Featured publication in Advanced Energy Materials: Breakthrough on Efficient, Low-Cost Li-ion Battery Recycling
How cost-effective and scalable approaches enable separation and direct cathode recovery from end-of-life Li-ion batteries.
Researchers are comparing Argonne’s new battery recycling process with traditional recycling methods to demonstrate its commercialization potential with profitable recycling even for lower-value cathode materials.
Scientific Achievement
Argonne’s cost-effective and scalable recycling process has been developed to efficiently recover high-purity cathode material and electrolyte from used Li-ion batteries, requiring minimal processing.
Economic Impact
This innovation supports a robust domestic battery supply chain by significantly reducing costs and cutting emissions by more than half.
Why It Matters
The process employs mechanical separation to detach cathode and anode active materials from their current collectors. By incorporating shredding and sorting as initial steps, it streamlines the separation of materials into cathode, anode, electrolyte, aluminum, copper, separator, and other components. This approach allows for the direct reuse of recovered cathode material, minimizing the waste of valuable resources.
Abstract
Li-ion battery recycling presents a promising opportunity to decrease dependence on foreign sources of materials and harvest precious materials within the United States.
Herein, a superior complete direct recycling process on individual end-of-life cells is reported where the recovered high-purity cathode active material, as well as electrolyte salt Li hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) can be reused without significant processing.
This new process utilizes a series of mechanical separation steps that enable the separation of the cathode and anode active materials while they are still attached to their current collectors. Using this type of process can significantly reduce metal contamination and enable a clean cathode that can be directly recycled.
The process if implemented commercially can greatly reduce the environmental burden of batteries as the greenhouse gas emissions of 8.25 kg CO2e kg−1 from the direct recycling process are 64% lower compared to those from virgin production of cathode material.
During electrochemical testing of the recovered LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 a discharge capacity of ≈160 mAh g−1 and good cyclability of over 250 cycles at 0.33C are achieved.
This success paves a new pathway to explore and optimize existing Li-ion battery recycling procedures.