Application of spouted bed elutriation in the recycling of lithium ion batteries

Abstract The growing environmental concern, associated with the continuous increase in electronic equipment production, has induced the development of new technologies to recycle the large number of spent batteries generated in recent years. The amount of spent lithium–ion batteries (LIBs) tends to grow over the next years. These batteries are composed by valuable metals, such as Li, Co, Cu and Al, which can be recovered. Thus, the present work is carried out in two main steps: In the first step, a characterization of the LIBs is performed. Batteries from different brands and models are dismantled and their components characterized regarding to the chemical composition and main phases. In the second step, a sample of LIBs is shredded and the different materials present are separated by spouted bed elutriation. The results show that spouted bed elutriation is a simple and inexpensive way to obtain the separation of the different materials (polymers, metals, active electrode materials) present in spent LIBs.

[1]  Jiun-Hung Yu,et al.  On-line full scan inspection of particle size and shape using digital image processing , 2010 .

[2]  A. Lumin Chen,et al.  Image analysis algorithm and verification for on-line molecular sieve size and shape inspection , 2014 .

[3]  N. Mohsenin.  Physical properties of plant and animal materials , 1970 .

[4]  M. Pasquali,et al.  Nickel and cobalt recycling from lithium-ion batteries by electrochemical processes. , 2005, Waste management.

[5]  Yi Zhang,et al.  A novel process for recycling and resynthesizing LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 from the cathode scraps intended for lithium-ion batteries. , 2014, Waste management.

[6]  B. Friedrich,et al.  Development of a recycling process for Li-ion batteries , 2012 .

[7]  Atsushi Iizuka,et al.  Adaptation of minerals processing operations for lithium-ion (LiBs) and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries recycling: Critical review , 2013 .

[8]  O. Levenspiel,et al.  Drag coefficient and terminal velocity of spherical and nonspherical particles , 1989 .

[9]  Javier Bilbao,et al.  Effect of operating conditions on solid velocity in the spout, annulus and fountain of spouted beds , 2001 .

[10]  Tao Zhang,et al.  Chemical and process mineralogical characterizations of spent lithium-ion batteries: an approach by multi-analytical techniques. , 2014, Waste management.

[11]  Wen Chen,et al.  Synthesis, structural, and electrochemical performance of V2O5 nanotubes as cathode material for lithium battery , 2009 .

[12]  B. D. Pandey,et al.  Recovery of lithium and cobalt from waste lithium ion batteries of mobile phone. , 2013, Waste management.

[13]  Keqiang Qiu,et al.  Organic oxalate as leachant and precipitant for the recovery of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries. , 2012, Waste management.

[14]  Yong Yan,et al.  Measurement of particle shape using digital imaging techniques , 2005 .

[15]  Jan D. Miller,et al.  Particle overlap and segregation problems in on-line coarse particle size measurement , 1998 .

[16]  Diran Apelian,et al.  A closed loop process for recycling spent lithium ion batteries , 2014 .

[17]  Young Han Kim,et al.  Development of a metal recovery process from Li-ion battery wastes , 2005 .

[18]  H. Thomas,et al.  A review of processes and technologies for the recycling of lithium-ion secondary batteries , 2008 .

[19]  He Yurong,et al.  Numerical simulations of flow behavior of gas and particles in spouted beds using frictional-kinetic stresses model , 2009 .

[20]  Yaqun He,et al.  Characteristics of wet and dry crushing methods in the recycling process of spent lithium-ion batteries , 2013 .

[21]  Katsutoshi Inoue,et al.  Hydrometallurgical process for recovery of metal values from spent lithium-ion secondary batteries , 1998 .

[22]  José Teixeira Freire,et al.  Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation of Semi-Cylindrical and Cylindrical Spouted Bed Hydrodynamics , 2010 .

[23]  Toh-Ming Lu,et al.  Nanostructured electrodes for high-power lithium ion batteries , 2012 .

[24]  Zhenming Xu,et al.  Enhancement of the recycling of waste Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries by mechanical treatment. , 2011, Waste management.