Comparative environmental impacts of different hydrometallurgical recycling and remanufacturing technologies of lithium-ion batteries considering multi-recycling-approach and temporal-geographical scenarios in China

Abstract

Although recycling retired lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) can alleviate global warming and the energy crisis, the environmental impacts of different recycling routes require further assessment. The multiple environmental indicators, such as carbon footprint and cumulative energy consumption for three hydrometallurgical recycling and remanufacturing routes of LIBs in China are quantified and compared using life cycle assessment methods. Then, the potential of reducing environmental impacts by battery remanufacturing with recycled materials is assessed. Moreover, the sensitivity of battery recycling and remanufacturing to temporal and geographical variations in electricity generation is determined. Results reveal that: (1) Differences in chemical reagents, energy consumption, and processes lead to differences in environmental indicators of battery recycling, with a gap of up to 29.3 kg CO2 eq./kWh in carbon footprint. (2) Due to avoiding raw material mining and processing, battery manufacturing with recycled materials can reduce the endpoint environmental categories by more than 18.4% compared to that with raw materials. (3) The environmental impacts of LIBs remanufacturing through a multi-recycling-approach will gradually decrease and reach to a constant, with the lowest carbon footprint of this route being only 61.1 kg CO2 eq./kWh. (4) The carbon footprint of LIBs manufacturing in China in 2050 can be more than 37.5% lower than that in 2021. Battery recycling and decarbonization of energy systems can reduce environmental impacts and contribute to the sustainable development of the transportation industry.