Lithium Carbonate Recovery from Cathode Scrap of Spent Lithium-Ion Battery: A Closed-Loop Process.

A closed-loop process to recover lithium carbonate from cathode scrap of lithium-ion battery (LIB) is developed. Lithium could be selectively leached into solution using formic acid while aluminum remained as the metallic form, and most of the other metals from the cathode scrap could be precipitated out. This phenomenon clearly demonstrates that formic acid can be used for lithium recovery from cathode scrap, as both leaching and separation reagent. By investigating the effects of different parameters including temperature, formic acid concentration, H2O2 amount, and solid to liquid ratio, the leaching rate of Li can reach 99.93% with minor Al loss into the solution. Subsequently, the leaching kinetics was evaluated and the controlling step as well as the apparent activation energy could be determined. After further separation of the remaining Ni, Co, and Mn from the leachate, Li2CO3 with the purity of 99.90% could be obtained. The final solution after lithium carbonate extraction can be further processed for sodium formate preparation, and Ni, Co, and Mn precipitates are ready for precursor preparation for cathode materials. As a result, the global recovery rates of Al, Li, Ni, Co, and Mn in this process were found to be 95.46%, 98.22%, 99.96%, 99.96%, and 99.95% respectively, achieving effective resources recycling from cathode scrap of spent LIB.

[1]  A. A. Nayl,et al.  Acid leaching of mixed spent Li-ion batteries , 2017 .

[2]  Jilt Sietsma,et al.  Toward Sustainability for Recovery of Critical Metals from Electronic Waste: The Hydrochemistry Processes , 2017 .

[3]  Haochen Zhu,et al.  Leaching lithium from the anode electrode materials of spent lithium-ion batteries by hydrochloric acid (HCl). , 2016, Waste Management.

[4]  L. Yao,et al.  Recycling and synthesis of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 from waste lithium ion batteries using D,L-malic acid , 2016 .

[5]  Yongxiang Yang,et al.  Recycling of metals from urban mines – a strategic evaluation , 2016 .

[6]  Liping Xu,et al.  An atom-economic process for the recovery of high value-added metals from spent lithium-ion batteries , 2016 .

[7]  B. D. Pandey,et al.  Hydrometallurgical processing of spent lithium ion batteries (LIBs) in the presence of a reducing agent with emphasis on kinetics of leaching , 2015 .

[8]  Xingfu Song,et al.  Extraction of hydrogen chloride by a coupled reaction-solvent extraction process , 2015, Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering.

[9]  Tao Zhou,et al.  Sustainable Recovery of Metals from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries: A Green Process , 2015 .

[10]  Xianlai Zeng,et al.  Novel approach to recover cobalt and lithium from spent lithium-ion battery using oxalic acid. , 2015, Journal of hazardous materials.

[11]  Hongbin Cao,et al.  A closed-loop process for recycling LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 from the cathode scraps of lithium-ion batteries: Process optimization and kinetics analysis , 2015 .

[12]  Jianguo Yu,et al.  Leaching of aluminum from coal spoil by mechanothermal activation , 2015, Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering.

[13]  J. Sietsma,et al.  A Cleaner Process for Selective Recovery of Valuable Metals from Electronic Waste of Complex Mixtures of End-of-Life Electronic Products. , 2015, Environmental science & technology.

[14]  Feng Wu,et al.  Succinic acid-based leaching system: A sustainable process for recovery of valuable metals from spent Li-ion batteries , 2015 .

[15]  L. Yao,et al.  A new method for the synthesis of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 from waste lithium ion batteries , 2015 .

[16]  Diran Apelian,et al.  Synthesis of high performance LiNi 1/3 Mn 1/3 Co 1/3 O 2 from lithium ion battery recovery stream , 2015 .

[17]  Jinhui Li,et al.  Ecodesign in Consumer Electronics: Past, Present, and Future , 2015 .

[18]  Linda Gaines,et al.  The future of automotive lithium-ion battery recycling: Charting a sustainable course , 2014 .

[19]  A. Fieramosca,et al.  Acid reducing leaching of cathodic powder from spent lithium ion batteries: Glucose oxidative pathways and particle area evolution , 2014 .

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

[21]  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.

[22]  Jinhui Li,et al.  Recycling of Spent Lithium-Ion Battery: A Critical Review , 2014 .

[23]  L. Lei,et al.  Battery Recycling Technologies: Recycling Waste Lithium Ion Batteries with the Impact on the Environment In-View , 2013 .

[24]  Hongbin Cao,et al.  An overview on the processes and technologies for recycling cathodic active materials from spent lithium-ion batteries , 2013 .

[25]  Oladele A Ogunseitan,et al.  Potential environmental and human health impacts of rechargeable lithium batteries in electronic waste. , 2013, Environmental science & technology.

[26]  A. Kurny,et al.  Dissolution Kinetics of Cathode of Spent Lithium Ion Battery in Hydrochloric Acid Solutions , 2013 .

[27]  Diran Apelian,et al.  A novel method to recycle mixed cathode materials for lithium ion batteries , 2013 .

[28]  Michael Q. Wang,et al.  Impact of recycling on cradle-to-gate energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of automotive lithium-ion batteries. , 2012, Environmental science & technology.

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

[30]  Francesca Pagnanelli,et al.  Product recovery from Li-ion battery wastes coming from an industrial pre-treatment plant: Lab scale tests and process simulations , 2012 .

[31]  Feng Wu,et al.  Environmental friendly leaching reagent for cobalt and lithium recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries. , 2010, Waste management.

[32]  Zhi Sun,et al.  A New Method of Potassium Chromate Production from Chromite and KOH-KNO3-H2O Binary Submolten Salt System , 2009 .

[33]  Zhixing Wang,et al.  Study of spent battery material leaching process , 2009 .

[34]  Marcelo Borges Mansur,et al.  A study of the separation of cobalt from spent Li-ion battery residues , 2007 .

[35]  Jinki Jeong,et al.  Hydrometallurgical process for recovery of cobalt from waste cathodic active material generated during manufacturing of lithium ion batteries , 2007 .

[36]  Gerbrand Ceder,et al.  A Combined Computational/Experimental Study on LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 , 2003 .

[37]  Florence Ansart,et al.  Advances in the recovering of spent lithium battery compounds , 2002 .

[38]  Palanisamy Thanikaivelan,et al.  An improved product-process for cleaner chrome tanning in leather processing , 2001 .

[39]  G. P. Nayaka,et al.  Recovery of valuable metal ions from the spent lithium-ion battery using aqueous mixture of mild organic acids as alternative to mineral acids , 2015 .

[40]  R. Miller,et al.  Solubility of lithium carbonate at elevated temperatures , 1971 .