Abstract
The growing demand for lithium-ion batteries will result in an increasing flow of spent batteries, which must be recycled to prevent environmental and health problems, while helping to mitigate the raw materials dependence and risks of shortage and promoting a circular economy. Combining pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical recycling approaches has been the focus of recent studies, since it can bring many advantages. In this work, the effects of incineration on the leaching efficiency of metals from EV LIBs were evaluated. The thermal process was applied as a pre-treatment for the electrode material, aiming for carbothermic reduction of the valuable metals by the graphite contained in the waste. Leaching efficiencies above 70% were obtained for Li, Mn, Ni and Co after 60 min of leaching even when using 0.5 M sulfuric acid, which can be linked to the formation of more easily leachable compounds during the incineration process. When the incineration temperature was increased (600–700 °C), the intensity of graphite signals decreased and other oxides were identified, possibly due to the increase in oxidative conditions. Higher leaching efficiencies of Mn, Ni, Co, and Li were reached at lower temperatures of incineration (400–500 °C) and at higher leaching times, which could be related to the partial carbothermic reduction of the metals.
Highlights
In 1991, Sony Corporation commercialized the first lithium-ion battery (Ozawa, 1994), employing a lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) and a non-graphitic carbon as cathode and anode, to power small portable devices (Julien et al, 2016)
Lithium-ion batteries (NMC chemistry) were kindly provided by Volvo Car Corporation without charge. They were manually dismantled, their plastic cover was removed, the electrolyte was evaporated in a fume hood and the electrode layers were separated
Incineration was tested as a thermal pre-treatment of the electrode material of LIBs, which can promote a carbothermic reduction of the metals, affecting their leaching efficiency – leaching efficiencies above 70% for Li, Mn, Ni and Co, were achieved even when using low concentrations of sulfuric acid (0.5 M)
Summary
In 1991, Sony Corporation commercialized the first lithium-ion battery (Ozawa, 1994), employing a lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) and a non-graphitic carbon (lithiated coke LiC6) as cathode and anode, to power small portable devices (Julien et al, 2016). LIBs (lithium-ion batteries) are the technology of choice to power portable electronic devices and are the most promising option to power electric vehicles (EV) and energy storage systems, due to characteristics including small volume, lightweight, high battery voltage, high energy density, long chargingdischarging cycle, large temperature range and no memory effect (Scrosati et al, 2011; Zhang et al, 2013; Nishi, 2001; Kim et al, 2012). Some of the LIBs materials are considered critical due to their increasing economic importance and their risk of shortage, since they are concentrated in a few countries and their supply can face geopolitical risks
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