Recycling spent ternary lithium-ion batteries for modification of dolomite used in catalytic biomass pyrolysis – A preliminary study by thermogravimetric and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis

Abstract

This paper proposed a novel method for modification of dolomite (Do) using the leaching solution derived from the spent ternary LIBs. During catalytic pyrolysis of biomass, the modified Do showed a good performance on both reducing the activation energy and upgrading the volatile products. The apparent activation energy was decreased from 201 to 180 kJ/mol for the cellulose pyrolysis, and it was decreased from 80 to 75 kJ/mol for the lignin pyrolysis. The cellulose pyrolysis with the modified Do could significantly promote the conversion of anhydrosugars into small-molecule components (e.g., ketones). Meanwhile, the Do modified by transition-metal (e.g., Mn, Co, Ni) oxides had a high catalytic activity in cracking phenols (main tar precursors) to hydrocarbons (e.g., aromatics) during the lignin pyrolysis. The modified Do inhibited the production of phenols (from 50% to 5.8%) and enhanced the production of hydrocarbons (from 0.6% to 30.3%).