Not sure where to post this... Hope it's of some interest, one way or another.
If anyone's interested in this, here's the link to an Arduino-based device that purports to be able to recharge non-rechargeable batteries.
"After a fisrt prototype elaborated by our co-worker and tested by ourself, Kordesch’s system prooved that is was able to recharge not only alkalin batteries, but also Ni-Mh batteries and more efficiently. Indeed, the regeneration process is done by micro-impulsions, a “slow charging” method that is less aggressive for the components."