Researches on the recovery of useful metals from spent Li-Ion batteries

Abstract

The present and future importance of Li-Ion batteries is immeasurable; this is evidenced by the awarding of the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2019, to the team of John Goodenough - director, M Stanley Whittingham and Akita Yashino, who developed the technology to make this type of rechargeable battery. Used at the beginning (1990-2000) in applications such as portable electronic equipments (mobile phones, laptops, electric tools, energy storage systems, etc.), these batteries are considered the most suitable battery for powering electric vehicles. Today the number of electric cars in the world has exceeded 4 million units and the future estimates are among the most optimistic. Recycling of Li-Ion batteries is mainly done in China and South Korea, countries that have a large share in their production, but things can change. Intense research for the recovery and reuse of useful metals contained in these batteries is carried out in many research laboratories. The paper presents the current state of the research undertaken for the recovery of the cathodic paste with high content of Cobalt of waste LIBs, by ultrasonography in lactic acid solution. The hydrometallurgical method uses a non-polluting organic (lactic) acid. The working technique, the results obtained and the investigations carried out on the recovered materials are presented (analysis of optical and electron microscopy, EDX, X-ray diffraction). The paper also includes data regarding the optimization of the separation process of the active cathode paste from the aluminium foil using the orthogonal central-compositional programming of the second order.