Abstract
Effective separation of cathode materials and current collectors is one of the most enabling steps, yet a very challenging step, in recycling electrode scraps and spent Li-ion cells. Here, a green solvent, triethyl phosphate, was used to recover invaluable cobalt-containing cathodes, such as NMC622, by dissolving the polymeric binder of poly(vinylidene fluoride). Electrochemically active materials were separated from cathode scraps collected at the manufacturing step of electrodes through a solvent-based separation method without jeopardizing their physical characteristics, crystalline structure, and electrochemical performance. We found that the recovered aluminum foils were clean without any sign of corrosion and that the polymeric binder could be recovered via a non-solvent-induced phase separation. Additionally, recovery of cathode materials from spent cells was achieved using refined separation parameters based on the recycling of cathode scraps. It is anticipated that this green solvent-based separation for cathode recovery will attract significant interest by the lithium-ion battery manufacturing and recycling communities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 6048-6055 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 17 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 3 2021 |
Funding
This research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725, was sponsored by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Vehicle Technologies Office (Acting Director: David Howell, Program Manager: Samuel Gillard). This work was done in collaboration with the ReCell Center at Argonne National Laboratory. Characterization was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.
Keywords
- battery manufacturing
- cathodes
- direct recycling
- lithium-ion batteries
- triethyl phosphate
