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Sustainable Circular Economy for the Integration of Disadvantaged People: A Preliminary Study on the Reuse of Lithium-Ion Batteries. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14138158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The circular economy is attracting the attention of governments and companies who recognize the importance of promoting a sustainable approach toward social and industrial development. The European Union requires EU State members to support a sustainable approach to improving the production and consumption of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). This paper supports the conceptualization of a sustainable circular economy model, proposing the reuse of lithium-ion batteries from WEEE. The aim is to define a circular economy-based production model for the reuse of waste lithium-ion batteries and support the inclusion of disadvantaged people in the recovery process, breaking the barriers of social discrimination. The activities introduced in this paper are part of a circular economy project for the social integration of disadvantaged people. In this paper, the preliminary results of the project are introduced, proposing a methodology for the disassembly of waste lithium-ion batteries. The disassembly line balancing proposed in this paper focuses on the need to include workers with physical, psychological, sensory, or intellectual limitations, as well as people experiencing communication difficulties. Future steps of the project will focus on the design of the assembly line to produce battery packs for pedal-assisted bicycles from the recovered lithium-ion cells.
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Windisch-Kern S, Gerold E, Nigl T, Jandric A, Altendorfer M, Rutrecht B, Scherhaufer S, Raupenstrauch H, Pomberger R, Antrekowitsch H, Part F. Recycling chains for lithium-ion batteries: A critical examination of current challenges, opportunities and process dependencies. WASTE MANAGEMENT (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2022; 138:125-139. [PMID: 34875455 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2021.11.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) show high energy densities and are therefore used in a wide range of applications: from portable electronics to stationary energy storage systems and traction batteries used for e-mobility. Considering the projected increase in global demand for this energy storage technology, driven primarily by growth in e-vehicles, and looking at the criticality of some raw materials used in LIBs, the need for an efficient recycling strategy emerges. In this study, current state-of-the-art technologies for LIB recycling are reviewed and future opportunities and challenges, in particular to recover critical raw materials such as lithium or cobalt, are derived. Special attention is paid to the interrelationships between mechanical or thermal pre-treatment and hydro- or pyrometallurgical post-treatment processes. Thus, the unique approach of the article is to link processes beyond individual stages within the recycling chain. It was shown that influencing the physicochemical properties of intermediate products can lead to reduced recycling rates or even the exclusion of certain process options at the end of the recycling chain. More efforts are needed to improve information and data sharing on the exact composition of feedstock for recycling as well as on the processing history of intermediates to enable closed loop LIB recycling. The technical understanding of the interrelationships between different process combinations, such as pyrolytic or mechanical pre-treatment for LIB deactivation and metal separation, respectively, followed by hydrometallurgical treatment, is of crucial importance to increase recovery rates of cathodic metals such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium, but also of other battery components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Windisch-Kern
- Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering, Chair of Thermal Processing Technology, Franz Josef Strasse 18, 8700 Leoben, Austria
| | - Eva Gerold
- Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Department Metallurgy, Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy, Franz Josef Strasse 18, 8700 Leoben, Austria.
| | - Thomas Nigl
- Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering, Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Franz Josef Strasse 18, 8700 Leoben, Austria
| | - Aleksander Jandric
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Water-Atmosphere-Environment, Institute of Waste Management, Muthgasse 107, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael Altendorfer
- Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering, Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Franz Josef Strasse 18, 8700 Leoben, Austria
| | - Bettina Rutrecht
- Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering, Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Franz Josef Strasse 18, 8700 Leoben, Austria
| | - Silvia Scherhaufer
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Water-Atmosphere-Environment, Institute of Waste Management, Muthgasse 107, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Harald Raupenstrauch
- Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering, Chair of Thermal Processing Technology, Franz Josef Strasse 18, 8700 Leoben, Austria
| | - Roland Pomberger
- Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Department of Environmental and Energy Process Engineering, Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Franz Josef Strasse 18, 8700 Leoben, Austria
| | - Helmut Antrekowitsch
- Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Department Metallurgy, Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy, Franz Josef Strasse 18, 8700 Leoben, Austria
| | - Florian Part
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Water-Atmosphere-Environment, Institute of Waste Management, Muthgasse 107, 1190 Vienna, Austria
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Nigl T, Bäck T, Stuhlpfarrer S, Pomberger R. The fire risk of portable batteries in their end-of-life: Investigation of the state of charge of waste lithium-ion batteries in Austria. WASTE MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH : THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOLID WASTES AND PUBLIC CLEANSING ASSOCIATION, ISWA 2021; 39:1193-1199. [PMID: 33843368 DOI: 10.1177/0734242x211010640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The increased utilisation of lithium-ion batteries in the last years does not come without cost. Due to thermal runaway and exothermic degradation reactions, portable batteries pose enormous risks to waste management systems and infrastructure in their end-of-life phase. All over Europe, the number of waste fires caused by lithium-ion batteries are rising. The risk of a battery fire is mainly influenced by the probability and severity of a thermal runaway or exothermic degradation, which depends on the current state of charge (SOC) of the respective battery. In order to determine the distribution of the SOC which is one of the main influence factors to waste fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, 980 waste battery cells were representatively sampled, manually dismantled and analysed using a prototypic laboratory test stand. Approximately 24% of the analysed cells and batteries had a residual SOC of at least 25%, and approximately 12% had a residual SOC of at least 50%. Hence, approximately every fourth to eighth portable battery threatens to cause a waste fire when critically damaged. Furthermore, a distinct relationship between the actual cell voltage and the residual SOC was found for end-of-life portable batteries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Nigl
- Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Leoben, Austria
| | - Tanja Bäck
- Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Leoben, Austria
| | - Stefan Stuhlpfarrer
- Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Leoben, Austria
| | - Roland Pomberger
- Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Leoben, Austria
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Lithium-Ion Batteries as Ignition Sources in Waste Treatment Processes—A Semi-Quantitate Risk Analysis and Assessment of Battery-Caused Waste Fires. Processes (Basel) 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/pr9010049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing occurrences of waste fires that are caused by improperly discarded lithium-based portable batteries threaten the whole waste management sector in numerous countries. Studies showed that high quantities of these batteries have been found in several municipal solid waste streams in recent years in Austria. This article reveals the main influence factors on the risk of lithium-based batteries in their end-of-life and it focuses on the quantification of damages to portable batteries during waste treatment processes. Hazards are identified and analysed and potential risks in waste management systems are comprehensively assessed. In two scenarios, the results showed that the potential risks are too high to maintain a sustainable form of waste management. According to the assessment, a small fire in a collection vehicle is located in the risk graph’s yellow region (as low as reasonably practicable, ALARP), while a fully developed fire in a treatment plant has to be classified as an unacceptable risk (red region of risk graph). Finally, basic recommendations for action were made.
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