Researchers at Institute of Process Engineering in Chinese Academy of Sciences, were concerned about slow progress with recycling lithium-ion batteries. Their new combo strategy recycles these batteries in three ways, so they extract the maximum benefit from used lithium metal.
Three Combo Ways to Recycle Lithium Metal
The three-in-one strategy is remarkably inventive as we explain in this summary:
- The scientists extracted 95% of the lithium metal after grinding the batteries at high temperature.
- Then they trapped the carbon dioxide for re-use in further applications, and to avoid pollution.
- Finally, they transformed the remaining metals into high-performing catalysts for green hydrogen fuel.
However, this was only possible thanks to the combined mechano-chemical process the scientists followed. This process separated out the lithium, and the transitional metals able to conduct electricity.
Having removed the lithium, the scientists recovered 95% of the carbon dioxide they used to leach out the metal. With that behind them, they processed the remaining transition metals into stable, sustainable energy conversion catalysts.
This combo approach recycled lithium-ion batteries effectively, as explained above. However, it was even more powerful when applied to nickel. With that behind us, let’s pause to think about the broader implications of what the Chinese scientists achieved.
We Need New Ways to Reprocess Lithium
There’s a growing mountain of spent lithium-ion batteries from electric cars, laptops, smartphones, vapes and much more. As we write, we are still not recycling these batteries effectively as a community.
Lithium-ion’s ability to leach toxic metals that can harm us, and catch fire and explode without warning, complicate their reprocessing. Indeed, it is difficult to do so safely, in a cost-effective, business-like way.
And all the time, to complicate things further, giant lithium-ion battery mega factories keep churning vast quantities of the product. We are caught in a paradigm of ‘dare we do, and dare we do not’.
Battery scientists around the world are exploring alternative battery chemistry, and searching for ways to recycle spent batteries. We encourage them to continue with their work. We can’t imagine a world without batteries!
More Information
Tracking EV Batteries for Recycling
Thermally Engineering Battery Recycling
Preview Image: Used Batteries Piling Up
