Direct Recycling of Blended Cathode Materials by Froth Flotation

Folayan, Tinu Ololade; Lipson, Albert L.; Durham, Jessica L.; Pinegar, Haruka; Liu, Donghao; Pan, Liyang

doi:10.1002/ente.202100468

Cited by 36 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Froth flotation has also been employed as a direct recycling technique to separate blended cathode materials. Folayan et al. (2021) developed a froth flotation process to separate to separate (LiNi 0.333 Mn 0.333 Co 0.333 O 2 , NMC111) from lithium manganese oxide (LMO) materials.…”

Section: Physical Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of recycling methods and processes for lithium-ion batteries

et al. 2022

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Section: Physical Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of recycling methods and processes for lithium-ion batteries

et al. 2022

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“…The presence of a hydrophobic binder on the cathode further hampers separation efforts [123]. Froth flotation is also relevant for separation of different pristine cathodic active materials with only a small impact on their electrochemical performance [128], though again the presence of binder would alter the separability of the components. Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separation has shown promise in separation of different active materials from each other [9].…”

Section: Advances In Science and Technology To Meet Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To facilitate separation of cathode materials based on chemistry, technologies are being developed that can achieve pre-sorting (before batteries are shredded) [38] and cathode/cathode separation after shredding based on inherent properties of the cathode materials, such as hydrophobicity and magnetism [128]. Research is also under way to understand what impurities may be present in the recovered cathode material and what effects they may have on the electrochemical performance, stability, and lifetime of the cathode material [227][228][229].…”

Section: Advances In Science and Technology To Meet Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roadmap for a sustainable circular economy in lithium-ion and future battery technologies

et al. 2023

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The market dynamics, and their impact on a future circular economy for lithium-ion batteries (LIB), are presented in this roadmap, with safety as an integral consideration throughout the life cycle. At the point of end-of-life, there is a range of potential options – remanufacturing, reuse and recycling. Diagnostics play a significant role in evaluating the state of health and condition of batteries, and improvements to diagnostic techniques are evaluated. At present, manual disassembly dominates end-of-life disposal, however, given the volumes of future batteries that are to be anticipated, automated approaches to the dismantling of end-of-life battery packs will be key. The first stage in recycling after the removal of the cells is the initial cell-breaking or opening step. Approaches to this are reviewed, contrasting shredding and cell disassembly as two alternative approaches. Design for recycling is one approach that could assist in easier disassembly of cells, and new approaches to cell design that could enable the circular economy of LIBs are reviewed. After disassembly, subsequent separation of the black mass is performed before further concentration of components. There are a plethora of alternative approaches for recovering materials; this roadmap sets out the future directions for a range of approaches including pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, short-loop, direct, and the biological recovery of LIB materials. Furthermore, anode, lithium, electrolyte, binder and plastics recovery are considered in the range of approaches in order to maximise the proportion of materials recovered, minimise waste and point the way towards zero-waste recycling. The life-cycle implications of a circular economy are discussed considering the overall system of LIB recycling, and also directly investigating the different recycling methods. The legal and regulatory perspectives are also considered. Finally, with a view to the future, approaches for next-generation battery chemistries and recycling are evaluated, identifying gaps for research.

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“…Much of prior efforts have been devoted to a development of froth flotation technology for separating anode and cathode materials from LIBs. Froth flotation technology has been investigated in separating powder materials from LIBs. − The basic principle is that anode active materials are hydrophobic while cathode active materials are hydrophilic. Therefore, the two electrode active materials can be separated from each other by the froth flotation process due to the difference in surface hydrophobicity between the two materials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improved Separation between Recycled Anode and Cathode Materials from Li-Ion Batteries Using Coarse Flake Particle Flotation

Folayan

Zhan

Huang

et al. 2023

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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Separation between two recycled electrode active materials from spent Li-ion batteries by a conventional froth flotation method has been challenging due to similarity in their surface hydrophobicity. In this study, a new coarse flake particle flotation technology has been developed to separate the electrode active materials from Li-ion batteries. The new process separates the recycled electrode flake particles effectively at a size range of 212−850 μm by taking advantage of a significant difference in densities between the anode flake materials and cathode flake materials. At a feed size of 212 μm or less, a fraction of recycled cathode particles is floated in the froth layers resulting in a loss of cathode materials in the sink product. At a feed size of 850 μm or above, a small fraction of anode flakes becomes non-floatable, resulting in a decrease in the grade of cathode materials in the sink product. The mechanism has been investigated by induction time measurements, bubble−flake detachment, contact angle measurements, and force analysis. The anode flakes are more hydrophobic than cathode flakes, which is consistent with the result obtained from induction time measurements. A force analysis reveals that the critical size for electrode flake particles being attached to air bubbles varies with advancing contact angle and density. Maintaining a desirable feed size is essential to achieve an optimum separation performance. In this regard, a flotation column is superior to mechanical flotation cells in minimizing size reduction during the flotation process. Lab-scale column flotation trials showed that a good separation between anode and cathode flake particles has been achieved by column flotation with 98−99% purity of cathode flake materials in the sink product at a recovery rate of 96−99%. The present study demonstrates a new process in separating two electrode flake materials from spent Li-ion batteries.

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Direct Recycling of Blended Cathode Materials by Froth Flotation

Cited by 36 publications

References 34 publications

Assessment of recycling methods and processes for lithium-ion batteries

Assessment of recycling methods and processes for lithium-ion batteries

Roadmap for a sustainable circular economy in lithium-ion and future battery technologies

Improved Separation between Recycled Anode and Cathode Materials from Li-Ion Batteries Using Coarse Flake Particle Flotation

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