De-agglomeration of cathode composites for direct recycling of Li-ion batteries

A review of physical processes used in the safe recycling of lithium ion batteries

“…Reuse or remanufacture: Recycling purely by physical means, such that the crystal structure or composition of the active material is not modified is termed "direct recycling" or "short loop recycling" in current literature [13,14,15,16,4,17,18,19,20,21]. Development of new battery chemistries may mean that LIBs with obsolete battery chemistries cannot be short loop recycled but must be chemically processed into a more relevant cell chemistry.…”

“…A few recent publications have utilised a laboratory-scale high shear mixer, or blender in order to separate electrode coatings from electrodes [20,15]. High shear mixing provides a simple laboratory-scale approach to separating electrodes from coatings…”

“…The current collectors; copper and aluminium, can also be found within this mass, and their concentration will vary depending on comminution conditions. Laboratory scale experiments often generate black mass through comminution and sieving, relying on preferential comminution of electrode coatings to keep the Al and Cu content of the black mass low [79,15,71,80]. Current collectors need to be removed from the black mass prior to hydrometallurgical extraction, in order to maximise cost-effectiveness [81,82,83].…”

“…To maximise the separation using froth flotation, the difference in the hydrophobicity of the materials is exploited, and surface modification through binder decomposition, or surface treatment is essential to improve the selectivity of froth flotation [98,73]. Fine grinding, comminution, or attrition can also maximise the hydrophobic graphite surfaces to enhance graphite and MO separation [19,100,15,101,20]. To prevent the release of toxic HF and…”

Enabling Intelligent Recovery of Critical Materials from Li-Ion Battery through Direct Recycling Process with Internet-of-Things

“…It implies 340,000 metric tons of EV battery waste by 2040 which poses significant threats to the environment [ 5 ]. Specifically, hydrogen fluoride (HF) and other harmful gases would be released when the electrolyte of EOL LIBs is exposed to the air or water [ 6 ]. Meanwhile, the soil and underground water would be contaminated by heavy metals in EOL LIBs (Co, Ni, Fe and Mn) if the batteries are disposed of improperly.…”