Upcycling of phosphogypsum waste for efficient zinc-ion batteries

Zinc metal is a promising anode material for next-generation aqueous batteries,but its practical application is limited by the formation of zinc dendrite.To prevent zinc dendrite growth,various Zn^(2+)-conducting but water-isolating solid-electrolyte interphase(SEI)films have been developed,however,the required high-purity chemical materials are extremely expensive.In this work,phosphogypsum(PG),an industrial byproduct produced from the phosphoric acid industry,is employed as a multifunctional protective layer to navigate uniform zinc deposition.Theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that PG-derived CaSO_(4)2H_(2)O can act as an artificial SEI layer to provide fast channels for Zn^(2+)transport.Moreover,CaSO_(4)2H_(2)O could release calcium ions(Ca^(2+))due to its relatively high Kspvalue,which have a higher binding energy than that of Zn^(2+)on the Zn surface,thus preferentially adsorbing to the tips of the protuberances to force zinc ions to nucleate at inert region.As a result,the Zn@PG anode achieves a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.5%during 500 cycles and long-time stability over 1000 hours at 1 m A cm^(-2).Our findings will not only construct a low-cost artificial SEI film for practical metal batteries,but also achieve a high-value utilization of phosphogypsum waste.

Recent progress and perspective on batteries made from nuclear waste

Sustainable energy sources are an immediate need to cope with the imminent issue of climate change the world is facing today.In particular,the long-lasting miniatured power sources that can supply energy continually to power handheld gadgets,sensors,electronic devices,unmanned airborne vehicles in space and extreme mining are some of the examples where this is an acute need.It is known from basic physics that radioactive materials decay over few years and some nuclear materials have their half-life until thousands of years.The past five decades of research have been spent harnessing the decay energy of the radioactive materials to develop batteries that can last until the radioactive reaction continues.Thus,an emergent opportunity of industrial symbiosis to make use of nuclear waste by using radioactive waste as raw material to develop bat-teries with long shelf life presents a great opportunity for sustainable energy resource development.However,the current canon of research on this topic is scarce.This perspective draws fresh discussions on the topic while highlighting future directions in this wealthy arena of research.Graphical abstract A long-lasting miniaturised nuclear battery utilising 14C radioactive isotope as fuel.

ZnO Additive Boosts Charging Speed and Cycling Stability of Electrolytic Zn–Mn Batteries

Electrolytic aqueous zinc-manganese(Zn–Mn) batteries have the advantage of high discharge voltage and high capacity due to two-electron reactions. However, the pitfall of electrolytic Zn–Mn batteries is the sluggish deposition reaction kinetics of manganese oxide during the charge process and short cycle life. We show that, incorporating ZnO electrolyte additive can form a neutral and highly viscous gel-like electrolyte and render a new form of electrolytic Zn–Mn batteries with significantly improved charging capabilities. Specifically, the ZnO gel-like electrolyte activates the zinc sulfate hydroxide hydrate assisted Mn^(2+) deposition reaction and induces phase and structure change of the deposited manganese oxide(Zn_(2)Mn_(3)O_8·H_(2)O nanorods array), resulting in a significant enhancement of the charge capability and discharge efficiency. The charge capacity increases to 2.5 mAh cm^(-2) after 1 h constant-voltage charging at 2.0 V vs. Zn/Zn^(2+), and the capacity can retain for up to 2000 cycles with negligible attenuation. This research lays the foundation for the advancement of electrolytic Zn–Mn batteries with enhanced charging capability.

Separation of cadmium and nickel from waste Ni-Cd batteries

To separate the cadmium and nickel resources in waste Ni-Cd batteries, aself-designed vacuum distillation recycling system was studied under laboratory conditions. Theeffects of system temperature, operating pressure, and time on the separation of Ni and Cd werestudied respectively. The mechanism of vacuum thermal recycling was also discussed. Results showthat vacuum distillation is a very effective separation method for waste Ni-Cd batteries. At aconstant pressure, the increase of temperature can improve the separating efficiency of Cd. When thetemperature is 1 173 K, cadmium can evaporate completely from the samples during 3 h at 10 Pa. Thereduction of pressure in a certain range is effective to the separating of Cd from Ni-Cd batteriesby vacuum distillation.

Flexible Zinc-Manganese Dioxide Alkaline Batteries Based on Kelp Electrolytes

Flexible energy-storage devices play a critical role in the development of portable, flexible and wearable electronics. In addition, biological materials including plants or plant-based materials are known for their safety, biodegradability, biocompatibility, environmental benignancy, and low cost. With respect to these advances, a flexible alkaline zinc-manganese dioxide (Zn-MnO2) battery is fabricated with a kelp-based electrolyte in this study. To the best of our knowledge, pure kelp is utilized as a semi-solid electrolyte for flexible Zn-MnO2 alkaline batteries for the first time, with which the as-assembled battery exhibited a specific capacity of 60 mA·h and could discharge for 120 h. Furthermore, the as-assembled Zn-MnO2 battery can be bent into a ring-shape and power a light-emitting diode screen, showing promising potential for the practical application in the future flexible, portable and biodegradable electronic devices.

Recycling waste crystalline-silicon solar cells: Application as high performance Si-based anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Recycling useful materials such as Ag, Al, Sn, Cu and Si from waste silicon solar cell chips is a sustainable project to slow down the ever-growing amount of waste crystalline-silicon photovoltaic panels. However, the recovery cost of the above-mentioned materials from silicon chips via acid-alkaline treatments outweights the gain economically.Herein, we propose a new proof-of-concept to fabricate Si-based anodes with waste silicon chips as raw materials.Nanoparticles from waste silicon chips were prepared with the high-energy ball milling followed by introducing carbon nanotubes and N-doped carbon into the nanoparticles, which amplifies the electrochemical properties. It is explored that Al and Ag elements influenced electrochemical performance respectively. The results showed that the Al metal in the composite possesses an adverse impact on the electrochemical performance. After removing Al, the composite was confirmed to possess a pronounced durable cycling property due to the presence of Ag, resulting in significantly more superior property than the composite having both Al and Ag removed.

From food waste to high-capacity hard carbon for rechargeable sodium-ion batteries

In this study,we introduce a straightforward and effective approach to produce P-doped hard carbon using coffee grounds as the precursor,with H_(3)PO_(4)serving as the doping agent.By varying the concentrations of H_(3)PO_(4)(1 M,2 M,and 3 M),we aimed to determine the optimal doping level for maximizing the incorporation of phosphorus ions into the carbon framework.Our investigation revealed that using 2 M of H_(3)PO_(4)as the dopant material for hard carbon led to promising electrochemical performance when employed as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries.The P-doped hard carbon,carbonized at 1300℃,exhibited an impressive reversible capacity of 341 mAh g1 at a current density of 20 mA g1,with an initial Coulombic efficiency(ICE)of 83%.This outstanding electrochemical performance of P-doped hard carbon can be attributed to its unique properties,including a porous agglomerated structure,a significant interlayer spacing,and the formation of C-P bonds.

Recovery of cadmium by high-temperature vaccum evaporation from Ni-Cd batteries

High temperature vaccum evaporation is a recycling technology that includes a selective material recovering process. The fundamental research on a process of disassembling and recovering selected materials from Ni Cd batteries was conducted using self designed experimental apparatus. An effective recycling technology based on the evaporation phenomenon of batteries and the elements of cadmium under the laboratory condition was studied. The results show that: (1)Ni/Cd can be effectively recovered by vacuum distillation at appropriate temperature, pressure and time, and high purity cadmium (>99%) can be obtained through the process; (2)the effective distillatory temperature should be at the range of 5731 173 K; (3)the higher the evaporation temperature, the lower the purity of cadmium in condensate

Reductive atmospheric acid leaching of spent alkaline batteries in H_2SO_4/Na_2SO_3 solutions

This work studies the optimum reductive leaching process for manganese and zinc recovery from spent alkaline battery paste. The effects of reducing agents, acid concentration, pulp density, reaction temperature, and leaching time on the dissolution of manganese and zinc were investigated in detail. Manganese dissolution by reductive acidic media is an intermediate-controlled process with an activation energy of 12.28 kJ＇mo1-1. After being leached, manganese and zinc were selectively precipitated with sodium hydroxide. The zinc was entirely con- verted into zincate （Zn（OH）42-） ions and thus did not co-precipitate with manganese hydroxide during this treatment （2.0 M NaOH, 90 min, 200 r/rain, pH 〉 13）. After the manganese was removed from the solution, the Zn（OH）4^2- was precipitated as zinc sulfate in the presence of sulfuric acid. The results indicated that this process could be effective in recovering manganese and zinc from alkaline batteries.

Dendritic Nanostructured Waste Copper Wires for High-Energy Alkaline Battery

Rechargeable alkaline batteries(RABs)have received remarkable attention in the past decade for their high energy,low cost,safe operation,facile manufacture,and ecofriendly nature.To date,expensive electrode materials and current collectors were predominantly applied for RABs,which have limited their real-world efficacy.In the present work,we propose a scalable process to utilize electronic waste(e-waste)Cu wires as a cost-effective current collector for high-energy wire-type RABs.Initially,the vertically aligned CuO nanowires were prepared over the waste Cu wires via in situ alkaline corrosion.Then,both atomiclayer-deposited NiO and NiCo-hydroxide were applied to the CuO nanowires to form a uniform dendritic-structured NiCo-hydroxide/NiO/CuO/Cu electrode.When the prepared dendritic-structured electrode was applied to the RAB,it showed excellent electrochemical features,namely high-energy-density(82.42 Wh kg−1),excellent specific capacity(219 mAh g−1),and long-term cycling stability(94%capacity retention over 5000 cycles).The presented approach and material meet the requirements of a cost-effective,abundant,and highly efficient electrode for advanced eco-friendly RABs.More importantly,the present method provides an efficient path to recycle e-waste for value-added energy storage applications.

Leather waste as precursor to prepare bifunctional catalyst for alkaline and neutral zinc-air batteries

Carbon materials derived from biomass waste are considered as potential electrocatalysts for applications in zinc-air batteries(ZABs)due to their low cost and good catalytic activity.Here,we reported the preparation of gel-based catalysts through utilizing hydrolyzed waste leather powder cross-linked with metallic salt solutions.After calcination,iron-nickel alloy anchored in nitrogen-doped porous carbon catalysts(Fe Ni@NDC)was achieved.Compared with commercial Pt/C catalyst,Fe Ni@NDC-800 exhibited lower E_(1/2)(0.77 V)and better durability.More importantly,the resulting Fe Ni@NDC-800-based alkaline ZABs achieved power density of 93.01 m W/cm^(2) and open circuit voltage of 1.45 V,which the Fe Ni@NDC-800-based neutral ZAB displayed a charge/discharge cycle stability of 275 h.This work opens up the possibility of rational design and preparation of low-cost and high-performance electrocatalysts from recyclable leather waste.

Characterization of Spent Household Zinc-Carbon Dry Cell Batteries in the Process of Recovery of Value Metals

Spent zinc-carbon dry cell batteries were characterized to assess the environmental impacts and also, to identify the potentials of recovering the metal values from these batteries. Different component parts of both new and spent batteries of all the five types (AAA, AA, C, D and 9V) were examined. The outer steel casings were found to be tin plated. Steel, zinc and manganese constituted 63 percent of the total weight of the battery. Average zinc and manganese contents were about 22 and 24 percent of the total weight of spent batteries. The electrolyte paste of the spent batteries contained 22 wt. percent zinc and 60 wt. percent manganese. The rest was chlorine, carbon and small amounts of iron and other impurity elements. The major phases in the fresh batteries were carbon, MnO2 and NH4Cl, while Zn(NH3)2Cl2, ZnO.Mn2O3, Mn3O2 and Mn2O4 were the prominent phases in the spent batteries. Presence of mercury and cadmium were not detected and a small percentage of lead was found in both the zinc anode and in the electrolyte paste.

Discarded Carbon-Zinc Batteries as Source of an Efficient Heterogeneous Fenton-Like Catalyst Employed to Degrade Organic Molecules in an Aqueous Medium

The present work evaluates the feasibility of using the raw material collected from discarded zinc-carbon batteries as heterogeneous catalyst to degrade the dye Indigo Carmine in an aqueous solution. Besides the evident environmental application, this work also presents an economic alternative for the production of new catalysts used to remediate polluted waters. For this, discarded carbon-zinc batteries were gathered, disassembled and their anodic paste collected. After acidic treatment and calcination at 500°C, characterization measurements, i.e. flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), nitrogen sorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), revealed that the so-obtained material consisted mainly of ZnMn2O4. This material acts as a heterogeneous catalyst in a Fenton-like process that degrades the dye Indigo Carmine in water. That is probably due to the presence of Mn(III) (manganese in the +3 oxidation state) in this material that triggers the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to yield hydroxyl radicals (HO·). Moreover, direct infusion electrospray ionization coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (ESI-HRMS) was employed to characterize the main by-products resulting from such degradation process. These initial results thus indicate that raw materials from waste batteries can therefore be potentially employed as efficient Fenton-like catalysts to degrade organic pollutants in an aqueous solution.

Fabrication of Silicon/Carbon Composite Material with Silicon Waste and Carbon Nanofiber Applied in Lithium-Ion Battery

Silicon (Si) is regarded as a promising material for lithium-ion battery anode because of high theoretical capacity. Nevertheless, Si faces particle pulverization and rapid capacity fading due to serious volume change during the lithiation and the delithiation process. In this work, a silicon/carbon composite constituted to Si powder and carbon nanofiber (CNF) is produced to solve the above issues as a new design structure of anode material. The Si powder was recycled from the silicon slicing waste in photovoltaic industry and the CNF was from dry rice straws. By mixing the purified Si powder with CNF, the composite was synthesized by the freeze-drying method and calcination. In the cyclic test, Si adding with 1 wt% CNF showed 3091 mAh/g capacity in the first cycle and 1079 mAh/g capacity after 100 cycles at the current density of 0.5 A/g, which were both better than pristine Si. SEM images also show the composite structure can eliminate cracks on the surface of the electrode during cycling. CNF attaching on Si particles can increase specific surface area, so binder can easily combine the active materials and the conductive materials together. This strategy enhances the structure stability and prevents the electrode from delamination.

Comprehensive Waste Minimization Study at an Industrial Battery Manufacturing Plant in Ohio, USA

Industrial battery manufacturing facilities generate large quantities of hazardous waste, which must be properly treated before it can be disposed. Reducing the quantities of these waste streams can significantly reduce the cost of treatment and lead to competitive advantages. Waste minimization at these facilities is beneficial for the stakeholders and the environment. The quantities of hazardous waste can be minimized by upgrading the facility＇s technology or substituting hazardous substances, which are used in the battery manufacturing process, with more environmentally friendly options. Separation of waste streams will allow for additional reuse opportunities and revenue generation from the sale of these materials, which will enhance the financial performance of the facility. This paper provides a case study of comprehensive waste minimization in a battery manufacturing plant in Ohio, USA. Source reduction, recovery, and recycling methods are taken into account with consideration given to economic impacts. The goal of the study was to develop an understanding of the facility＇s waste generating processes, to suggest methods to reduce to the waste generation and finally to select an appropriate waste minimization option to suggest the facility＇s management team. Some of the suggested methods are currently being practiced while others are at the initial stage of development.

Analysis of Problems and Countermeasures about Recyclables Study on PET Bottles and Used Batteries

Advances in technology make full use of recyclable material as possible, so the efficient recovery of Recyclable material can avoid a lot of energy waste. This paper takes the PET plastic bottles and waste battery as an example, simple analyses the current situation of China＇ s processing Recyclable substance and development trend, and compared with the foreign outstanding cases, finally proposes the solution

废锂离子电池的冶金回收工艺研究进展

回收废锂离子电池对资源可持续性和人类健康至关重要。废锂离子电池需要经过预处理拆解为各种组分,其中正极材料是各种组分中最具回收价值和意义的部分。目前,冶金工艺是废锂离子电池正极材料回收的主要方法,该工艺主要包括废锂离子电池的预处理、有价金属的提取、产品的回收3个阶段。总结了各阶段的主要方法和进展,并对比了各种方法的优缺点。经对比发现在废锂离子电池的预处理阶段中,机械化的处理方式是未来的发展方向;在有价金属的提取和产品回收的2个阶段中,将各种工艺相耦合来开发绿色、低成本、高效率的组合工艺将是今后的发展趋势。

从废旧电池中回收二水磷酸铁再生LiFePO_(4)/C

使用酸浸—加热回流法从废旧磷酸铁锂电池中回收得到二水磷酸铁,将其作为原料并添加一定量的锂源和碳源,通过高温固相法再生了LiFePO_(4)/C,并研究了温度对再生LiFePO_(4)/C电化学性能的影响。首先采用酸浸—加热回流法对废旧磷酸铁锂正极片进行处理生成FePO_(4)·2H_(2)O,洗涤烘干后研磨得到FePO_(4)·2H_(2)O粉末,XRD表征和ICP测试结果显示回收得到的FePO_(4)·2H_(2)O结构完整、纯度较高。然后在FePO_(4)·2H_(2)O粉末中添加碳源,在高温下制备LiFePO_(4)/C材料,对其进行结构与形貌表征以及电化学测试,发现以葡萄糖为碳源、温度为700℃、葡萄糖量为理论生成磷酸铁锂质量的17%时再生的LiFePO_(4)/C电化学性能最佳,0.3 C倍率下再生的LiFePO_(4)/C首周放电比容量可达141.8 mAh/g,循环100周后容量保持率可维持在94.3%。通过与商用LiFePO_(4)/C进行电化学性能对比,进一步验证了该工艺再生的LiFePO_(4)/C有着优良的电化学性能。

优先提锂湿法工艺回收废旧磷酸铁锂电池

文章详细介绍了一种优先提锂湿法回收碳酸锂的工艺流程,先用碱除铝,再酸浸分离磷酸铁,除杂后沉锂,工艺流程简化、试剂消耗量小、锂浸出选择性较高,工艺经济效益相对更好,可以为磷酸铁锂电池回收企业提供一种工艺流程简化、试剂消耗量小、锂浸出选择性较高、工艺经济效益相对更好的工艺技术路线。

废旧锂离子电池正极材料回收技术研究现状

为了保护环境和节约化石能源,电动汽车正逐步代替传统的内燃机汽车。锂离子电池具有高能量密度、高工作电压、循环性能好、使用温度范围广等特点,近年来被广泛应用于新能源汽车。随着新能源汽车的快速发展,大量动力电池将陆续进入退役期。退役的锂离子电池若处置不当,其电解液、隔膜等有机物会对环境造成严重污染,同时锂离子电池的正极材料中含有大量的的有价金属没有得到充分利用。本文综述了退役锂离子电池正极材料回收处理技术,主要包括电池的预处理、火法冶金和湿法冶金技术,并对比了各种技术的优缺点。在此基础上,展望了未来锂离子电池正极材料回收技术发展方向。