A multi-analytical methodology for the characterization of industrial samples of spent Ni-MH battery powders

Zielinski, Margot; Cassayre, Laurent; Floquet, Pascal; Macouin, Mélina; Destrac, Philippe; Coppey, Nicolas; Foulet, Cédric; Biscans, Béatrice

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2020.09.017

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…[22] In addition, the use of low-reactivity electrode materials and aqueous-based electrolytes makes Ni-MH batteries naturally safer in contrast to Pb-acid and Li þ -ion systems. [23] Their safer operation advantages offer them opportunities to be used in special places where safety is highly required. Based on the earlier discussion, both the Pb-acid and the Ni-MH batteries have their own inherent limitations with respect to long-term sustainability.…”

Section: Sustainability Of Currently Available Rechargeable Battery Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Battery Materials for Next‐Generation Electrical Energy Storage

Manthiram

2021

Adv Energy and Sustain Res

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Global energy consumption is continuously increasing with population growth and rapid industrialization, which requires sustainable advancements in both energy generation and energy-storage technologies. [1] While bringing great prosperity to human society, the increasing energy demand creates challenges for energy resources and the consumption of conventional fossil fuels causes increasing greenhouse gas emission. [2] Therefore, for a sustainable energy future, new technologies and new ways of thinking are needed with respect to energy generation, storage, delivery, and consumption. [3] To enhance energy security and reduce the negative health and environmental impacts of fossil fuels, there has been growing focus on the exploration of renewable energy sources, among which solar, wind, tide, and wave energies represent successful sectors at present. [4] However, the renewable energies are usually not continuously available due to external factors that cannot be controlled. The requirements of addressing the intermittency issue of these clean energies have triggered a very rapidly developing area of research-electricity (or energy) storage. [5] Battery storage systems are emerging as one of the key solutions to effectively integrate intermittent renewable energies in power systems. [6] Setting power cable-free, rechargeable batteries have powered extensive types of mobile electronics that are supporting our modern life. [7] Highpower-density and high-energy-density rechargeable battery technologies are also presently under vigorous development for vehicle electrification. [8] Utility-scale batteries are expected to enable a great feed-in of renewables into the grid by storing excess generation and firming renewable energy output. [9] Scaling up from portable power sources to transportation-scale and grid-scale applications, the design of electrochemical storage systems needs to take into account the cost/abundance of materials, environmental/eco efficiency of cell chemistries, as well as the life cycle and safety analysis. [10] A number of currently existing rechargeable battery technologies can possibly fulfil some of the aforementioned sustainability requirements. However, existing intrinsic limitations of energy-storage capacity or technological hurdles are hampering the deployment toward large-scale applications. [11] In this perspective, we first give an overview of the currently existing rechargeable battery technologies from a sustainability point of view. With regard to energy-storage performance, lithium-ion batteries are leading all the other rechargeable battery chemistries in terms of both energy density and power density. However long-term sustainability concerns of lithium-ion technology are also obvious when examining the materials toxicity and the feasibility, cost, and availability of elemental resources. Based off of recent research advances, strategies and approaches toward the enhancement of sustainability of lithium-ion technologies are first discussed. Then, emerging and cutting-edge battery...

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Section: Sustainability Of Currently Available Rechargeable Battery Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Battery Materials for Next‐Generation Electrical Energy Storage

Manthiram

2021

Adv Energy and Sustain Res

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“…However, these techniques do not discriminate between the individual particle properties within the sample mixture. Recently, Zielinski et al (2020) developed a multi-analytical methodology for industrial samples of spent Ni-MH battery powders. They succeeded in identifying and quantifying three type of particles in the size fraction below 100 µm, by using statistical analysis based on clustering algorithms of an electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) compositional map of the following elements Ni, Ce, Co, Fe, La, Mn, Nd, and O. In contrast Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)-based automated mineralogy is a particle-based analysis that is widely used for primary resources and has been regularly demonstrated to be beneficial for process improvements (Buchmann et al, 2018;Gottlieb, 2008;Kupka et al, 2020;Pereira et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, different forms of sample materials can be analyzed, from particulate materials suspended in epoxy resin, often termed "grain mounts", to polished blocks and thin sections. In this study, iodized epoxy resin was used for the preparation of grain mounts of the studied material, in order to allow the analysis of carbon phases, which are typically not quantified in black mass characterization, according to Zielinski et al (2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automated mineralogy as a novel approach for the compositional and textural characterization of spent lithium-ion batteries

Vanderbruggen¹,

Gugala²,

Blannin³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Mechanical recycling processes aim to separate particles based on their physical properties, such as size, shape and density, and physico-chemical surface properties, such as wettability. Secondary materials, including electronic waste, are highly complex and heterogeneous, which complicates recycling processes. In order to improve recycling efficiency, characterization of both recycling process feed materials and intermediate products is crucial. Textural characteristics of particles in waste mixtures cannot be determined by conventional characterization techniques, such as X-ray fluorescence and Xray diffraction spectroscopy. This paper presents the application of automated mineralogy as an analytical tool, capable of describing discrete particle characteristics for monitoring and diagnosis of lithium ion battery (LIB) recycling approaches. Automated mineralogy, which is well established for the analysis of primary raw materials but has not yet been tested on battery waste, enables the acquisition of textural and chemical information, such as elemental and phase composition, morphology, association and degree of liberation. For this study, a thermo-mechanically processed black mass (< 1 mm fraction) from spent LIBs was characterized with automated mineralogy. Each particle was categorized based on which LIB component it comprised: Al foil, Cu foil, graphite, lithium metal oxides and alloys from casing. A more selective liberation of the anode components was achieved by thermo-mechanical treatment, in comparison to the cathode components. Therefore, automated mineralogy can provide vital information for understanding the properties of black mass particles, which determine the success of mechanical recycling processes. The introduced methodology is not limited to the presented case study and is applicable for the optimization of different separation unit operations in recycling of waste electronics and batteries. Element and LIB components Spectra examples and name for the reference list Cu from foilAl from foil C from graphite Metals from lithium metal oxides: Co, Ni, Mn and mix Si from filler particles Others from alloys particlesSupplementary material S2 -Compositional thresholds of the collected spectra.

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“…Indeed, the anode active mass of Ni-MH batteries is made of mischmetal where light REEs (La, Ce, Nd, and Pr) are alloyed with other metals (Ni, Co, Al, and Mn). The valuable powder extracted after crushing spent Ni-MH batteries can contain up to 15 wt % REEs. − Given that over a billion Ni-MH battery units have been placed on the market worldwide each year in the past decade and that a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6% for the global Ni-MH battery market is predicted between 2017 and 2022, recycling of spent Ni-MH batteries has the potential to offer a significant feedstock for secondary REE production. However, because of technical (maturity of recycling processes) and economic (volatility of raw materials prices) aspects, the contribution of recycling to the market demand is still very low.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the past decade, numerous academic and industrial research groups have focused on developing more efficient hydrometallurgical processes for the recovery of REEs from spent Ni-MH batteries. In a traditional process, spent batteries are transformed into a powder enriched in valuable elements thanks to thermal and mechanical pretreatment steps. , The powder is then leached in a mineral acid (HCl, HNO 3 , or H 2 SO 4 ) where REEs are solubilized in the pregnant leach solution (PLS) along with various other metal elements such as Ni, Co, Mn, Al, Fe, or Zn . The bottleneck of the hydrometallurgical process is then to selectively separate these elements from each other.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pilot-Scale Lanthanide Precipitation from Sulfate-Based Spent Ni-MH Battery Leachates: Thermodynamic-Based Choice of Operating Conditions

Zielinski

Cassayre

Coppey

et al. 2021

Crystal Growth & Design

Self Cite

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Access to critical metals required for high-performance technologies, particularly, the light rare earth elements (REEs = La, Ce, Nd, Pr), has become a major challenge for importdependent economies such as the European Union. In this regard, the recycling of spent nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries by hydrometallurgical processes can serve as an attractive secondary source of REEs. In such processes, precipitation of REEs from pregnant leach solutions (PLS) in sulfate media using Na 2 SO 4 is often reported. However, little consideration is given as to whether and how sodium ions influence the precipitation efficiency and selectivity. This work focuses on a better understanding of the precipitation process by coupling pilot-scale (2 L) experiments on industrially sourced PLS containing 50 g/L of Ni and 17 g/L of REEs, with thermodynamic modeling, to assess the influence of temperature (25 °C < T < 60 °C) and the Na/REEs molar ratio (0.8:1 < Na/REEs < 3.2:1). Equilibria calculations were performed using OLI Systems Inc. software whose database covers rare earth sulfate compound properties and an accurate description of the aqueous electrolytes. Highly selective precipitation was obtained at 60 °C and for a Na/REEs molar ratio of 4:1. A lanthanide-alkali solid solution was identified by multianalytical characterization.

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A multi-analytical methodology for the characterization of industrial samples of spent Ni-MH battery powders

Abstract: A multi-analytical methodology for the characterization of industrial samples of spent Ni-MH battery powders. (2020) Waste Management, 118. 677-687.

Cited by 16 publications

References 43 publications

Sustainable Battery Materials for Next‐Generation Electrical Energy Storage

Sustainable Battery Materials for Next‐Generation Electrical Energy Storage

Automated mineralogy as a novel approach for the compositional and textural characterization of spent lithium-ion batteries

Pilot-Scale Lanthanide Precipitation from Sulfate-Based Spent Ni-MH Battery Leachates: Thermodynamic-Based Choice of Operating Conditions

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