Natural Biomass Soups (NBSs): New Green Solvents Replacing Ionic Liquids and Deep Eutectic Solvents for Lithium-Ion Batteries Recovery

Abstract

Water, supercritical fluids, ionic liquids, and deep eutectic solvents have been deemed as traditional green solvents. The increasing demand for sustainable development necessitates the exploration of innovative green solvents due to some disadvantages of the traditional green solvents. In this regard, a novel concept of “natural biomass soups (NBSs)” is introduced to be eco-friendly alternatives to traditional green solvents. NBSs represent the solvents directly prepared from natural biomass without any additional industrial purification, rendering the advantages of being cheap, simple, green, biocompatible, natural, tunable, and task-specific and avoiding the usage of any additional solvents/catalysts/additives. An exemplary application of NBSs involves their exceptional ability to efficiently extract metals from lithium-ion battery cathodes at mild temperatures. NBSs have the potential to replace ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents and significantly expand the realm of green solvents and green chemistry.

A systematic review of efficient recycling for the cathode materials of spent lithium-ion batteries: process intensification technologies beyond traditional methods

“…Du et al 193,194 explored the utilization of plasma technology to process various metal-containing spent materials, offering a prospective avenue for LIB material recovery. Additionally, some researchers have successfully applied electrostatic methods, 195 precipitation–chelation methods, 196 spray pyrolysis technologies, 197 biomass law, 198 nanofiltration membranes, 199 glucose reduction-acid leaching approach, 200 coprecipitation, 201 and reduction roasting-selective ammonia leaching 202 for the recovery of cathode materials from LIBs, yielding impressive outcomes. Moreover, a plethora of other potential development technologies, as yet unapplied to LIB material recovery, undoubtedly await exploration.…”