Fruit peel waste is a major environmental issue, with the world generating millions of tons annually. This can represent up to 35% of the raw product, but that usually takes us beyond the world of batteries. However, today the topics cross over with an exciting announcement about recycling lithium ion batteries with fruit peels.
Fruit Peelings Recycling Lithium Ion Batteries
A research team at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore knew that less than 5% of spent lithium-ion batteries recycle globally. So they harnessed the resources of a local recovery plant, to trial recycling lithium ion batteries with fruit peels.
However, we are running ahead ourselves, because the Nanyang Technological University research goes back a way in time. That was as far back as 2020, when they used orange-peel waste to extract 90% of precious metals from lithium-ion batteries.
But they did not invent entirely new technology to achieve this. They simply used the orange juice, instead of conventional chemicals and acids common in hydro-metallurgy. We’ll pause for a moment to describe this method.
Recycling Lithium Ion Metals Using Hydro-Metallurgy
Hydro-metallurgy is an established procedure for recycling lithium ion batteries, and other products to recover their metals. This method traditionally uses strong inorganic / organic acids, or caustic watery solutions to selectively dissolve and precipitate these.
However, many of those active chemicals may come at a high financial and environmental cost. We choose to publicize this work by Nanyang Technological University, because fruit peelings do not harm the environment, and are abundantly available.
Where To From Here With This Initiative?
We are delighted to confirm that this is no dry academic research project that may, or may not go anywhere. The pilot recycling plant in Singapore has been up and running for several months already.
The Nanyang Technological University media release (see link below) confirms the plant has capacity for 2,000 liters of spent shredded battery, mixed with fruit peel-derived solvents. This may be a drop in the ocean, but it sure is a juicy start!
More Information
Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Update
Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling Technology
