Effective process to metals recovery from lithium-ion batteries

LORENA ALCARAZ ROMO; YARIVITH CAROLINA GONZALEZ PEÑA; LUCÍA I. BARBOSA; JORGE ALBERTO GONZÁLEZ

Washington D.C.

Conferencia; 2nd Online International Conference on Recycling and Waste Management; 2021

Herald Meetings

Background: Due to the increasing development of society, the use of different types of batteries has considerably increased. Among them, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used. A great amount of waste is generated when the end of the useful life of the LIBs is achieved that it must be properly treated. According to global market projections, the demand for lithium ion batteries will increase to 660 GWh by 2023, 1100 GWh by 2028 and reaching 4000 GWh by 2040, the collectionrate of exhausted LIBs by 2016 was 45% [1]. Based on these data, the number of spent lithium-ion batteries will increase significantly by 2040. An attractive alternative is the recovery of the different materials that LIBs are formed, which can be recycling even re-use later. An effective process for separation and recovery of the materials that LIBs are formed is of great interest to the scientific community.Objective: Metals recovery from spent LIBs was assessed using a pyrometallurgical process by a carbochlorination with subsequent thermal treatment.Methods: Two types of samples were used for the experimental tests: a mobile phone cathode and an electric vehicle cathode, specifically the Fiat 500 model. Structural and morphological characterization of the initial and final materials was evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Metals concentrations in the solutions were analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS).Results: After low-temperature thermal treatment using CaCl2 as a chlorinating agent, lithium is effectively separated in the liquid phase by the corresponding leaching process. AAS measurements exhibit that the lithium recovery is quantitative. XRD results of the residue exhibit several diffraction maxima that can be indexed according to the different metal oxides.These results indicate that the initial structure was not detected. The rest of the metals will be separates magnetically after subsequent thermal treatment.Conclusion: An effective process to the metals recovery of different spent batteries is described. The methodology investigated reveals that it is possible to effectively separate and recover the different metals from different LIBs leading to materials for new batteries generation and promoting the circular economy and sustainable development goals.[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2006/66/oj