Poly(Ionic Liquid) as an Anion Exchange Membrane for a 3.3 V Copper–Lithium Battery

Metal–metal battery bears great potential for next-generation large-scale energy storage system because of its simple manufacture process and low production cost.However,the cross-over of metal cations from the cathode to the anode causes a loss in capacity and influences battery stability.Herein,a coating of poly(ionic liquid)(PIL)with poly(diallyldimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide)(PDADMA^(+)TFSI^(−))on a commercial polypropylene(PP)separator serves as an anion exchange membrane for a 3.3 V copper–lithium battery.The PIL has a positively charged polymer backbone that can block the migration of copper ions,thus improving Coulombic efficiency,long-term cycling stability and inhibiting self-discharge of the battery.It can also facilitate the conduction of anions through the membrane and reduce polarization,especially for fast charging/discharging.Bruce-Vincent method gives the transport number in the electrolyte to be 0.25 and 0.04 for PP separator without and with PIL coating,respectively.This suggests that the PIL layer reduces the contribution of the internal current due to cation transport.The use of PIL as a coating layer for commercial PP separator is a cost-effective way to improve overall electrochemical performance of copper–lithium batteries.Compared to PP and polyacrylic acid(PAA)/PP separators,the PIL/PP membrane raises the Coulombic efficiency to 99%and decreases the average discharge voltage drop to about 0.09 V when the current density is increased from 0.1 to 1 mA cm^(−2).

Separation and recovery of Cu and As from copper electrolyte through electrowinning and SO_2 reduction

Cu and As were separated and recovered from copper electrolyte by multiple stage electrowinning, reduction with SO2and evaporative crystallization. Experimental results showed that when the current density was 200 A/m2, the electrolyte temperature was 55 °C, the electrolyte circulation rate was about 10 mL/min and the final Cu concentration was higher than 25.88 g/L, the pure copper cathode was recovered. By adjusting the current density to 100 A/m2 and the electrolyte temperature to 65 °C, the removal rate of As was 18.25% when the Cu concentration decreased from 24.69 g/L to 0.42 g/L. After As（V） in Cu-depleted electrolyte was fully reduced to As（Ⅲ） by SO2, the resultant solution was subjected to evaporative crystallization, then As2O3 was produced, and the recovery rate of As was 59.76%. The cathodic polarization curves demonstrated that both Cu2＋ concentration and As（V） affect the limiting current of Cu2＋ deposition.

Recovery of cathode copper and ternary precursors from CuS slag derived by waste lithium-ion batteries:Process analysis and evaluation

The efficient and environmentally friendly recycling technology of waste residue that including abundant heavy metal produced during the recovery of lithium batteries has become a research hotspot.Herein,a novelty process of acid leaching-selective electrodeposition-deep impurity removal-regeneration was proposed to recovery of the CuS slag,which has been efficient transferred to high purity cathode copper and commercially available ternary precursors.Copper cathode with a purity of 99.67%was prepared under electrochemical reaction conditions at-0.55 V for 2 h.A novel impurity remover-Mn powder,which was used to remove the residual impurities and as a feedstock for the ternary precursor.Finally,NCM523 was regenerated by co-precipitation.The process is superior to the traditional process in economy,energy consumption,CO_(2)emissions,product purity and process duration.This study provides a new approach for solid waste recovery and precious metal enrichment.

Production of high-purity Mg metal from dolomite through novel molten salt electrolysis and vacuum distillation

In this study,a novel Mg production process for producing high-purity Mg metal from dolomite was developed.When the electrolysis of calcined dolomite was conducted using Cu cathode and C anode in MgF_(2)–LiF molten salt at 1083–1173 K by applying an average current of 1.42–1.46 A for 9.50–21.0 h,the current efficiency of 66.4–88.6%was obtained.The produced Mg alloys consisted of MgCu_(2)and Cu(Mg)or MgCu_(2)and CuMg_(2)phases,depending on the Mg concentration in the Mg alloy.When the electrolysis of calcined dolomite was conducted in MgF_(2)–LiF–CaF_(2)molten salt at 1083 K,the current efficiency was 40.9–71.4%,owing to undesired reactions such as electroreduction of Ca^(2+)or/and CO_(3)^(2−)ions.Meanwhile,the current efficiency increased from 40.9%to 63.2%by utilizing a Pt anode,because the occurrence of CO_(3)^(2−)ions in the molten salt was prevented.After vacuum distillation of the obtained Mg alloys at 1300 K for 10 h,Mg metal with a purity of 99.9996–99.9998%was produced.Therefore,the feasibility of this novel process for the production of high-purity Mg metal from dolomite was demonstrated.

Inhomogeneous ablation behaviors and failure mechanism of copper cathode in air

The copper cathode ablation limits the maximum power and operating time of arc heaters significantly.In this work,copper cathodes were tested in an ablation testing system to investigate the ablation behaviors and mechanism of copper cathode in air.The microstructure of the ablated cathodes was analyzed,and the ablation rate was measured.The maximum depth and ablation rate increased with the electronic discharge.The mean ablation rate was compared with the prediction by a thermophysical theoretical model.Many ablation pits formed in the ablated surface and evolved into crater-like structures with unexpected depth as the ablation time was prolonged.The presence of ablation pits and crater-like structures suggested an inhomogeneous ablation behavior of the copper cathode in air.The underlying mechanism is proposed to explain the ablation failure of copper cathode in the high-power arc heater.Future attention to improving the service life of copper cathode could be focused on the surface modification to reduce the ablation inhomogeneity.

4 Billion Yuan Copper Smelting Project Landed in Qiqihar, with 100,000 Tonnes Annual Output of Copper Cathode After Reaching Designed Capacity

In the morning of August 20,Heilongjiang Zijin Copper Project formally signed agreement at Fularji District in Qiqihar City.This also signals that the copper smelting project with a total investment of 4 billion yuan,a project under planning since 2011,has formally landed in Qiqihar City.