Progress,challenges,and prospects of spent lithium-ion batteries recycling:A review

The recycling and reutilization of spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)have become an important measure to alleviate problems like resource scarcity and environmental pollution.Although some progress has been made,battery recycling technology still faces challenges in terms of efficiency,effectiveness and environmental sustainability.This review aims to systematically review and analyze the current status of spent LIB recycling,and conduct a detailed comparison and evaluation of different recycling processes.In addition,this review introduces emerging recycling techniques,including deep eutectic solvents,molten salt roasting,and direct regeneration,with the intent of enhancing recycling efficiency and diminishing environmental repercussions.Furthermore,to increase the added value of recycled materials,this review proposes the concept of upgrading recycled materials into high value-added functional materials,such as catalysts,adsorbents,and graphene.Through life cycle assessment,the paper also explores the economic and environmental impacts of current battery recycling and highlights the importance that future recycling technologies should achieve a balance between recycling efficiency,economics and environmental benefits.Finally,this review outlines the opportunities and challenges of recycling key materials for next-generation batteries,and proposes relevant policy recommendations to promote the green and sustainable development of batteries,circular economy,and ecological civilization.

Upcycling the spent graphite/LiCoO_(2) batteries for high-voltage graphite/LiCoPO_(4)-co-workable dual-ion batteries

The worldwide proliferation of portable electronics has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs).However,traditional recycling methods still have limitations because of such huge amounts of spent LIBs.Therefore,we proposed an ecofriendly and sustainable double recycling strategy to concurrently reuse the cathode(LiCoO_(2))and anode(graphite)materials of spent LIBs and recycled LiCoPO_(4)/graphite(RLCPG)in Li^(+)/PF^(-)_(6) co-de/intercalation dual-ion batteries.The recycle-derived dualion batteries of Li/RLCPG show impressive electrochemical performance,with an appropriate discharge capacity of 86.2 mAh·g^(-1) at25 mA·g^(-1) and 69%capacity retention after 400 cycles.Dual recycling of the cathode and anode from spent LIBs avoids wastage of resources and yields cathode materials with excellent performance,thereby offering an ecofriendly and sustainable way to design novel secondary batteries.

Recovery of Li, Ni, Co and Mn from spent lithium-ion batteries assisted by organic acids: Process optimization and leaching mechanism

The proper recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)can promote the recovery and utilization of valuable resources,while also negative environmental effects resulting from the presence of toxic and hazardous substances.In this study,a new environmentally friendly hydro-metallurgical process was proposed for leaching lithium(Li),nickel(Ni),cobalt(Co),and manganese(Mn)from spent LIBs using sulfuric acid with citric acid as a reductant.The effects of the concentration of sulfuric acid,the leaching temperature,the leaching time,the solid-liquid ratio,and the reducing agent dosage on the leaching behavior of the above elements were investigated.Key parameters were optimized using response surface methodology(RSM)to maximize the recovery of metals from spent LIBs.The maxim-um recovery efficiencies of Li,Ni,Co,and Mn can reach 99.08%,98.76%,98.33%,and 97.63%.under the optimized conditions(the sulfuric acid concentration was 1.16 mol/L,the citric acid dosage was 15wt%,the solid-liquid ratio was 40 g/L,and the temperature was 83℃ for 120 min),respectively.It was found that in the collaborative leaching process of sulfuric acid and citric acid,the citric acid initially provided strong reducing CO_(2)^(-),and the transition metal ions in the high state underwent a reduction reaction to produce transition metal ions in the low state.Additionally,citric acid can also act as a proton donor and chelate with lower-priced transition metal ions,thus speeding up the dissolution process.

Selective leaching of lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries using sulfuric acid and oxalic acid

Traditional hydrometallurgical methods for recovering spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)involve acid leaching to simultaneously extract all valuable metals into the leachate.These methods usually are followed by a series of separation steps such as precipitation,extraction,and stripping to separate the individual valuable metals.In this study,we present a process for selectively leaching lithium through the synergistic effect of sulfuric and oxalic acids.Under optimal leaching conditions(leaching time of 1.5 h,leaching temperature of 70°C,liquid-solid ratio of 4 mL/g,oxalic acid ratio of 1.3,and sulfuric acid ratio of 1.3),the lithium leaching efficiency reached89.6%,and the leaching efficiencies of Ni,Co,and Mn were 12.8%,6.5%,and 21.7%.X-ray diffraction(XRD)and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer(ICP-OES)analyses showed that most of the Ni,Co,and Mn in the raw material remained as solid residue oxides and oxalates.This study offers a new approach to enriching the relevant theory for selectively recovering lithium from spent LIBs.

Review of preferentially selective lithium extraction from spent lithium batteries: Principle and performance

Lithium,as the lightest and lowest potential metal,is an ideal "battery metal" and the core strategic metal of the new energy industry revolution.Recovering lithium from spent lithium batteries(LIBs)has become one of the significant approaches to obtaining lithium resources.At present,the lithium extraction being generally placed at the last step of the spent LIBs recovery process has puzzles such as high acid consumption,low Li recovery purity and low recovery efficiency.Selective lithium extraction at the first step of the recovery process can effectively solve those puzzles.Since lithium leaching is a non-spontaneous reaction requiring additional energy to achieve,it is found that these methods can be divided into five ways according to the different types of energy driving the reaction occurring:(ⅰ)electric energy driving lithium extraction;(ⅱ) chemical energy driving lithium extraction;(ⅲ) mechanical energy driving lithium extraction;(ⅳ) thermal energy driving lithium extraction;(ⅴ) other energy driving lithium extraction.Through the analysis of the principle,reaction process and results of recovering lithium methods can provide a few directions for scholars’ subsequent research.It is necessary to speed up the exploration of the principle of these methods.It is expected that this study could provide a reference for the research on the selective lithium extraction.

Surplus energy utilization of spent lithium-ion batteries for high-profit organolithiums

It is challenging to efficiently and economically recycle many lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)because of the low valuation of commodity metals and materials,such as LiFePO_(4).There are millions of tons of spent LIBs where the barrier to recycling is economical,and to make recycling more feasible,it is required that the value of the processed recycled material exceeds the value of raw commodity materials.The presented research illustrates improved profitability and economics for recycling spent LIBs by utilizing the surplus energy in lithiated graphite to drive the preparation of organolithiums to add value to the recycled lithium materials.This study methodology demonstrates that the surplus energy of lithiated graphite obtained from spent LIBs can be utilized to prepare high-value organolithiums,thereby significantly improving the economic profitability of LIB recycling.Organolithiums(R-O-Li and R-Li)were prepared using alkyl alcohol(R-OH)and alkyl bromide(R-Br)as substrates,where R includes varying hindered alkyl hydrocarbons.The organolithiums extracted from per kilogram of recycled LIBs can increase the economic value between$29.5 and$226.5 kg^(−1) cell.The value of the organolithiums is at least 5.4 times the total theoretical value of spent materials,improving the profitability of recycling LIBs over traditional pyrometallurgical($0.86 kg^(−1) cell),hydrometallurgical($1.00 kg^(−1) cell),and physical direct recycling methods($5.40 kg^(−1) cell).

Pyrometallurgical recycling of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries

The global importance of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)has been increasingly underscored with the advancement of high-performance energy storage technologies.However,the end-of-life of these batteries poses significant challenges from environmental,economic,and resource management perspectives.This review paper focuses on the pyrometallurgy-based recycling process of lithium-ion batteries,exploring the fundamental understanding of this process and the importance of its optimization.Centering on the high energy consumption and emission gas issues of the pyrometallurgical recycling process,we systematically analyzed the capital-intensive nature of this process and the resulting technological characteristics.Furthermore,we conducted an in-depth discussion on the future research directions to overcome the existing technological barriers and limitations.This review will provide valuable insights for researchers and industry stakeholders in the battery recycling field.

An efficient recycling strategy to eliminate the residual“impurities”while heal the damaged structure of spent graphite anodes

The recycling of graphite from spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)is overlooked due to its relatively low added value and the lack of efficient recovering methods.To reuse the spent graphite anodes,we need to eliminate their useless components(mainly the degraded solid electrolyte interphase,SEI)and reconstruct their damaged structure.Herein,a facile and efficient strategy is proposed to recycle the spent graphite on the basis of the careful investigation of the composition of the cycled graphite anodes and the rational design of the regeneration processes.The regenerated graphite,which is revitalized by calcination treatment and acid leaching,delivers superb rate performance and a high specific capacity of 370 mAh g^(-1)(~99% of its theoretical capacity)after 100 cycles at 0.1 C,superior to the commercial graphite anodes.The improved electrochemical performance could be attributed to unchoked Li^(+) transport channels and enhanced charge transfer reaction due to the effective destruction of the degraded SEI and the full recovery of the damaged structure of the spent graphite.This work clarifies that the electrochemical performance of the regenerated graphite could be deteriorated by even a trace amount of the residual“impurity”and provides a facile method for the efficient regeneration of graphite anodes.

Hydrometallurgical recycling of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries by reductive leaching with stannous chloride

The reductant is a critical factor in the hydrometallurgical recycling of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs).There is limited information regarding the use of SnCl_(2) as a reductant with organic acid(maleic acid)for recovering valuable metals from spent Li-CoO_(2) material.In this study,the leaching efficiencies of Li and Co with 1 mol·L^(−1) of maleic acid and 0.3 mol·L^(−1) of SnCl_(2) were found to be 98.67%and 97.5%,respectively,at 60°C and a reaction time of 40 min.We investigated the kinetics and thermodynamics of the leaching process in this study to better understand the mechanism of the leaching process.Based on a comparison with H_(2)O_(2) with respect to leaching efficiency,the optimal leaching parameters,and the activation energy,we determined that it is feasible to replace H_(2)O_(2) with SnCl_(2) as a leaching reductant in the leaching process.In addition,when SnCl_(2) is used in the acid-leaching process,Sn residue in the leachate may have a positive effect on the re-synthesis of nickel-rich cathode materials.Therefore,the results of this study provide a potential direction for the selection of reductants in the hydrometallurgical recovery of valuable metals from spent LIBs.

Progresses in Sustainable Recycling Technology of Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries

The number of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)is steadily increasing in order to meet the ever-growing demand for sustainable energy and a high quality of life for humankind.At the same time,the resulting large number of LIB waste certainly poses safety hazards if it is not properly disposed of and will seriously harm the environment due to its inherent toxicity due to the use of toxic substances.Moreover,the consumption of many scarce precious metal resources is behind the mass production of batteries.In the light of severe environmental,resources,safety and recycling problems,recycling spent LIBs have become an essential urgently needed action to achieve sustainable social development.This review therefore critically analyses the value and the need for recycling of spent LIBs from a variety of resources and the environment.A range of existing technologies for recycling and reusing spent LIBs,such as pretreatment,pyrometallurgy,hydrometallurgy,and direct recycled methods,is subsequently summarized exclusively.In addition,the benefits and problems of the methods described above are analyzed in detail.It also introduces recycling progress of other LIB components,such as anodes,separators,and electrolytes,as well as the high-value cathode.Finally,the prospects for recycling LIBs are addressed in four ways(government,users,battery manufacturers,and recyclers).This review should contribute to the development of the recycling of used LIBs,particularly in support of industrialization and recycling processes.

Effective regeneration of high-performance anode material recycled from the whole electrodes in spent lithium-ion batteries via a simplified approach

Along with the extensive application of energy storage devices,the spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)are unquestionably classified into the secondary resources due to its high content of several valuable metals.However,current recycling methods have the main drawback to their tedious process,especially the purification and separation process.Herein,we propose a simplified process to recycle both cathode(LiCoO_(2))and anode(graphite)in the spent LIBs and regenerate newly high-performance anode material,CoO/CoFe2O4/expanded graphite(EG).This process not only has the advantages of succinct procedure and easy control of reaction conditions,but also effectively separates and recycles lithium from transition metals.The 98.43%of lithium is recovered from leachate when the solid product CoO/CoFe2O4/EG is synthesized as anode material for LIBs.And the product exhibits improved cyclic stability(890 mAh g^(-1) at 1 A g^(-1) after 700 cycles)and superior rate capability(208 mAh g^(-1) at 5 A g^(-1)).The merit of this delicate recycling design can be summarized as three aspects:the utilization of Fe impurity in waste LiCoO_(2),the transformation of waste graphite to EG,and the regeneration of anode material.This approach properly recycles the valuable components of spent LIBs,which introduces an insight into the future recycling.

Extraction of lithium from the simulated pyrometallurgical slag of spent lithium-ion batteries by binary eutectic molten carbonates

The effective and low-temperature extraction of lithium from the pyrometallurgical slag of spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)remains a great challenge.Herein,potassium carbonate/sodium carbonate(K_(2)CO_(3)/Na_(2)CO_(3)),which could form a eutectic molten salt system at 720℃,was used as a roasting agent to extract lithium from pyrometallurgical slag.Lithium was successfully extracted from the slag by K_(2)CO_(3)/Na_(2)CO_(3) roasting followed by water leaching.Theoretical calculation results indicate that the lengths of Li-O bonds increase after K^(+)/Na^(+)adsorption,resulting in the easy release of Li^(+)from the LiAlSi_(2)O_(6) lattice after roasting with K_(2)CO_(3)/Na_(2)CO_(3).Thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry results indicate that the eutectic phenomenon of K_(2)CO_(3) and Na_(2)CO_(3) could be observed at 720℃ and that the reaction of the slag and eutectic molten salts occurs at temperatures above 720℃.X-ray diffraction results suggest that Li^(+)in the slag is exchanged by K^(+)in K_(2)CO_(3) with the concurrent formation of KAlSiO_(4),while Na_(2)CO_(3) mainly functions as a fluxing agent.The lithium extraction efficiency can reach 93.87%under the optimal conditions of a roasting temperature of 740℃,roasting time of 30 min,leaching temperature of 50℃,leaching time of 40 min,and water/roasted sample mass ratio of 10:1.This work provides a new system for extracting lithium from the pyrometallurgical slag of spent LIBs.

Technology for recycling and regenerating graphite from spent lithium-ion batteries

With the annual increase in the amount of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs),the development of spent LIBs recycling technology has gradually attracted attention.Graphite is one of the most critical materials for LIBs,which is listed as a key energy source by many developed countries.However,it was neglected in spent LIBs recycling,leading to pollution of the environment and waste of resources.In this paper,the latest research progress for recycling of graphite from spent LIBs was summarized.Especially,the processes of pretreatment,graphite enrichment and purification,and materials regeneration for graphite recovery are introduced in details.Finally,the problems and opportunities of graphite recycling are raised.

Recovery and regeneration of LiFePO_(4)from spent lithium-ion batteries via a novel pretreatment process

The recycling of spent LiFePO_(4)batteries has received extensive attention due to its environmental impact and economic benefit.In the pretreatment process of spent LiFePO_(4)batteries,the separation of active materials and current collectors determines the difficulty of the re-covery process and product quality.In this work,a facile and efficient pretreatment process is first proposed.After only freezing the electrode pieces and immersing them in boiling water,LiFePO_(4)materials were peeled from the Al foil.Then,after roasting under an inert atmosphere and sieving,all the cathode and anode active materials were easily and efficiently separated from the Al and Cu foils.The active materials were subjected to acid leaching,and the leaching solution was further used to prepare FePO_(4)and Li_(2)CO_(3).Finally,the battery-grade FePO_(4)and Li_(2)CO_(3)were used to re-synthesize LiFePO_(4)/C via the carbon thermal reduction method.The discharge capacities of re-synthesized LiFePO_(4)/C cathode were 144.2,139.0,133.2,125.5,and 110.5 mA·h·g−1 at rates of 0.1,0.5,1,2,and 5 C,which satisfies the requirement for middle-end LiFePO_(4)batteries.The whole process is environmental and has great potential for industrial-scale recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries.

A novel strategy of lithium recycling from spent lithium-ion batteries using imidazolium ionic liquid

In light of the increasing demand for environmental protection and energy conservation,the recovery of highly valuable metals,such as Li,Co,and Ni,from spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)has attracted widespread attention.Most conventional recycling strategies,however,suffer from a lack of lithium recycling,although they display high efficiency in the recovery of Co and Ni.In this work,we report an efficient extraction process of lithium from the spent LIBs by using a functional imidazolium ionic liquid.The extraction efficiency can be reached to 92.5%after a three-stage extraction,while the extraction efficiency of Ni-Co-Mn is less than 4.0%.The new process shows a high selectivity of lithium ion.FTIR spectroscopy and ultraviolet are utilized to characterize the variations in the functional groups during extraction to reveal that the possible extraction mechanism is cation exchange.The results of this work provide an effective and sustainable strategy of lithium recycling from spent LIBs.

Na_(2)SO_(4)-NaCl binary eutectic salt roasting to enhance extraction of lithium from pyrometallurgical slag of spent lithium-ion batteries

Effectively extracting lithium at a relatively low temperature from the slag produced by the pyrometallurgical treatment of spent lithium-ion batteries remains a great challenge,which limits the acquirement of lithium.Herein,we proposed a eutectic system to roast slag at a lower temperature based on sodium sulfate-sodium chloride(Na_(2)SO_(4)-NaCl)binary eutectic salts.The optimal roasting conditions are as follows:the slag was roasted at 750℃with a(SO_(4)^(2-)+Cl^(-))/Li+molar ratio of 5:1 for 120 min.Followed by aqueous leaching 5 min at room temperature with a water/roasted samples mass ratio of 30:1,it can get 97.07%lithium extraction efficiency.

Catalytic performance improvement of volatile organic compounds oxidation over MnO_(x) and GdMnO_(3) composite oxides from spent lithium-ion batteries:Effect of acid treatment

In this work,cathode materials of spent lithium-ion ternary batteries are recovered and used as metal precursor to prepare multi-metal oxides MnO_(x)(SY)and GdMnO_(3)(SY)via combustion method and sol-gel method,respectively.Furthermore,a series of MnO_(x)(SY)-n and GdMnO_(3)(SY)-n(n=0.05,0.10,1.00,4.00,n represents the dilute HNO_(3) concentration)catalysts are fabricated by acid treatment of MnO_(x)(SY)and GdMnO_(3)(SY)samples and catalytic activities of oxygenated VOCs oxidation over all the prepared catalysts are investigated.Catalytic evaluation results show that acid-treated MnO_(x)(SY)-0.10 and GdMnO_(3)(SY)-0.05 samples perform the optimum VOCs removal efficiency respectively,which may be attributed to their obvious enhancement of physicochemical properties.In detail,Mn O_(x)(SY)-0.10 and GdMnO_(3)(SY)-0.05 samples exhibit the larger specific surface area,bigger amount of surface high-valence metal ions(Mn^(4+),Co^(3+),Ni^(3+)),more abundant adsorbed oxygen species and better low-temperature reducibility,which can play a crucial role in the significant improvement of VOCs oxidation.In situ DRIFTS results imply that the possible main intermediates are-OCO,-COO and-C-O species produced during VOCs oxidation.Possible by-products are further determined via TD/GC-MS analysis.

Direct regeneration of LiNi_(0.5)Co_(0.2)Mn_(0.3)O_(2) cathode material from spent lithium-ion batteries

At present,metal ions from spent lithium-ion batteries are mostly recovered by the acid leaching procedure,which unavoidably introduces potential pollutants to the environment.Therefore,it is necessary to develop more direct and effective green recycling methods.In this research,a method for the direct regeneration of anode materials is reported,which includes the particles size reduction of recovered raw materials by jet milling and ball milling,followed by calcination at high temperature after lithium supplementation.The regenerated LiNi_(0.5)Co_(0.2)Mn_(0.3)O_(2) single-crystal cathode material possessed a relatively ideal layered structure and a complete surface morphology when the lithium content was n(Ni+Co+Mn):n(Li)=1:1.10 at a sintering temperature of 920 0 C,and a sintering time of 12 h.The first discharge specific capacity was 154.87 mA·h·g^(-1) between 2.75 V and 4.2 V,with a capacity retention rate of 90% after 100 cycles.

Upcycling of spent LiCoO_(2) cathodes via nickel- and manganese-doping

Direct recycling has been regarded as one of the most promising approaches to dealing with the increasing amount of spent lithium‐ion batteries(LIBs).However,the current direct recycling method remains insufficient to regenerate outdated cathodes to meet current industry needs as it only aims at recovering the structure and composition of degraded cathodes.Herein,a nickel(Ni)and manganese(Mn)co‐doping strategy has been adopted to enhance LiCoO_(2)(LCO)cathode for next‐generation high‐performance LIBs through a conventional hydrothermal treatment combined with short annealing approach.Unlike direct recycling methods that make no changes to the chemical composition of cathodes,the unique upcycling process fabricates a series of cathodes doped with different contents of Ni and Mn.The regenerated LCO cathode with 5%doping delivers excellent electrochemical performance with a discharge capacity of 160.23 mAh g^(−1) at 1.0 C and capacity retention of 91.2%after 100 cycles,considerably surpassing those of the pristine one(124.05 mAh g^(−1) and 89.05%).All results indicate the feasibility of such Ni–Mn co‐doping‐enabled upcycling on regenerating LCO cathodes.

Solvent extraction and separation of cobalt from leachate of spent lithium-ion battery cathodes with N263 in nitrite media

To effectively separate and recover Co(Ⅱ) from the leachate of spent lithium-ion battery cathodes,we investigated solvent extraction with quaternary ammonium salt N263 in the sodium nitrite system.NO_(2)^(-)combines with Co(Ⅱ) to form an anion [Co(NO_(2))_(3)]^(-),and it is then extracted by N263.The extraction of Co(Ⅱ) is related to the concentration of NO_(2)^(-).The extraction efficiency of Co(Ⅱ) reaches the maximum of99.16%,while the extraction efficiencies of Ni(Ⅱ),Mn(Ⅱ),and Li(Ⅰ) are 9.27%-9.80% under the following conditions:30vol% of N263 and15vol% of iso-propyl alcohol in sulfonated kerosene,the volume ratio of the aqueous-to-organic phase is 2:1,the extraction time is 30 min,and1 M sodium nitrite in 0.1 MHNO_(3).The theoretical stages require for the Co(Ⅱ) extraction are performed in the McCabe–Thiele diagram,and the extraction efficiency of Co(Ⅱ) reaches more than 99.00% after three-stage counter-current extraction with Co(Ⅱ) concentration of 2544mg/L.When the HCl concentration is 1.5 M,the volume ratio of the aqueous-to-organic phase is 1:1,the back-extraction efficiency of Co(Ⅱ)achieves 91.41%.After five extraction and back-extraction cycles,the Co(Ⅱ) extraction efficiency can still reach 93.89%.The Co(Ⅱ) extraction efficiency in the actual leaching solution reaches 100%.