Development of a recycling process for Li-ion batteries

Georgi-Maschler, Tim; Friedrich, Bernd; Weyhe, Reiner; Heegn, H.; Rutz, M.

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.01.152

Cited by 666 publications

(385 citation statements)

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“…54 Unfortunately, there are no up-to-date numbers for the recycling rate in North America, while in Europe, before regulation was imposed, the recycling rate was only 9%. 55 An estimation of the total amount of Li-ion batteries recycled in North America can be made by tracking the number and recycling rate of ewaste devices, specifically those devices that use Liion batteries. When an e-waste device is recycled, it is often recycled with the battery and the battery is sent to a separate recycler for recycling.…”

Section: Need For Recovery and Recyclingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current and Prospective Li-Ion Battery Recycling and Recovery Processes

Heelan

Gratz²,

Zheng

et al. 2016

JOM

216

162

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The lithium ion (Li-ion) battery industry has been growing exponentially since its initial inception in the late 20th century. As battery materials evolve, the applications for Li-ion batteries have become even more diverse. To date, the main source of Li-ion battery use varies from consumer portable electronics to electric/hybrid electric vehicles. However, even with the continued rise of Liion battery development and commercialization, the recycling industry is lagging; approximately 95% of Li-ion batteries are landfilled instead of recycled upon reaching end of life. Industrialized recycling processes are limited and only capable of recovering secondary raw materials, not suitable for direct reuse in new batteries. Most technologies are also reliant on high concentrations of cobalt to be profitable, and intense battery sortation is necessary prior to processing. For this reason, it is critical that a new recycling process be commercialized that is capable of recovering more valuable materials at a higher efficiency. A new technology has been developed by the researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute which is capable of recovering LiNi x Mn y Co z O 2 cathode material from a hydrometallurgical process, making the recycling system as a whole more economically viable. By implementing a flexible recycling system that is closed-loop, recycling of Li-ion batteries will become more prevalent saving millions of pounds of batteries from entering the waste stream each year.

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Section: Need For Recovery and Recyclingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current and Prospective Li-Ion Battery Recycling and Recovery Processes

Heelan

Gratz²,

Zheng

et al. 2016

JOM

216

162

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Such a battery has additional economic value that can be reclaimed in one of three ways: remanufacturing for reuse in vehicles [4], repurposing the batteries into non-vehicle, stationary storage applications [5][6][7], and recycling when the cells are no longer able to hold a sufficient charge to support any application [8][9][10][11][12]. With the continued manufacturing and repurposing of LIBs, eventually each cell will no longer be useable and require recycling due to potential flammability and toxic cell components [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most research being done in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries uses cells with LiCoO 2 as the cathode active material and focuses on the recovery of cobalt and lithium [15][16][17][18][19][20], with little attention to the copper and aluminum within the cells. The methods used incorporate various acid leaching and hydro-and pyrometallurgical processes [16][17][18][19] and bioleaching techniques [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of acid concentration, temperature, and time on recycling of post-vehicle-application lithium-ion batteries of varying chemistries

Corneal

Standridge

2015

Mater Renew Sustain Energy

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The purpose of this project was to develop and validate a common process for separating the active materials from the copper and aluminum foils of post-vehicleapplication lithium-ion batteries. Batteries from two different manufacturers were disassembled, and anode and cathode samples were used for recycling testing. The materials tested from a third manufacturer were scraps of coated foils from the manufacturing process that had never been assembled into cells. The cathodes from each manufacturer were aluminum foils with coatings of differing chemistries. The anode foils from each manufacturer were copper with a carbon coating. The process developed used acid baths to separate the active materials from the foils. To allow for separation of the differing active materials (depending on supplier and battery chemistry) from the foils, the acids were selected to react with the aluminum and copper foils. The processes were stopped once sufficient reaction had occurred so that the coatings no longer adhered to the foils. The optimum recycling condition was identified as the lowest acid concentration, the lowest temperature, and the shortest time required for full separation of the coatings from the foils for all cell chemistries (manufacturers). Full separation of the graphite coating from the copper foils of the anodes was achieved within 35 s by using 0.5 mol/L of H 2 SO 4 (sulfuric acid) at 40°C. Full separation of the active materials from the aluminum foils of the cathodes was achieved within 83 s by using 2.0 mol/L of HNO 3 (nitric acid) at 70°C.

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“…Metals such as aluminium and lithium are lost, whilst the alloy metals; copper, cobalt, nickel, and iron are recovered by dissolution and precipitation (Georgi-Maschler, et al 2012). Then, as seen in Fig.…”

Section: Umicore Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Originally, Toxco's hydrometallurgical process was established to safely recycle spent primary lithium batteries (Georgi-Maschler, et al 2012). Nowadays, the facility has the ability to process secondary lithium batteries, including lithium-ion batteries.…”

Section: Toxco Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The recycling of lithium-ion batteries

Dykes¹

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Currently in Australia, there remains no proven technology available for recycling of lithium ion batteries. The purpose of the research undertaken in this thesis is to provide an outline of the current lithium-ion battery-recycling problem whilst taking a closer look into alternative hydrometallurgical solutions. Lithium ion batteries have been used in portable handheld devices for several decades, but with companies like Tesla venturing into the electric vehicle (EV) and grid energy storage market, recycling is becoming more of a necessity in this technological evolution. As researched, the majority of consumer portable handheld devicesmobile phones -are comprised of the lithium cobalt oxide formulation (LiCoO2) with a combination of other metals introduced to enhance various aspects of performance.To date many companies across the world have attempted to develop their own-patented recycling techniques. Some are solely pyrometallurgical, whilst others, such as the Umicore process rely on a combination of techniques. The methodology used was designed in conjunction with the Toxco method whereby the battery would undertake a dismantling phase, before acid leaching and precipitation and finally into the creation of a new lithium-ion battery.Optimizing the leaching process was the main aim of this investigation in order to achieve a maximum leaching efficiency possible before precipitation. However, with laboratory issues and large time delays from ICP-OES testing, the results required were not met. The most efficient leaching reagent was that of sulphuric acid combined with sodium metabisulfite with an efficiency of roughly 6.5%. The remaining three solutions sulphuric acid, sulphuric acid with sodium persulfate and hydrochloric acid achieved efficiencies all under 2.5%.These irregularly low efficiencies meant that precipitation was not possible due to the lack of cobalt in the solution. As such, a new battery was created using the lithium cobalt oxide recovered from the original iPhone battery. Using two ratios 8:1:1 (LCO:Carbon:PVDF) and 9:1 (LCO:PVDF) the new batteries was assembled and tested. The results suggested that the addition of the carbon allowed a more stable electron flow from the cathode to the anode with a 74.55 % difference in charge transfer resistance to that of the non-super P cell. Mech4501 -Engineering Thesis Final Report iv Blake Dykes -This area is one of significant importance for future development and despite technical challenges there is a large scope within this field. Future recommendations would be avoid using ICP as an analysis method due to the month-long delays making development very difficult. Instead, it is recommended that the AAS system is used.Furthermore, the acid concentrations must be increased for the experiments to provide an indicative indication of acids ability to successfully leach cobalt from the exhausted batteries.It is interesting to note that sulphuric acid, being the cheapest, is sufficient in providing the best efficiency provided that a reducing age...

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Development of a recycling process for Li-ion batteries

Cited by 666 publications

References 1 publication

Current and Prospective Li-Ion Battery Recycling and Recovery Processes

Current and Prospective Li-Ion Battery Recycling and Recovery Processes

Effects of acid concentration, temperature, and time on recycling of post-vehicle-application lithium-ion batteries of varying chemistries

The recycling of lithium-ion batteries

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