Pyrometallurgical Lithium-Ion-Battery Recycling: Approach to Limiting Lithium Slagging with the InduRed Reactor Concept

Addressing preliminary challenges in upscaling the recovery of lithium from spent lithium ion batteries by the electrochemical method: a review

The paramount importance of lithium (Li) nowadays and the mounting volume of untreated spent LIB have imposed pressure on innovators to tackle the near-term issue of Li resource depletion through recycling. The trajectory of research dedicated to recycling has skyrocketed in this decade, reflecting the global commitment to addressing the issues surrounding Li resources. Although metallurgical methods, such as pyro- and hydrometallurgy, are presently prevalent in Li recycling, they exhibit unsustainable operational characteristics including elevated temperatures, the utilization of substantial quantities of expensive chemicals, and the generation of emissions containing toxic gases such as Cl2, SO2, and NOx. Therefore, the alternative electrochemical method has gained growing attention, as it involves a more straightforward operation leveraging ion-selective features and employing water as the main reagent, which is seen as more environmentally benign. Despite this, intensive efforts are still required to advance the electrochemical method toward commercialisation. This review highlights the key points in the electrochemical method that demand attention, including the feasibility of a large-scale setup, consideration of the substantial volume of electrolyte consumption, the design of membranes with the desired features, a suitable layout of the membrane, and the absence of techno-economic assessments for the electrochemical method. The perspectives presented herein provide a crucial understanding of the challenges of advancing the technological readiness level of the electrochemical method.

An entire recycling of spent Al-bearing cathode powder as giniite sphere and lithiophophate plate with leaching-hydrothermal-precipitation process

Spent lithium battery is a polymetallic waste, and valuable to be recovered as Li-bearing chemical with the barriers of impurities separation, especially Fe and Al. Here in, Li-rich cathode powder was manually disassembled from spent battery, and then recovered as lithiophosphate plate in consideration of effective separation of impure Fe/Al. The powder comprised of 23.2% Fe, 3.2% Al, 5.5% Li and 19.6% P, and then dissolved by azotic acid as Li-rich solution. When the solution was heated to 190°C for 10 h with the supplementary of saccharose, more than 99.9% Fe and 98.9% Al were removed as spherical giniite particles, in accordance with the rest of Fe/Al at the concentrations of 2.1 and 14 mg/L, whilst the loss of Li was less than 1.5%. But without saccharose, the Fe/Al removals only achieved by 99.2% and 52.1%. It is also found that the Fe/Al/Li removal achieved by 99.6%, 96% and 25.3% after adjusting the solution to pH 2.7 by NaOH. After hydrothermal treatment, the rest Li can be recycled as lithiophosphate plate by pH adjustment, in contrast to the recovery efficiency of 98.5% Li. Such method raised a facile route to effectively separate impure Fe/Al from Li-rich cathode powder, and showed promising application in the industrial recovery of spent battery.

Photocatalytic Materials Obtained from E-Waste Recycling: Review, Techniques, Critique, and Update

Waste-derived materials obtained from the recovery and recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) such as batteries and printed circuit boards have attracted enormous attention from academia and industry in recent years, especially due to their eco-friendly nature and the massive increment in e-waste due to technological development. Several investigations in the literature have covered the advances achieved so far. Meanwhile, photocatalytic applications are especially of interest since they maintain mutual benefits and can be used for H2 production from solar water splitting based on semiconductor processing as a proper environmentally friendly technique for solar energy conversion. In addition, they can be utilized to degrade a variety of organic and non-organic contaminations. Nonetheless, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there has not been any comprehensive review that has specifically been focused on e-waste-derived photocatalytic materials. In this regard, the present work is dedicated to thoroughly discussing the related mechanisms, strategies, and methods, as well as the various possible photocatalysts synthesized from e-wastes with some critiques in this field. This brief overview can introduce modern technologies and promising possibilities for e-waste valorization, photocatalytic processes, and new photocatalytic degradation methods of eco-friendly nature. This paper discusses various e-waste-obtained photocatalytic materials, synthesis procedures, and applications, as well as several types of e-waste, derived materials such as TiO2, ZnO, indium tin oxide, and a variety of sulfide- and ferrite-based photocatalytic materials.

Economic Aspects for Recycling of Used Lithium-Ion Batteries from Electric Vehicles

Worldwide, there has been an exponential growth in the production and application of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), driven by the energy transition and the electric vehicle market. The scarcity of raw materials and the circular economy strategy of LIBs encourage the need to reuse components, recycle, and give second life to used batteries. However, one of the obstacles is the insufficient volume of LIBs for recycling, which prevents the economic viability of this industrial process. Thus, this article mainly focuses on the economic aspects of the recycling of LIBs, presenting and analyzing: (i) the advantages and disadvantages of recycling and (ii) a survey of factors that influence the cost and economic feasibility of disposing of batteries. The importance of regulations, the market, and business models regarding the recycling of LIBs in a few countries are also discussed. Finally, a business model is created for recycling LIBs in Brazil. The main factors that influence the economic feasibility of this process are indicated, such as government incentives through regulation, exemption from fees and taxes, and the adequacy of battery technology. Encouraging recycling through tax exemptions or reductions can make the process more economically viable, in addition to contributing to the circular economy. Another essential factor to be considered is the creation of joint ventures, which can facilitate the entire chain of the circular economy, including logistics, transport, and disposal of batteries.

Effect of Graphite on the Recovery of Valuable Metals from Spent Li-Ion Batteries in Baths of Hot Metal and Steel

The recycling of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is highly important to secure the sustainable production of new LIBs and reduce the dependence on virgin resources. The present paper aims to study the smelting behaviour of black mass (BM) from spent LIBs and investigate the effect of graphite on metal recovery in a carbon-saturated hot metal bath and in a low-carbon steel bath. The smelting trials of BM were conducted in a technical scale (150 kg) induction furnace using hot metal and steel scrap at operating temperatures in the range of 1278–1438 °C and 1470–1610 °C, respectively. Two grades of BM were applied in the current study; high-Ni BM and high-Co BM. Parts of both grades of the BM were briquettes to enhance the direct reduction of metal oxides with embedded graphite and to reduce the dust generation during loading into the furnace. The briquette BM was charged to carbon-saturated hot metal bath while the other part of the BM was subjected to de-coking in a muffle furnace in an oxidising atmosphere to remove graphite (37–39%) and to concentrate the valuable metals in the BM. The de-coked BM was loaded directly, without the need for the briquette, to the low-carbon steel bath. The results indicated that smelting of the de-coked BM in a steel bath is more efficient in metal recovery than the smelting of the corresponding briquette BM in a molten hot metal bath. The highest recovery rate of Co, Ni and Cu (98–99%) was obtained by smelting de-coked high-Co BM in a low-carbon molten steel bath, while the lowest recovery rate (38–55%) was obtained by smelting the briquette high-Ni BM in the carbon-saturated hot metal bath.

Recycling chains for lithium-ion batteries: A critical examination of current challenges, opportunities and process dependencies

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.

Special Issue on “Advanced Technology of Waste Treatment”

The protection of human health and the environment (representing the main reason for waste management), as well as the sustainable use of natural resources, requires chemical, biological, physical and thermal treatment of wastes [...]

Investigation of Potential Recovery Rates of Nickel, Manganese, Cobalt, and Particularly Lithium from NMC-Type Cathode Materials (LiNixMnyCozO2) by Carbo-Thermal Reduction in an Inductively Heated Carbon Bed Reactor

Within the e-mobility sector, which represents a major driver of the development of the overall lithium-ion battery market, batteries with nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cathode chemistries are currently gaining ground. This work is specifically dedicated to this NMC battery type and investigates achievable recovery rates of the valuable materials contained when applying an unconventional, pyrometallurgical reactor concept. For this purpose, the currently most prevalent NMC modifications (5-3-2, 6-2-2, and 8-1-1) with carbon addition were analyzed using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry, and treated in a lab-scale application of the mentioned reactor principle. It was shown that the reactor concept achieves high recovery rates for nickel, cobalt, and manganese of well above 80%. For lithium, which is usually oxidized and slagged, the transfer coefficient into the slag phase was less than 10% in every experimental trial. Instead, it was possible to remove the vast amount of it via a gas phase, which could potentially open up new paths regarding metal recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries.

Cobalt Electrochemical Recovery from Lithium Cobalt Oxides in Deep Eutectic Choline Chloride+Urea Solvents

Electrochemical recovery of the cobalt in deep eutectic solvent shows its promise in recycling and recovery of valuable elements from the spent lithium-ion battery due to its high selectivity and minimal environmental impacts. This work unveiled the roles of the substrates, applied potentials, and operating temperatures on the performance of cobalt electrochemical recovery in a deep eutectic choline chloride+urea solvent. The solvent contains cobalt and lithium ions extracted from lithium cobalt oxides - 3an essential lithium-ion battery cathode material. Our results highlight that the substrate predetermines the cobalt recovery modes via substrate-cobalt interactions, which could be predicted by the cobalt surface segregation energies and crystallographic misfits. We also show that a moderate cathode potential under -1.0 V vs. silver quasi-reference electrode at 94-104 °C is essential to ensure a selective cobalt recovery at an optimal rate. We also found that the stainless-steel mesh is an optimal substrate for cobalt recovery due to its relatively high selectivity, fast recovery rate, and easy cobalt collection. Our work provides new insights on metal recovery in deep eutectic solvents and offers a new avenue to control the metal electrodeposition modes via modulation of substrate compositions and crystal structures.

A Novel Pyrometallurgical Recycling Process for Lithium-Ion Batteries and Its Application to the Recycling of LCO and LFP

The bottleneck of recycling chains for spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is the recovery of valuable metals from the black matter that remains after dismantling and deactivation in pre‑treatment processes, which has to be treated in a subsequent step with pyrometallurgical and/or hydrometallurgical methods. In the course of this paper, investigations in a heating microscope were conducted to determine the high-temperature behavior of the cathode materials lithium cobalt oxide (LCO—chem., LiCoO2) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP—chem., LiFePO4) from LIB with carbon addition. For the purpose of continuous process development of a novel pyrometallurgical recycling process and adaptation of this to the requirements of the LIB material, two different reactor designs were examined. When treating LCO in an Al2O3 crucible, lithium could be removed at a rate of 76% via the gas stream, which is directly and purely available for further processing. In contrast, a removal rate of lithium of up to 97% was achieved in an MgO crucible. In addition, the basic capability of the concept for the treatment of LFP was investigated whereby a phosphorus removal rate of 64% with a simultaneous lithium removal rate of 68% was observed.