There’s a persistent contra movement to electric cars. It says we should not have them until we sort out the battery recycling problem. This is because we might otherwise run out of the lithium and cobalt minerals. Of course, we already know this is fake news. Despite this we are always pleased to receive fresh news debunking these lithium recycling myths.
How Duesenfeld is Busting Lithium Recycling Myths
There’s a company named Duesenfeld based in Wendeburg, Germany that Electrive.com says has cracked the code. However, it does not use thermal decomposition at 450 degrees to burst open the cells and burn the electrolyte
Duesenfeld shuns the idea because separating the remaining materials is tricky. Instead, it dispels persistent lithium recycling myths by shredding the batteries. “We work with mechanics instead of temperature and crush the entire module in an inert atmosphere,” Duesenfeld told Electrive. We understand there is nitrogen inside the shredder “preventing further chemical reactions”.
How the Lithium Battery Decomposition Proceeds
The pressure in the shredder reduces after crushing, and the liquid electrolyte evaporates. This then re-condenses and flows into a recovery container. At the end of this phase the battery module and lithium-ion cells are “dry and uncritical”.
Skilled operators are then able to safely separate the remaining mixture using a combination of magnets and air. This produces separated foil, ferrous metals, and non-ferrous alloys, powders and residues. Duesenfeld plans to reprocess these “into lithium carbonate and sulfates of nickel, manganese and cobalt by a hydro-metallurgical process”
These are still early days of course. Those lithium recycling myths will be alive and well until we see hard evidence of success in the commercial marketplace. However, Duesenfeld did let slip a “large international name” wants it to dismantle “ten tons of batteries as a test”.
Related
Recycling Lithium Batteries is Taking Off
Recycling Lithium Batteries: Current Way
Preview Image: Recycling High Value Lithium
