Precipitation of manganese by ozone from hydrometallurgical recycling process of lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

The increasing demand for clean transportation facilities has significantly contributed to the rise in electric vehicle sales. However, it needs the development of effective strategies for battery disposal. Regarding the circular economy, the recovery of materials from these batteries is crucial for the supply chain. The current purification methods for manganese separation from lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) battery recycling present some limitations and low selectivity. In this work, a novel approach for manganese recovery from leach solution of NMC battery recycling is presented. The use of ozone permits the recovery of manganese without adding any other element to the system. With the right conditions, settled through simulations, the ozonation technique has proven to be highly effective, enabling the recovery of 100% with manganese 97.6% purity. Optimal conditions for this process were determined, as reaction time of 405 min, oxygen flow rate 1 L/min, and 8.9 g of ozone to oxidize 3.6 g of Mn.