The Alchemist

About 75 per cent of the world's lead production goes into batteries. Gravita itself sells 60 per cent of its recycled lead to battery makers in India and abroad. The rest goes to the makers of ceramic glazes, paint additives, and pipes and sheets.

At Gravita India's Jaipur plant, one of the nine it runs across the world, lead scrap melted down in furnaces is refined in these kettles to a purity of 99.97% at temperatures of 327 C to 650 C.

Used storage batteries are brought in for recycling. Only a third of India's lead output comes from mines. Gravita and its peers recycle in the cleanest possible way, unlike backyard smelters.

This 99.97 purity lead ingot is one of Gravita's products. Lead being very dense, this ingot weighs 24 kg. Going by the mid-October lead price of Rs 115 a kg, the ingot costs Rs 2,760.

Gravita can recycle 34,700 tonnes a year. Emissions of toxic gases such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide are kept well within limits set by the government. Gravita has set up 32 plants for others across the world. Revenues in 2009-10 grew to Rs 159 crore. The profit: Rs 14 crore.

Rajat Agrawal, MD, says most car and truck batteries are dumped in landfills, and recycling accounts for a small percentage. "Our eco-friendly plants ensure minimal waste disposal," he says.

A Gravita furnace traps gaseous pollutants. Only steam gets out.

Gravita equips its workers with filter-masks, industrial gloves and leather boots to minimise contact with lead and its fumes. It also gets their blood tested annually.

A typical open furnace at a backyard processor, usually at a remote location. Heavy polluters, these makeshift furnaces work at night and are moved around to avoid the law.