A green process for recycling and synthesis of cathode materials LiMn₂O₄from spent lithium-ion batteries using citric acid

Abstract

In the process of recycling spent lithium-ion batteries, citric acid is only used as a chelating agent to resynthesize new cathode materials by a sol-gel process or as a precipitant to separate Mn ions and Li ions.

Spent lithium manganate batteries for sustainable recycling: A review

“…The electrochemical performance test showed that the regenerated cathode material had an excellent electrochemical performance, and the discharge curves of LiMn 2 O 4 have been shown in Figure 7B. Similarly, Wang J. et al (2022) used citric acid and sol-gel method to regenerate LMO batteries but did not use glucose as a reducing agent. It explored the influence of citric acid concentration, leaching time, and solid-liquid ratio on the leaching process.…”

Two-step leaching of spent lithium-ion batteries and effective regeneration of critical metals and graphitic carbon employing hexuronic acid

“…Various techniques have been utilized to develop LIB recycling, however, hydrometallurgy is frequently employed in industrial sectors as a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable method to extract valuable metals from spent LIBs due to its higher efficiency and lower harmful gas emissions. 20–22 Several investigations have been conducted on the leaching of critical metals using both inorganic acids (such as HCl, 23 HNO 3 , 24 H 2 SO 4 , 25,26 and H 3 PO 4 27 ) and organic acids (such as citric acid, 28,29 malic acid, 30,31 lactic acid, 32 ascorbic acid, 33 oxalic acid, 34 and succinic acid 35 ). Compared to inorganic acids, organic acids are almost natural and sustainable.…”

A Green Recycling Method for LiMn2O4 Cathode Materials by Simple Heat Treatment

“…Hydrometallurgical methods have been employed by Wang et al to recycle spent batteries, where the Al foil was separated at 550 °C and then leached with 1.0 M citric acid to regenerate the LMO. [19] Therefore, recycling spent LMO batteries at a low cost and high efficiency holds tremendous importance. DOI: 10.1002/ente.202300617 Herein, a facile method with high efficiency is proposed for the separation and regeneration of LiMn 2 O 4 (LMO) cathode material for spent lithium-ion batteries through a simple heat treatment method.…”