Battery Recycling System Research Articles

(Invited) Working Towards a Cost-effective Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Process

Lithium-ion batteries in electric and hybrid-electric vehicles are just now starting to reach their end-of-life. There are several options to address these end-of-life batteries, landfilling or recycling. Recycling is a desirable option because of the benefits it can bring, including reductions in life-cycle costs, reduced energy usage, lower environmental impacts, and decreased dependence on scarce or imported materials. The options available now for recycling of lithium-ion batteries are not optimal, so research and development (R&D) is needed to make economic processes available for use by the time large volumes of batteries from electric vehicles and other uses go out of service. By then these battery materials could be 20 year-old formulations with little residual value from its structure or contained elements. In particular, cathode formulations are evolving towards varied morphologies, emphasizing formulations that contain reduced quantities of cobalt (the valuable element sought in most current recycling operations), reducing the incentive for recycling with standard pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical methods. Several key questions must be addressed by R&D. Most of these focus on the cathode, which is the most valuable form of material that can be recovered. How can the cathode get separated from the other cell components? Can they be recovered? How can optimum cathode function get restored? Can we separate one cathode type from another? Can we modify the cathode composition or morphology to update it for reuse? This presentation will provide a summary of Argonne’s work to create a feasible battery recycling system.

(Invited) Working toward a Cost-effective Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Process

End-of-life lithium-ion batteries in electric and hybrid-electric vehicles are just now starting to reach their end-of-life. The recycling infrastructure that these batteries are expected to go through will likely result as a cost to the end user. Argonne National Laboratory is working to develop, scale-up, and demonstrate, recycle processes that reduce cost and increase revenue to improve the economics of responsible end-of-life lithium-ion battery management even as the use of cobalt is reduced in batteries. Four focus areas are targeted: direct cathode recycling, recovery of other materials, design for recycle, and advanced characterization. This presentation will provide a summary of Argonne’s work to create a profitable battery recycling system.

Enhanced recycling network for spent e-bicycle batteries: A case study in Xuzhou, China

Electric bicycles (e-bicycles) are a primary means of commuting in China because of their light weight, speed, and low maintenance costs. Owing to short service life and environmental pollution hazards, recycling and reuse of e-bicycle batteries has always been a focus of industry and academia. As a typical case of both production and use of large electric bicycles, 113 major sellers, 378 corporate and individual buyers, 147 large e-bicycle repair centers, and 1317 e-bicycle owners in Xuzhou City were investigated in order to understand the sales, use, recycling, and disposal of spent e-bicycle batteries. The findings show that the existing distempered recycling system is the main limitation of spent battery recovery, and the actual recovery rate of spent batteries is lower than the estimated output (QW) for the years 2011–2014. Electric bicycle sellers play a fundamental role in the collection of spent batteries in Xuzhou, accounting for 42.3±8.3% of all batteries recovered. The widespread use of lithium batteries in recent years has resulted in a reduction in spent battery recycling because of lower battery prices. Furthermore, consumer preferences are another important factor affecting the actual recovery rate according to survey results evaluated using canonical correspondence analysis. In this paper, we suggest that a reverse logistics network system for spent battery recycling should be established in the future; in addition, enhancing producer responsibility, increasing publicity, raising of public awareness, developing green public transport, and reducing dependence on e-bicycles also should be pursued. This study seeks to provide guidance for planning construction and management policies for an effective spent battery recycling system in China and other developing countries.

Estimation of Waste Battery Generation and Analysis of the Waste Battery Recycling System in China

SummaryChina produces and consumes a large amount of batteries annually, which leads to many waste batteries needing to be recycled. The collection and recycling system of primary, alkaline secondary, and lithium‐ion secondary batteries in China is particularly poor, and waste battery recycling enterprises generally sustain economic losses if they solely use waste batteries as raw materials. Increasing the profits of waste battery recycling systems is a key problem that needs to be considered. This article quantitatively analyzes waste battery generation in China by using annual sales data and probable lifetime distribution of various batteries. The results show that the rapid growth of battery usage has led to an increased generation of waste batteries and the percentage of different types of waste batteries is changing over time. In 2013, the total quantity of all waste batteries in the medium lifetime scenario reached 570 kilotons, of which primary, alkaline secondary, and lithium‐ion secondary waste batteries accounted for approximately 36%, 28%, and 35%, respectively. Based on a real‐world case study of a typical domestic waste battery recycling enterprise in China, material flow analysis and cost‐benefit analysis were conducted to study the development of the recycling process of comingled waste batteries. Through scenario analysis, we conclude that increasing the use of waste batteries as raw materials and the recycling of other materials that are less valuable reduces the profits of the waste battery recycling enterprise. Higher profits can be achieved by adding the production of high value‐added downstream products and government support. At the same time, the essential role of the government in developing a waste battery recycling system was identified. Finally, relevant suggestions are made for improvements in both the government and enterprise sectors.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basic Principles and Recent Advances

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a pragmatic, action-oriented treatment approach that has become a widely used psychotherapy for major mental disorders. CBT methods were initially developed for depression and anxiety disorders (1–3), and later they were modified for many other conditions, including personality disorders, eating disorders, and substance abuse; they have also been adapted for use as an adjunct to medication in the management of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (3, 4–7). This article delineates the core principles of CBT, describes procedures used in clinical practice, and notes some of the recent advances that have been made in this treatment method. The extensive research supporting the efficacy of CBT is briefly reviewed.

전과정평가 기법을 이용한 폐리튬이온전지 재활용 공정에 대한 환경성 평가

This study intended to identify the environmental aspects associated with the lithium ion battery recycling system. The potential environmental impacts were evaluated by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. The leaching test of heavy metals was conducted for tracking their long-term effects on the environment after recycling process. The recycling system was a level of pilot plant scale. Hence, it was expected to perform more positive consequence which was ultimately reduced environmental burdens due to the recycling system if the system optimized as a Cu and Al separated, feasibly.