Battery Recycling

How impactful is battery recycling? This infographic provides an overview of the techniques used in recycling spent LIBs, as well as the motivations behind battery recycling. In 2019, John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in recognition of their research efforts leading to the development of today’s lithium-ion battery (LIB). The LIB has revolutionized the modern world, powering all manner of smart technologies and consumer products while also playing a key role in the transition toward green energy. However, the rapid adoption of batteries has also resulted in large quantities of spent batteries that must be appropriately dealt with. The high energy and power density offered by LIBs makes them ideal for use in a wide range of applications, from personal electronics to the automotive and energy sectors. There are three main methods for conventional battery recycling. To achieve this high performance, LIBs rely on elements such as lithium, manganese, cobalt and nickel. However, deposits of these metals are found unevenly across the globe and their mining has become the subject of environmental and political concern. Despite the scarcity of these critical minerals, most mass-produced batteries are disposed of in landfills with only a handful of countries able to offer suitable recycling facilities. This kind of disposal presents a severe environmental hazard, as heavy metals from the spent batteries can leach into surrounding soils and water streams. To get the most value out of LIBs, the ideal solution would be to repurpose or remanufacture them. Where this is impossible – re-use requires batteries to meet stringent quality requirements – recycling allows for valuable materials to be returned back into the value chain, encouraging a circular battery economy and reducing waste. Most to least environmentally desirable options (adapted from Dobó 2023) Hydrometallurgy is a low-temperature process that uses acid or alkaline leaching in combination with metal separation and purification steps (solvent extraction, chemical precipitation, electrochemical deposition) to recover metal compounds from spent batteries. It is widely used by major recycling companies in China. In hydrometallurgy, waste batteries are first preprocessed using mechanical methods such as shredding or crushing to separate and recover “black mass” – the active electrode material that contains critical elements such as cobalt, nickel, manganese and lithium. This black mass is then dissolved in an acidic or alkaline solution, with selective precipitations and solvent extraction being employed to liberate the valuable metals from the rest of the black mass, allowing them to be recovered. In pyrometallurgy, valuable metals are extracted from recycled LIBs using hightemperature thermal treatments, such as incineration, roasting, sintering and smelting. It is considered the most established battery recycling route and has been widely adopted in Europe, the United States and Japan. During pyrometallurgy, battery scraps are loaded into a furnace and heated through three different temperature zones. Direct recycling is an emerging battery recycling method that employs electrochemical and physicochemical treatments to restore the damaged structure of spent cathode materials, regenerating them so that they can be re-utilized as new cathodes or as precursors for preparing new electrodes. Compared to pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, direct recycling requires fewer steps and can be a more environmentally friendly option. However, this process has yet to reach commercial scale, in part due to concerns over its high reliance on manual labor and concerns that regenerated battery materials may not perform as well as virgin materials. The management hierarchy of spent LIBs Electric vehicles Why is battery recycling needed? How does battery recycling work? Personal electronics Medical devices Renewable energy storage In the context of battery waste, “prevention” refers to designing batteries that are lighter/smaller or that use less-critical materials to prevent as much generation of waste as possible. Prevention New Battery PREPROCESSING Dismantling, Crushing, Sieving PREPROCESSING (OPTIONAL) Dismantling, Crushing, Sieving PREPROCESSING Dismantling, Crushing, Sieving LEACHING SMELTING SEPARATION Ion exchange, solvent extraction, chemical precipitation, electrolysis HYDROMETALLURGY CATHODE PRODUCTION CATHODE PRODUCTION CATHODE REGENERATION Degradation analysis, relithiation, solid-state sintering GRAPHITE REGENERATION Degradation analysis, relithiation, solid-state sintering When a battery reaches the end of its life in its primary function, it may be possible to still use this battery in a secondary function. For example, a heavy-duty drone battery could be repurposed as a backup power bank. Re-use In battery recycling, new LIBs are made using materials recycled from retired LIBs at the end of their lifecycle. This reduces the consumption of virgin materials. Nickel, cobalt, aluminum, copper and steel are commonly recycled. Recycling Other less-critical materials from a battery may also be recovered following disassembly for future purposes. For example, in some cases, the polymers and electrolyte recovered from a spent battery may be pyrolyzed during recycling to supply energy for desirable metals recovery. Recovery Bypassing all attempts at recovering any value from the spent battery, Disposal it is sent directly to landfill or to an incinerator for disposal. ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ Hydrometallurgy Pyrometallurgy Direct recycling Pros Pros Pros Cons Cons Cons  High purity and recovery rate of metals (including lithium)  Lower energy consumption  Lower greenhouse gas emissions  Commercial-scale recycling  Short process flow  Flexible input materials  Low cost  Reduced pollution  Products can be directly used as cathode materials  Requires presorting and pretreatment of waste batteries  Environmental impact of extensive chemical use  Lower recycling capacity  Poor recovery of lithium and aluminum  High energy consumption  Prone to generating harmful emissions (greenhouse gases, toxic organic compounds)  Requires extensive pre-sorting/separation  Requires increased manual labor  Still at lab scale, non-commercial) Hydrometallurgy Pyrometallurgy Direct Recycling Batteries are preheated to minimize the risk of explosion during the recycling process Temperatures reach up to 700 °C as the electrolyte, separator and other organic components are volatilized The temperature is raised again to smelt and reduce the remaining metals, resulting in a metal alloy that can be further refined and slag. Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 The explosion in battery-powered devices and systems in recent decades has led to mounting quantities of spent LIBs that must be dealt with in some fashion. The improper handling of batteries can have significant adverse effects on human beings and the wider environment, as toxic pollutants may leach from the batteries and begin to threaten surrounding ecosystems. Battery recycling can help to divert battery waste away from landfills and into recycling centers, where these elements can be reclaimed or disposed of appropriately. The recovery of critical elements from spent batteries also reduces the need for new lithium, cobalt or nickel mines, further reducing the environmental impact of the battery industry. Exposure to high concentrations of copper can lead to cardiovascular, immune system and nervous system problems Cu Li Ni C Co High concentrations of lithium are toxic to human cardiomyocytes, which can impact fetal development. Chronic exposure to nickel contamination can lead to cardiovascular and kidney diseases, lung fibrosis and cancer. Spent graphite battery anodes are classed as hazardous waste due to their high volume of heavy metals, binders and toxic/flammable electrolytes. Cobaltcontaining battery components have been linked to lung inflammation 29 Copper 63.546 Lithium 6.941 Nickel 58.6934 Carbon 12.011 Cobalt 58.9332 3 28 6 27