The growing use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has increased the demand for the elements required for production, such as lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel. Furthermore, LIBs that are improperly stored or disposed of in landfills can be harmful to the environment. These factors have lead to the demand for methods that can safely and efficiently recycle used LIBs to recover the essential components. The current approaches to recycling LIBs include pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical, and biohydrometallurgical methods, and are generally comprised of the following steps:
1 - Physical processing (discharge, disassembly, and electrode separation for the battery)
2 - Mechanical processing (shredding, crushing, grinding, and sieving)
3 - Chemical conversion (smelting, leaching, or dissolution)
4 - Separation and purification (precipitation, electrolysis, etc.)
As a result of these four separate steps, the conventional methods listed can emit hazardous wastes, require high energy consumption, or have long processing times. To overcome these drawbacks, Iowa State University researchers and their colleagues at the Ames Laboratory have developed a method that combines the first three steps into one mechanochemical process, which increases energy efficiency and decreases the waste produced. Additionally, this method also reduces operating costs and maintains high conversion rates.
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