Abstract
Lithium ion battery (LIB) waste is increasing globally and contains an abundance of valuable metals that can be recovered for re-use. This study aimed to evaluate the recovery of metals from LIB waste leachate using hydrogen sulfide generated by a consortium of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in a lactate-fed fluidised bed reactor (FBR). The microbial community analysis showed Desulfovibrio as the most abundant genus in a dynamic and diverse bioreactor consortium. During periods of biogenic hydrogen sulfide production, the average dissolved sulfide concentration was 507 mg L−1 and the average volumetric sulfate reduction rate was 278 mg L−1 d−1. Over 99% precipitation efficiency was achieved for Al, Ni, Co, and Cu using biogenic sulfide and NaOH, accounting for 96% of the metal value contained in the LIB waste leachate. The purity indices of the precipitates were highest for Co, being above 0.7 for the precipitate at pH 10. However, the process was not selective for individual metals due to simultaneous precipitation and the complexity of the metal content of the LIB waste. Overall, the process facilitated the production of high value mixed metal precipitates, which could be purified further or used as feedstock for other processes, such as the production of steel.
Highlights
There has been an exponential growth in lithium ion battery (LIB) consumption, with production expected to increase 520% from 2016 to 2020 [1]
The H2 S produced in the sulfidogenic bioreactor was used to precipitate and recover metals from
The results suggested that the biogenic sulfide precipitation of metals from LIB waste leachate was not truly selective, as multiple metals were precipitated from solution at all pH values tested (Figure 6)
Summary
There has been an exponential growth in lithium ion battery (LIB) consumption, with production expected to increase 520% from 2016 to 2020 [1]. LIBs have become an ideal energy storage component for portable devices and electric vehicles (EVs) due to their high energy density and lightweight nature and are expected to dominate the battery market for the 20 years [2]. Crude recycling and disposal practices of electronic waste (e-waste; such as LIBs) often result in the production of toxic substances (e.g., dioxins) and the leaching of toxic heavy metals into the environment [3,4,5]. There are only a few commercial operations capable of recovering metals from LIB waste, largely located in Asia and Europe [6]. Considering the abundance of valuable metals LIBs contain (Table 1) [7], as well as the potentially damaging impact of LIB waste if disposed to the environment, recovering metals from LIB waste is both environmentally and economically attractive
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