Climate change is upon us because we have been careless about our resources as a species. Renewable energy and closed cycle economies are part of the solution. However, we have to be consistently true to our values. We try our best to be open and honest about our own products. But we also need answers to the big unanswered question about lithium.
The Recycling Enigma of the Lithium Battery Industry
Lead acid battery design is convenient and easy to recycle. That’s why reprocessing plants dismantle 99% of these energy packs globally, and recover their contents. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same thing for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, or on grid-scale storage sites.
The average successful lithium-ion battery recycling rate could be as low as 5% globally. One major reason is recyclers can’t shred the contents as they do with lead batteries, because of the possibility of fire and explosions. The second major reason brings us closer to resolving the big unanswered question about lithium.
Lithium-ion battery cells must be dismantled into their component parts before safe shredding becomes possible. And even then, the result is not easy to purify according to BBC correspondent Allison Hirschlag. Lead acid battery recycling is economically feasible. Lithium-ion battery recycling is mostly not when we take a narrow view.
What’s Next Now We Answered the Big Question About Lithium
Well first of all we need to stop mining lithium to the greatest extent possible. That’s because it takes 500,000 gallons of water to mine one ton of lithium, and this denudes vegetation. If we truly costed the environmental damage, we might find recycling lithium is not as expensive as at first sight.
We also need more technically-effective ways to decompose lithium batteries into their constituent elements. Lithium is not a naturally renewable material. We can’t keep plundering it until we run out. We need action!
Breaking News
The Future Life of Our Lead Acid Batteries
How All Batteries Work 1: In the Beginning
Preview Image: Small Lithium-Ion Cells
