In an ideal circular economy, each of us would be responsible for recycling what we use. Alas, too many still dump their garbage on a street corner, or leave it to their local council to sort out. That’s why we were pleased to hear that a major German manufacturer has commissioned a closed-loop recycling project. When Mercedes launches a hydrometallurgy plant like this, you can be sure others will follow.
Integrated Mechanical-Hydrometallurgical Plant at Mercedes
Business news reports that the German auto maker will operate the plant at Kuppenheim, under license from Neometals and their joint venture partner SMS Group. This will enable Mercedes to harvest end-of-life batteries from the electric vehicles it manufactures and sells.
This initiative will enable the famous brand to ‘close the battery recycling loop’, according to their press release we link to below. And as we might expect of the German company, the process will be highly efficient. When Mercedes launches a hydrometallurgy plant like this, we can anticipate the following:
- Recovery of scarce valuable materials including cobalt, lithium, manganese, and nickel.
- Anticipated recovery rate of over 96% using a method that makes reuse practical.
A two step battery recycling process will enable the auto maker to achieve these goals. The first stage will involve mechanically shredding the old batteries. The ‘black mass’ will then enter a hydrometallurgical plant, which will recover the cobalt, lithium, manganese, and nickel for re-use.
How the Mercedes Process Will Extract These Metals
Hydrometallurgy uses water-based solutions to recover metals from crude ores, concentrates, residues, and spent batteries too. This is typically a three-stage process, involving:
- Dissolving the metal or metal compound in a water solution, often with added agents.
- Separating out the waste, and purifying the remaining water-based solution.
- Precipitating the metal from the purified solution by chemical or electrolytic means.
The Mercedes-Benz application is less energy-intense than the alternative pyrometallurgical approach. The 33,000-square-foot plant has a 350 kilowatt solar installation on the roof, and aims to be net carbon neutral from the outset.
More Information
Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Update
Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteries With CO2
