Abstract
As demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) continues to grow rapidly, the handling of spent LIBs remains a significant challenge for environmental regulators, engineers, and scientists. To achieve a sustainable supply chain and adhere to circular economy principles, valuable metals in spent LIBs-primarily lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese-must be recovered and reused. Conventional LIB recovery methods, such as pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and biohydrometallurgy, have considerable drawbacks, including high energy consumption, the use of corrosive and toxic chemicals, and a low lithium recovery rate. We present an innovative process to recover lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese from spent LIBs with high purity (> 99%) while maintaining a low energy footprint and using mild organic solvents. This process employs a sequential and selective application of organic aqueous phase ligands to complex the metals in the spent LIB. The aqueous complex is then passed through a fixed bed of metal-selective ion exchange resins. The metal-ligand complex is cleaved, making the organic acid ligand available for the next recovery cycle. The exhausted ion-exchanger bed is regenerated with a suitable solution to yield a metal- rich aqueous solution, from which pure solutions of lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel are obtained. The ion exchanger bed can be reused across multiple cycles, enabling a nearly zero-waste, sustainable process.
Citation: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Environmental Sustainability Through Waste and Recycling. USG Proc J 1(Suppl 2): S29-S51.
