Sustainable Direct Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries via Solvent Recovery of Electrode Materials

Yaocai Bai, Nitin Muralidharan, Jianlin Li, Rachid Essehli, Ilias Belharouak

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

102 Scopus citations

Abstract

Separation of electrode materials from their current collectors is an enabling step toward recovering critical materials from spent lithium-ion batteries. In the presented research, a highly efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable separation process was developed for that purpose. Ethylene glycol, a vital commodity chemical as an antifreeze and polymer precursor, is used to delaminate electrode materials at low temperatures in seconds without altering the crystalline structure and morphology of active electrode materials. The recovered current collectors were intact without any corrosion. The authors also found that the solvent could be continuously reused, leading to the development of a closed-loop ecosystem and lithium-ion battery circular economy. The ultrafast delamination was driven by the competitive inhibition of binding through the weakening of hydrogen bonding. The ethylene glycol-based separation is a sustainable electrode recovery process that paves the way for battery recycling.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5664-5670
Number of pages7
JournalChemSusChem
Volume13
Issue number21
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 6 2020

Funding

This research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT Battelle, LLC, for the US Department of Energy under contract DE‐AC05‐00OR22725, was sponsored by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Vehicle Technologies Office (Interim 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. This research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT Battelle, LLC, for the US Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725, was sponsored by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Vehicle Technologies Office (Interim 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.

FundersFunder number
DOE Office of Science
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Vehicle Technologies Office
US Department of EnergyDE-AC05-00OR22725
U.S. Department of EnergyDE‐AC05‐00OR22725
Battelle
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Argonne National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
UT-Battelle

    Keywords

    • batteries
    • electrode materials
    • ethylene glycol
    • lithium
    • recycling

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