Interrelationships between Pre-processing and Subsequent Procedures in the Recycling of Spent Lithium-ion Batteries

Abstract

The recycling of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is currently an important topic in the fields of research and industry. New developments for the recovery of valuable metals from spent LIBs show a clear trend towards hydrometallurgical concepts. In this context, pre-treatment in particular plays an essential role. If organic compounds remain in the material or if the cathode and anode materials are insufficiently separated from the conductor foils, this can lead to massive process complications in the subsequent hydrometallurgical processes. The chair of Non-ferrous Metallurgy is developing and testing the adaptation and improvement of the recycling possibilities of used lithium-ion batteries for subsequent hydrometallurgical processing. Particular attention is paid to the use of synergy effects and the interaction of treatment and metallurgical processes as this combination is the only way to find an efficient and economical way to recover valuable metals. For this purpose, the comparison of different aggregates for the optimal preparation of the active material from spent lithium-ion batteries for subsequent further processing is carried out. By improving the overall processes, the recovery rates for the valuable metals contained, such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium, can be significantly increased, the metallurgical processes be optimised and the raw material cycle be closed. This is a significant contribution to environmental and climate protection, especially in view of the criticality of the elements mentioned. Due to the demand for a holistic solution for the long-term supply of the European Union with critical raw materials through recycling, a significant optimisation in the field of recovering valuable metals from used lithium-ion batteries can be realised.