hr.
Table 4.7 and Table 4.8 show the mass balance of each stream in
the furnace in flow rate and mass respectively. Table 4.7 shows the rates of
input material and waste product produce. Meanwhile, Table 4.8 the
conservation of mass per ingot.
Table 4.7 Mass balance of lead in furnace equipment in flow rate
Furnace mass balance

Unit Kg Hr-1
Amount Input rates Recycle at rates Waste rates Output rates
1000 125 10 5.8 129.2
1010 125 10 5.8 129.2
1020 125 10 5.8 129.2
1030 125 10 5.8 129.2
1040 125 10 5.8 129.2
1050 125 10 5.8 129.2
1060 125 10 5.8 129.2
1070 125 10 5.8 129.2
1080 125 10 5.8 129.2
1090 125 10 5.8 129.2
1100 125 10 5.8 129.2
1110 125 10 5.8 129.2
1120 125 10 5.8 129.2
1130 125 10 5.8 129.2
1140 125 10 5.8 129.2
1150 125 10 5.8 129.2
1160 125 10 5.8 129.2
1170 125 10 5.8 129.2
1180 125 10 5.8 129.2
1190 125 10 5.8 129.2
52
From the Table 4.7, the input rate is kept in constant at 125 kg/hr
as it is the specific amount has been fixed by the company. The efficiency of
the furnace is 95.7% in melting the solid lead to liquid. The waste of lead
oxide consist of 5% of the input and 4.3% are lead. The input is kept in
125kg/hr because an increase of input would increase of waste product.
Increase in input rate would also increase the energy consumption to run
the heater in the furnace.
Table 4.8 Mass balance of lead in furnace equipment in mass
Furnace mass balance

Unit Kg
Amount Input mass Recycle in mass Waste mass Output mass
1000 25 2 1.16 25.84
1010 25 2 1.16 25.84
1020 25 2 1.16 25.84
1030 25 2 1.16 25.84
1040 25 2 1.16 25.84
1050 25 2 1.16 25.84
1060 25 2 1.16 25.84
1070 25 2 1.16 25.84
1080 25 2 1.16 25.84
1090 25 2 1.16 25.84
1100 25 2 1.16 25.84
1110 25 2 1.16 25.84
1120 25 2 1.16 25.84
1130 25 2 1.16 25.84
1140 25 2 1.16 25.84
1150 25 2 1.16 25.84
1160 25 2 1.16 25.84
1170 25 2 1.16 25.84
1180 25 2 1.16 25.84
1190 25 2 1.16 25.84
Table 4.8 shows the mass balance per ingot. 25 kg of raw lead is put
into the furnace for melting process. Two kg is added to the furnace from
the trim section. As mention, the output mass kept constant at 25.85 kg as
the input stream, recycle stream and waste produce is kept constant. The
mass of the waste produced from one ingot of lead is 1.16 kg.
53
Table 4.9 and Table 4.10 shows the mass balance of each stream in
flow rate and mass respectively. As shown from both table, the output
stream of the mold and accumulation inside the mold is changing according
to the amount of grid produce in an hour.
Table 4.9 Mass balance of lead in mold equipment in flow rate
Mold mass balance

Unit Kg Hr-1
Amount Input Rates Accumulate rates Output Rates
1000 129.2 19.2 110
1010 129.2 18.2 111
1020 129.2 17.2 112
1030 129.2 16.2 113
1040 129.2 15.2 114
1050 129.2 14.2 115
1060 129.2 13.2 116
1070 129.2 12.2 117
1080 129.2 11.2 118
1090 129.2 10.2 119
1100 129.2 9.2 120
1110 129.2 8.2 121
1120 129.2 7.2 122
1130 129.2 6.2 123
1140 129.2 5.2 124
1150 129.2 4.2 125
1160 129.2 3.2 126
1170 129.2 2.2 127
1180 129.2 1.2 128
1190 129.2 0.2 129
Based on Table 4.9, the output rates of the molding process is 110
kg/hr till 129 kg/hr with the same input, 129.2 kg/hr from the furnace
section. An increased in mold production would increase the grid production.
Thus, by controlling the speed of molding, the production can be controlled.
The accumulation rate decrease as the production speed increase. Thus, the
accumulation in the moulding machine can be reduced by increase the
molding speed. However, the speed of molding is a factor of grid thickness.
Thicker grid needs small molding time and can produce a larger amount of
54
grid while molding a thin grid required to reduce the molding speed in order
to produce a high quality of grid and reduce the error of molding two grid in
the same time. The error is irregular but increased as the grid produced
become thinner and molding speed become faster. However, for thicker grid,
the molding speed can be increased as the error factor is compensated by
the thickness of the grid produce.
Table 4.10 Mass balance of lead in mold equipment in mass
Mold mass balance

Unit Kg
Amount Input mass Accumulate mass Output mass
1000 25.84 3.84 22
1010 25.84 3.64 22.2
1020 25.84 3.44 22.4
1030 25.84 3.24 22.6
1040 25.84 3.04 22.8
1050 25.84 2.84 23
1060 25.84 2.64 23.2
1070 25.84 2.44 23.4
1080 25.84 2.24 23.6
1090 25.84 2.04 23.8
1100 25.84 1.84 24
1110 25.84 1.64 24.2
1120 25.84 1.44 24.4
1130 25.84 1.24 24.6
1140 25.84 1.04 24.8
1150 25.84 0.84 25
1160 25.84 0.64 25.2
1170 25.84 0.44 25.4
1180 25.84 0.24 25.6
1190 25.84 0.04 25.8
Table 4.10 shows the similar pattern as Table 4.9. The mass
input from the furnace is 25.84 kg. The output mass for molding is
from 22 kg to 25.8 kg as calculated from programming in Excel. The
highest accumulated mass is 3.84 kg and the lowest is 0.04 kg with
0.2 kg increment. The accumulated percentage in varies from 0.15%
to 14.86%. The efficiency of the mold are in larger range, varies from
55
99.85% to 85.14%. The efficiency of the mold depends on the molding
speed and thickness of the grid need to mold. The molding section
needs to be improved as it played a crucial part as the key to
production amount. A high-efficiency mold would reduce the
accumulate lead inside the mold and reduce the frequency of
maintenance.
Table 4.11 shows the mass balance in the trim. Trimming

section consist of three streams, recycle stream, input stream, and
output stream. The output stream is the overall product stream.
Table 4.11 Mass balance of lead in trim equipment in flow rate
Trim mass balance

Unit Kg Hr-1
Amount Input rates Recycle back rates Output rates
1000 110 10 100
1010 111 10 101
1020 112 10 102
1030 113 10 103
1040 114 10 104
1050 115 10 105
1060 116 10 106
1070 117 10 107
1080 118 10 108
1090 119 10 109
1100 120 10 110
1110 121 10 111
1120 122 10 112
1130 123 10 113
1140 124 10 114
1150 125 10 115
1160 126 10 116
1170 127 10 117
1180 128 10 118
1190 129 10 119
Based on the Table 4.11, the input rate is according to the

output of molding section. The output is less than the input by 10
kg/hr, vary from 100 kg/hr to 119 kg/hr according to the production
56
amount set in the system. The trimming mass flow rates are
constant at 10 kg/hr.
Table 4.12 shows the mass balance in unit mass. Similar to

the Table 4.11, the input mass is determined by the molding section.
The trimming process cut the grid to become the required shape. For
this research, the shape of the molding and trimming shape are the
same as the machine used to produce the same type of grid for lead-
acid battery. The shape is off the grid is according the type of battery
need to produce and not include in this research. Thus, the trim out
mass is the same for all the grid regardless the amount needed
because it determined by the shape required. For the selected shape
grid, the trim out mass is two kg. Hence, the mass of lead recycle
back to the furnace is two kg. The output mass is 20 kg to 23.8 kg
according to the required amount.
Table 4.12 Mass balance of lead in trim equipment in mass
Trim Mass Balance

Unit Kg
Amount Input mass Recycle back mass Output mass
1000 22 2 20
1010 22.2 2 20.2
1020 22.4 2 20.4
1030 22.6 2 20.6
1040 22.8 2 20.8
1050 23 2 21
1060 23.2 2 21.2
1070 23.4 2 21.4
1080 23.6 2 21.6
1090 23.8 2 21.8
1100 24 2 22
1110 24.2 2 22.2
1120 24.4 2 22.4
1130 24.6 2 22.6
1140 24.8 2 22.8
1150 25 2 23
1160 25.2 2 23.2
1170 25.4 2 23.4
1180 25.6 2 23.6
57
1190 25.8 2 23.8
The mass balance performs by Excel showed that the molding

machine needs an improvement to increase the productivity and reduce the
utility cost needed during the operation time as the production amount and
speed determined by it. The molding machine is a vital part of grid casting
process and the efficiency of the machine affect the overall performance of
the manufacture of lead grid in lead-acid batteries production.
4.2.2 SuperPro Mass Balance Result
Simulation of the grid casting process is performed by SuperPro

software. Figure 4.3 shows the simulation flow diagram of the process in
calculating the flow rates of each stream of equipment inside the grid
production process. Referring to the diagram, there have several equipment
involved in the grid production process, such as furnace, mold and trim.
Meanwhile, Figure 4.4 shows the mass conservation in each stream.
Figure 4.3 Simulation of mass flow rate
58
Figure 4.4 Simulation of mass rate
SuperPro is used to compare the actual data from Excel calculation

with the simulation. The results of the output stream must not exceed 10%
and the results calculated through excel can be accepted. Table 4.13 shows
the furnace mass balance in flow rate with the percentage of error from the
simulation conducted by SuperPro software. For the simulation, the 1000
pieces per hour production of grid data is used. In Excel, the waste mass
flow rate is 5.8 kg/hr. The result from the SuperPro simulation showed that
the waste mass flow rate is actually less than the calculated results with a
deviation of 1.09%. For the output rates from the furnace, the deviation of
the calculated results is 1.94% from the simulation. From these values, the
deviation of the calculated results has exceeded 1% but still within 10%.
Thus, the calculated results from the Excel programming are accepted for
the mass balance in the furnace.
Table 4.13 Furnace mass balance in flow rate

Furnace Mass Balance
Excel Programming SuperPro Programming
Waste Output Rates Waste Output Percentage of Percentage of
Rates Pb (kg hr-1) Rates Pb Rates deviation in waste deviation in output
(kg hr-1) (kg hr-1) (kg hr-1) mass flow rate (%) mass flow rate (%)
5.8 129.2 5.7377 131.7623 1.09 1.94
Table 4.13 shows the out streams mass flow rate in molding
equipment. Baes on the table, the accumulated rates of lead in the mold is
59
19.5799 kg/hr using SuperPro programming while in Excel is 19.2 kg/hr.
The percentage deviation is 1.94%. For the output rates from the molding
section, the deviation is 1.95%. The deviation from the accumulated is less
than the output. The output rate from the simulation is 112. 1825 kg/hr.
Table 4.14 Mold mass balance in flow rate
Mold Mass Balance

Accumulat Output Accumulat Output Percentage of Percentage of
e rates Rates e rates Rates deviation in deviation in output
(kg hr-1) (kg hr-1) (kg hr-1) (kg hr-1) accumulated mass flow mass flow rate (%)
rate (%)
19.2 110 19.5799 112.1825 1.94 1.95
Table 4.15 shows the rates of output streams from the trimming
section of both the Excel programming and SuperPro Programming
simulation.
Table 4.15 Trim mass balance in flow rate

Trim Mass Balance
Recycle Output Recycle Output Percentage of Percentage of
rates Rates rates Rates deviation in deviation in output
(kg hr-1) (kg hr-1) (kg hr-1) (kg hr-1) recycle mass flow mass flow rate (%)
rate (%)
10 100 10.0964 102.086 0.95 2.04
Based on Table 4.15, the calculated flow rate in the recycle stream
has a deviation of 0.95%, the smallest deviation calculated from the whole
process stream. However, the output mass flow rate has the highest
deviation (2.04%). The overall output calculates from Excel is 100 kg/hr
while the simulation shows that the overall output is more than the
calculation which is 102.086 kg/hr. Based on these results, it is shown that
the trimming section has the smallest and largest degree of deviation.
By comparing the calculated results from the Excel programming
and the simulation results from the SuperPro programming, the degree of
60
deviation increases from the input stream and to the final product stream as
more equipment involves in the process. The deviation of the calculated
results from the simulation results is less than 10%. Thus, calculated
results from the Excel programming are accepted.
4.6 Energy Balance Calculation Results
The equipment involves in energy balance in the grid casting production is

furnace and mold. These equipment are used energy in heating process and have
changes in temperature of the substance involved in the process inside this
equipment. By the law of conservation of energy as stated in literature review, the
energy cannot be created nor destroyed but can conserve. Hence, the energy input
in the equipment must equal to energy output from the equipment. In this section,
energy balance of the grid casting is performed via Excel programming. The results
of energy balance of lead in furnace and mold are represented in Table 4.16 and
Table 4.18 respectively.
Table 4.16 shows the energy balance of lead in furnace. The energy balance
is calculated by subtracting the output energy flow rate by the input energy flow
rate. The energy flow rate is the multiplication of changes of enthalpy of the lead
with it molar flow rate. The data shown in the table consist of changes of enthalpy
and molar flow rate of both input and output and the energy balance of lead in the
furnace.
Table 4.16 Energy balance of lead in furnace by one electric heater.
Furnace energy balance

Reference state (T = 298.15, P = 1 bar, Form = Solid, Pb: H°298.15 = 0)
Temperature Substances Lead, PB
To (K) T (K) ∆Hin (kJ mol-1) Nin (mol s-1) ∆Hout (kJ mol-1) Nout (mol s-1) Q (kJ s-1)
298.15 753.15 0 1.34 10.89 1.34 -14.59
298.15 754.15 0 1.34 10.88 1.34 -14.58
298.15 755.15 0 1.34 10.87 1.34 -14.57
298.15 756.15 0 1.34 10.86 1.34 -14.55
298.15 757.15 0 1.34 10.85 1.34 -14.54
298.15 758.15 0 1.34 10.85 1.34 -14.54
298.15 759.15 0 1.34 10.84 1.34 -14.53
298.15 760.15 0 1.34 10.83 1.34 -14.51
298.15 761.15 0 1.34 10.82 1.34 -14.50
61
298.15 762.15 0 1.34 10.81 1.34 -14.49
298.15 763.15 0 1.34 10.80 1.34 -14.48
298.15 764.15 0 1.34 10.79 1.34 -14.46
298.15 765.15 0 1.34 10.79 1.34 -14.46
298.15 766.15 0 1.34 10.78 1.34 -14.45
298.15 767.15 0 1.34 10.77 1.34 -14.43
298.15 768.15 0 1.34 10.76 1.34 -14.42
298.15 769.15 0 1.34 10.75 1.34 -14.41
298.15 770.15 0 1.34 10.74 1.34 -14.40
298.15 771.15 0 1.34 10.73 1.34 -14.38
298.15 772.15 0 1.34 10.73 1.34 -14.38
298.15 773.15 0 1.34 10.72 1.34 -14.36
Based on the reference state stated, the input enthalpy of is zero as the
input state and the reference state for the lead form and temperature remains the
same as solid and at temperature of 298.15 K respectively. The pressure is change
from one atm to one bar. However, since the state of lead is in solid form, the
enthalpy of the solid lead is not affected by the changes in the pressure. Thus, the
input enthalpy is zero for the input. Molar flow rate is converted from the mass of
lead the heater in the furnace can heat at one time. This value is given and it is 1
ton/hr. The electric heater is heated at this constant rate regardless of the input
mass flow rate of the lead for the melting process. The pathway of the input
enthalpy calculated is shown in Figure 4.5.
H Input
Pb (Solid, 298.15 K, Pb (Solid, 298.15 K,
1 atm) 1 bar)
Figure 4.5 The pathway of input enthalpy
The output enthalpy of lead in the furnace is from the range of 10.72 kJ/mol till
10.89 kJ/mol vary as the temperature of the furnace or output is varied. Referring
to the Figure 4.6, the solid lead has undergone melting at 600.61 K before
reaching the desired temperature, 753.15. K. The heat capacity of the lead is a
variable of temperature when huge temperature difference is involving in the
calculation. The formula used in this calculation is Equation (2) as mention in
methodology. The calculation paths of the output enthalpy contain 5 sub changes of
62
enthalpy. The summation of this enthalpy is the output enthalpy. The temperature
to produce 1000 pieces of grid in one hour is 763.15 K. Energy balance of the
furnace is a function of temperature as the energy varies from -14.36 kJ/s to -14.59
kJ/s. The negative sign indicates heating is exothermic.
H output
Pb (Solid, 298.15 K, Pb (Liquid, 753.15 K,
1 Bar) 1 Bar)
H1 H4

1 atm) 1 atm)
H2 H3

1 atm) 1 atm)
H fusion
Figure 4.6 The pathway of output enthalpy
The maximum temperature used in the furnace is 500°C or 773.15 K. The

furnace can only hold up to this temperature as it is the old model furnace used in
lead melting process. The temperature for grid casting process is above 500°C for
the new model of furnace. The furnace has two heaters and the total energy
balance of the furnace is twice the energy balance of each heater in the furnace.
The results of the total energy balance in the furnace are shown in Table 4.17.
Table 4.17 Total energy balance of lead in furnace

Heater Q (kW) Qtotal (kW)
2 -14.5962 -29.1925
2 -14.5848 -29.1697
2 -14.5734 -29.1469
2 -14.562 -29.1241
2 -14.5506 -29.1013
63
2 -14.5392 -29.0784
2 -14.5278 -29.0556
2 -14.5164 -29.0327
2 -14.5049 -29.0099
2 -14.4935 -28.987
2 -14.4821 -28.9641
2 -14.4706 -28.9413
2 -14.4592 -28.9184
2 -14.4477 -28.8955
2 -14.4363 -28.8726
2 -14.4248 -28.8496
2 -14.4134 -28.8267
2 -14.4019 -28.8038
2 -14.3904 -28.7808
2 -14.3789 -28.7579
2 -14.3675 -28.7349
The energy balance of the reaction between the oxygen and lead to produce
lead oxide is not shown because the change of the enthalpy is zero even though
involving a reaction. This due to the absence of the temperature changes and the
reaction occurs at room temperature and pressure. As room temperature and
atmospheric pressure are choose and state in the references state, the enthalpy of
the reaction becomes zero.
Table 4.18 shown the energy balance of lead in the moulding equipment.
The input enthalpy of the lead in the mold same as the output enthalpy of lead in
the furnace as it is continuous process. The pathway to calculate the enthalpy is
shown in Figure 4.7.
Table 4.18 Energy balance of lead in mold
Mold
Reference state (T = 298.15, P = 1 bar, Form = Solid, Pb: H°298.15 = 0)
Temperature SubstancesLead, PB
To (K) T (K) ∆Hin (kJ mol-1) Nin (mol s-1) ∆Hout (kJ mol-1) Nout (mol s-1) Q (kJ s-1)
753.15 364.15 10.89 1.34 7.218 1.34 4.920
754.15 364.65 10.88 1.34 7.218 1.34 4.907
755.15 365.15 10.87 1.34 7.217 1.34 4.895
756.15 365.65 10.86 1.34 7.217 1.34 4.882
757.15 366.15 10.85 1.34 7.217 1.34 4.868
758.15 366.65 10.85 1.34 7.217 1.34 4.868
759.15 367.15 10.84 1.34 7.216 1.34 4.856
760.15 367.65 10.83 1.34 7.216 1.34 4.843
64
761.15 368.15 10.82 1.34 7.216 1.34 4.829
762.15 368.65 10.81 1.34 7.216 1.34 4.816
763.15 369.15 10.80 1.34 7.215 1.34 4.804
764.15 369.65 10.79 1.34 7.215 1.34 4.791
765.15 370.15 10.79 1.34 7.215 1.34 4.791
766.15 370.65 10.78 1.34 7.215 1.34 4.777
767.15 371.15 10.77 1.34 7.214 1.34 4.765
768.15 371.65 10.76 1.34 7.214 1.34 4.752
769.15 372.15 10.75 1.34 7.214 1.34 4.738
770.15 372.65 10.74 1.34 7.214 1.34 4.725
771.15 373.15 10.73 1.34 7.214 1.34 4.711
772.15 373.65 10.73 1.34 7.213 1.34 4.713
773.15 374.15 10.72 1.34 7.213 1.34 4.699
The input enthalpy is the same as the output enthalpy of the furnace. The
output enthalpy is range from 7.213 kJ/mol to 7.218 kJ/mol. The difference in
enthalpy is quite small for the range of temperature of 91°C to 101°C. This due to
the heat capacity is affected much by the small difference in temperature at low
temperature. The pathways of output enthalpy are shown in Figure 4.8. For T =
368.15 K or 95°C which the production of grid is 1000 per hour, the input enthalpy
is 10.82 kJ/mol. The output enthalpy is 7.216 kJ/mol. The energy of the molding
process at this temperature is 4.829 kW.
H input
1 Bar) 1 Bar)
H1 H4

1 atm) 1 atm)
H2 H3

1 atm) 1 atm)
H fusion
65
Figure 4.7 The pathway of input enthalpy
H output
1 Bar) 1 Bar)
H1 H3
H2
1 atm) 1 atm)
Figure 4.8 The pathway of output enthalpy
4.7 Recommendation to Enhance the Process
The recommendation to improve the production process of grid cast

is based on the analysis of the material and energy balance.
In terms of grid cast production, the furnace is the main equipment that
initiates the process. As such, the research suggests that increasing the
temperature and pressure capacity of the furnace as to maximize the
melting process in the furnace. Besides, the exposure of the furnace to the
surrounding should be minimized so that the gross products are able to be
reduced. According to Shukla et al. (2014), heat flow in the process of
melting decreases with increase in thickness of furnace wall where optimum
thickness of induction furnace wall from minimum heat losses is 64 mm. In
order to sustain high temperature and pressure in the furnace, the wall
thickness should be increased as to prevent any severe leakage.
Next, the mold parts are the crucial part that forms the grid cast
shape. The supervisor, Mr. Thian Sui Kong who is also the Production Head
of the factory informed that the process flow of grid cast production truly
depends on the mold part capabilities. Therefore, this research suggests
that the mold part to be supplied with automatic blower that is able to
remove any accumulated molten lead in the mold caps. This will prevent the
mold from jammed during the clamping process. In order to prevent any
huge heat losses due to high-temperature changes from the furnace
66
temperature. Sepe (2011) suggested that the mold temperature is the
dominant factor where the best results are obtained when higher mold
temperatures are combined with lower melting temperature. It is suggested
that the mold temperature to be slightly increased so that smooth and
quality grid cast is able to be produced.
Apart from that, the research suggests that the gross products in the
furnace should be turned into a product such as lead glass, antirust paint
and optical glass. This is because these products are currently in high
demand among chemical industries. According to Gravita (2015), most of
the leads used in batteries are recycled through an effective recycling
networking where the lead is refined and returned to the battery production
process.
Lastly, the research supports ABM Company future planning
regarding its efforts to set new recycling center for scrap lead-acid batteries
and smelting section. This will help to improve the productivity especially in
grid casting section and also save the environment through recycling efforts.
According to World Logistic Inc. (2017), manufacturers are able to produce
the new products with significantly less energy to obtain new raw materials,
reducing greenhouse gas emission and increase the sustainability of the
industry. Hence, the production of the grid cast for lead-acid manufacturing
and the material and energy balance of grid cast production is sustainable
to the environment.
5.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, the researchable to understand the working principle of grid

casting machine for grid cast production. Basically, grid casting machine consists of
three major processes which are melting the lead ingots, molding the molten lead
and trimming the unwanted parts from the grid cast. Besides, the research finds
that pump and compressor act as the delivery system for the production process.
Next, the research is able to calculate the material and energy balance with
Microsoft Excel and SuperPro. Process flow diagram is able to be produced based
on the data obtained during the site visit. Apart from that, mass and energy rate
able to be calculated for the grid cast production process. Lastly, few
recommendations have been made based on the mass and energy balance
67
calculation as to improve the efficiency of the grid cast production in ABM
Company.
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Appendix A
The Research of Material and Energy Balance

of Lead Smelting Section during the
Manufacturing of Lead-Acid Battery at
Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (ABM)
Fujiya Berhad Company No. 628324-W
The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect the data that is related to the
research on the material and energy balance at lead smelting section during the
manufacturing process of lead-acid battery. To add, material and energy balance is
a benchmark in order to study various processes of any section in manufacturing a
product at the industry. Therefore, the process analysis to manufacture the product
in your factory will be determined through material and energy balance. It involves
the amount of raw materials being used to produce a product which is also related
to the amount of energy that is produced in every section of processes due to the
operating hours. In order to obtain accurate data, this questionnaire is divided into
six (6) parts as below:
Borang soal selidik ini bertujuan untuk mengumpul maklumat yang berkaitan
dengan kajian imbangan barangan dan tenaga serta pembuatan plumbum semasa
proses pembuatan bateri asid- plumbum. Imbangan barangan dan tenaga
merupakan tunjang utama semasa melakukan kajian terhadap proses pada setiap
bahagian pembuatan produk dalam industry. Oleh itu, analisis terhadap proses
pembuatan produk di kilang anda adalah berdasarkan imbangan barangan dan
tenaga. Perkara ini akan melibatkan jumlah barangan mentah yang akan
digunakan untuk menghasilkan produk yang turut melibatkan penggunaan tenaga
dalam setiap proses yang disebabkan oleh masa operasi. Maka, borang soal selidik
ini dibahagikan kepada enam (6) bahagian iaitu:
Part 1: Personal Information

This part necessitates your personal information.
Bahagian 1: Maklumat Peribadi
Bahagian ini memerlukan maklumat peribadi anda.
Part 2: Factory Information

This part necessitates your personal information.
74
Bahagian 2: Maklumat Kilang
Bahagian ini memerlukan maklumat kilang anda.
Part 3: Manufacture Material Information

This part requires the information of material involves in the production of
the product.
Bahagian 3: Maklumat Bahan Pembuatan
Bahagian ini memerlukan maklumat bahan pembuatan dalam penghasilan
produk.
Part 4: Tools and Manufacture Process Information

This part requires the information of tools and manufacture process in the
production of product.
Part 4: Maklumat Peralatan dan Proses Pembuatan
Bahagian ini memerlukan maklumat peralatan dan proses pembuatan
dalam penghasilan produk.
Part 5: Material and Energy of Manufacturing Process Information

This part determines on material and energy involves in each of the
production process.
Bahagian 5: Maklumat Imbangan Barangan dan Tenaga dalam Proses
Pembuatan
Bahagian ini untuk mengetahui imbangan barangan dan tenaga dalam
proses pembutan.
Part 6: Additional Information

This part includes additional information on the manufacturing process in
the factory.
Bahagian 6: Data Tambahan
Bahagian ini berkaitan dengan maklumat tambahan mengenai process
pembuatan di kilang.
Your cooperation in completing this questionnaire are highly appreciated

thoroughly. All of the information that have been given will be kept confidential
and it will be use just for academic purposes. If you are intend to learn more about
this research, feel free to contact us through phone or address below.
75
Thank you.
Kerjasama anda melengkapkan soal selidik ini amat dihargai . Semua maklumat
yang diberikan akan dirahsiakan dan ia akan digunakan hanya untuk tujuan
akademik. Jika anda ingin mengetahui lebih lanjut mengenai kajian ini, sila
hubungi kami melalui telefon atau alamat di bawah.
Terima Kasih.
Calvin anak Jose Jol (Group Leader)

Tan Min Chong
Alvin anak Ahjun
Second Year Students
Department of Chemical Engineering and Energy Sustainability
Faculty Engineering
University Malaysia Sarawak
94300 Kota Samarahan,Sarawak
Tel: 011 1200 5041
Email: [email protected]
Part 1: Personal and Factory Information

Bahagian 1: Maklumat Peribadi dan Kilang
Please fill up the information and tick (√) the relevant box below.
Sila isi maklumat dan tandakan (√) dalam kotak di bawah.
1. Name of Respondent: ALAN TAY TIK POH

Nama Responden:
2. Street Address: LOT 2224, SEC. 66, LRG PANGKALAN, OFF

Alamat surat-menyurat: PANGKALAN ROAD, KUCHING, 93450.
3. Telephone Number: +60 082 333344

Nombor Telefon:
4. Age: 45
Umur:
Please continue to the next page

Sila terus ke halaman seterusnya
76
5. Educational Level: None
Tahap Pendidikan: UPSR/ Penilaian Darjah 6
PMR / SRP
SPM
STPM/Diploma/Certificate/Matriculation
/ BSc/ BEng/ BA
Master/PhD
6. Position Held: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jawatan disandang:
7. Length of Service: Just employed/Baru dilantik

Tempoh Perkhidmatan: 1-5 years/tahun
5-10 years/tahun
10-15 years/tahun
15-20 years/tahun
/ 20 years and above / tahun dan keatas
Part 2: Factory Information

Bahagian 1: Maklumat Kilang
1. Name of Factory: AMALGAMATED BATTERIES MFG (S’WAK)

SDN. BHD.
Nama Kilang:
2. Name of Founder: DATUK TAY CHIN KIN

Nama Pengasas:

77
3. Factory Address: AS PER PAGE 3
Alamat Kilang:
4. Office Telephone Number: AS PER PAGE 3

Nombor Telefon Pejabat:
5. Date of Operation Start: 1971

Tarikh Permulaan
Operasi:
6. Length of operation: 1-5 years/tahun

Tempoh operasi: 5-10 years/tahun
10-15 years/tahun
15-20 years/tahun
/ 20 years and above / tahun dan keatas
7. Number of workers: 300

Bilangan Pekerja:
8. Area of the 8.8 ACRES

Factory/Buidings:
Luas Tapak
Kilang/Bangunan:
9. Brands of Product:: ABM/FUJIYA/CHALLENGER

Jenama Produk:

78
10. Industry (manufacturing) / Industri (pembuatan)
Foods / Makanan
Beverages / Minuman
Processed agricultural, livestock and aqua or marine products / Pertanian,
Penternakan dan Makanan Laut
Textile and apparel product / Tekstil dan pakaian
Lumber, wood and furniture product / Kayu dan Perabot
Paper and pulp / Kertas dan pulpa
Chemical products / Produk kimia
Petroleum products / Produk petroleum
Plastics products / Produk plastic
Pharmaceuticals / Ubat- ubatan
Rubber / Getah
Ceramics and cement / Seramik dan simen
Iron and steel (metal products) / Besi dan Keluli
Fabricated metal products / Pembuatan logam
Machinery (tools and appliances) / Mesin (alatan)
Electronic devices or equipment and electric machinery (including parts and
components) / Alatan elektronik atau peralatan dan mesin elektrik (termasuk
bahagian dan komponen)
Automobiles and transportation / (Automobil dan pengangkutan)
Medical devices / (Peralatan perubatan)
Precisions instrument / (Peralatan ketepatan)
Printed and published / (Pencetakan dan penerbitan)
Mining / (Perlombongan)
/ Other Industries (Lain-lain industry) Please specify / Sila nyatakan:
LEAD ACID BATTERIES FOR VARIOUS APPLICATION
………………………………………………………………………………………………….

79
Part 3: Manufacture Material Information
Bahagian 3: Maklumat Bahan Pembuatan
1. What units system are used in measuring the amount of material?

Apakah sistem unit yang digunakan dalam pengukuran?
/ S.I. Unit (International System of Units)
CSG Unit (Centimeter, second and gram)
E.E. Unit (English Engineering Units)
Metric systems
British Thermal Units
Imperial and US Customary systems
2. What measurement units are used in measuring the amount of material?

Apakah unit pengukuran yang digunakan dalam proses?
/ Mass / Jisim
Metric (Ton metric) / Metrik
Moles / Moles
/ Volume / Isipadu
3. List of section for manufacturing lead acid battery

Senarai bahagian dalam pembuatan bateri asid plumbum
1. PLATES MAKING
2. ASSEMBLY
3. BATTERY CHARGING
4. PRODUCTS TESTING
5. PLASTIC INJECTION

80
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
4 Name of selected section for research

Bahagian terpilih untuk kajian
5. List of materials in the selected section during manufacturing Amount

the lead acid battery. (mass)
Senarai barangan untuk bahagian terpilih dalam pembuatan Jumlah
bateri asid plumbum (jisim)
1. LEAD ALLOY KG
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

81
Part 4: Tools and Manufacture Process Information
Part 4: Maklumat Peralatan dan Proses Pembuatan
1. Machinery and tools used in the selected section.

Mesin dan peralatan yang digunakan dalam bahagian terpilih.
Machine Operating condition Materials (kg) Machine
Mesin (temperature, Operating
pressure, etc..) Input to Output of capacity
Kondisi operasi (suhu, the the machine (kg)
tekanan, lain-lain.) machine Kapasiti
Pemasukan Pengeluaran operasi
dalam mesin dari mesin (kg)
GRID - - - -
CASTING
MACHINE

82
Part 5: Material and Energy of Manufacturing Process Information
Bahagian 5: Maklumat Imbangan Barangan dan Tenaga dalam Proses
Pembuatan
Please specify the operating hour and power for each machine at the selected
section during manufacturing the lead acid battery.
Sila nyatakan tempoh operasi dan jana kuasa untuk setiap mesin dalam bahagian
terpilih semasa pembuatan bateri asid-plumbum.
Machine Operating hour Operating power (kW)

Mesin Tempoh operasi Jana kuasa operasi (kW)
-
If you have any other relevant information, which you presume to be important
and has not been mentioned in any parts of this research questionnaire, please feel
free to include it here:
Sekiranya anda mempunyai maklumat yang berkenaan serta belum dinyatakan

dalam bahagian untuk boring soal selidik ini, sila nyatakan di sini:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
The Questionnaire Ends Here

Thank You for Your Cooperation
Borang Soal Selidik Tamat
Terima Kasih atas Kerjasama Anda
83
Appendix B
Oct 2017 Nov 2017 Dec 2017

ID Task Name Start Finish Duration
15/10 22/10 29/10 5/11 12/11 19/11 26/11 3/12 10/12 17/12
1 Literature Review 11/10/2017 4/12/2017 7w 4d
Identification of Process and Unit

2 29/11/2017 29/11/2017 1d
Operation Used In The Factory
Apply Material and Energy Balance In The

3 30/11/2017 6/12/2017 1w
Process Using Excel and Aspen
Study Visit to The Amalgamated Battery

4 29/11/2017 29/11/2017 1d
Factory
5 Data Analysis 30/11/2017 6/12/2017 1w
6 Results and Discussion 30/11/2017 6/12/2017 1w
Determination of The Problem In The

7 6/12/2017 12/12/2017 1w
Process
8 Report Writing 30/10/2017 15/12/2017 7w
9 Presentation 18/12/2017 20/12/2017 3d
Figure 3.0 The Gantt Chart
Figure 2.2 The Periodic Table (Winter, 2017)
84
Figure 3.1 Group Photo with the Production Manager, Mr Thian Sui Kong
Figure 3.2 Group Photo with Ms Anne Eklip
Figure 3.3 Labelled Grid Casting Machine
85
Figure 3.4 Grid Cast is channelled to the trim part
Figure 3.5 Pumps that deliver the molten lead to the ladle
Figure 3.6 Tonnes of lead-antimony ingots
86
Figure 3.7 Ready-made grid cast
Figure 3.8 Metal scrap conveyor
Figure 3.9 Furnace for melting lead ingots
87
Figure 3.10 Giving appreciation token to the Managing Director, Mr Alan Tay Tik
Poh
88

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Department of Chemical Engineering and Energy Sustainability

KNC 2113 Thermodynamics II

Material and Energy Balance of Grid Production for Lead-Acid Battery

Alvin Anak Ahjun

Calvin Anak Jose Jol

Tan Min Chong

Bachelor of Engineering with Honours

Alvin Anak Ahjun (55421)

Calvin Anak Jose Jol (58517)

Tan Min Chong (60044)

In partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering with Honours

UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK

This declaration is made on the 22nd day of December 2017.

ALVIN ANAK AHJUN (55421)

(Name of the lecturer)

 CONFIDENTIAL (Contains confidential information under the Official Secret

 RESTRICTED (Contains restricted information as specified by the

Student’s signature _____________________ Lecturer’s signature: ________________

_______________________________ 22nd December 2017

MR. NAZERI ABDUL RAHMAN Date

(KNC 2113 Thermodynamics II Course Lecturer)

The science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related

Pendidikan Sains, Teknologi, Kejuruteraan dan Matematik (STEM) yang

Imbangan Barangan dan Tenaga, Proses Kimia, Mapan

List of tables and figures 12

List of abbreviation and nomenclature 15

Table Title Page

Table 2.1 The principles of thermodynamics (Saad, 1997). 24

Table 2.4 Classification of Work Injuries (Speegle, 2005) 25

Table 2.8 Positive Plate Construction (Storage Battery System, 2017 28

Table 2.12 Starter battery and deep-cycle battery (Buchmann, 2014) 32

Table 2.13 Properties of lead metal (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2017) 33

Table 2.15 Metal Value per Ton of Battery (Buchmann, 2017)

Table 4.1 Heating Period for Melting Process 45

Table 4.2 Different thickness of grid cast at different temperature 45

Table 4.3 Production Rate of Grid Cast 47

Table 4.6 Mass balance of lead oxide in furnace 51

Table 4.7 Mass balance of lead in furnace equipment in flow rate 52

Table 4.8 Mass balance of lead in furnace equipment in mass 53

Table 4.9 Mass balance of lead in mold equipment in flow rate 54

Table 4.10 Mass balance of lead in mold equipment in mass 55

Table 4.11 Mass balance of lead in trim equipment in flow rate 56

Table 4.12 Mass balance of lead in trim equipment in mass 57

Table 4.13 Furnace mass balance in flow rate 59

Table 4.14 Mold mass balance in flow rate 60

Table 4.15 Trim mass balance in flow rate 60

Table 4.16 Energy balance of lead in furnace by one electric heater 61

Table 4.17 Total energy balance of lead in furnace 63

Table 4.18 Energy balance of lead in mold 64

Figure Title Page

Figure 2.1 Molding process (Lawless, 2013) 31

Figure 3.0 Research Methodology 84

Figure 3.2 Group Photo with Ms. Anne Eklip 85

Figure 3.3 Labelled Grid Casting Machine 85

Figure 3.4 Grid Cast is channeled to the trim part 86

Figure 3.6 Tonnes of lead-antimony ingots 86

Figure 3.7 Ready-made grid cast 87

Figure 3.8 Metal scrap conveyor 87

Student’s signature _____ Lecturer’s signature: