Recovery of Co, Li, and Ni from Spent Li-Ion Batteries by the Inorganic and/or Organic Reducer Assisted Leaching Method

Abstract

The battery powder (anodic and cathodic mass) manually separated from spent Li-ion batteries used in laptops was subjected to acidic reductive leaching to recover the Co, Li, and Ni contained in it. In the laboratory experiments, 1.5 M sulfuric acid was used as the leaching agent and the reducing agents were 30% H2O2 solution or/and glutaric acid. Glutaric acid is a potential new reducing agent in the leaching process of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The influence of the type of the used reducer on obtained recovery degrees of Co, Li, and Ni as well as the synergism of the two tested reducing compounds were analyzed. As a result, it was determined that it is possible to efficiently hydrometallurgically separate Co, Li, and Ni from battery powder into solutions. The highest recovery degrees of the investigated metals (Co: 87.85%; Li: 99.91%; Ni: 91.46%) were obtained for samples where two reducers, perhydrol and glutaric acid, were added, thus confirming the assumed synergic action of H2O2 and C5H8O4 in a given reaction environment.

Recovery of Al, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Ni from Spent LIBs after Li Selective Separation by the COOL‐Process. Part 1: Leaching of Solid Residue from COOL‐Process

“…Sulfuric acid gave leaching efficiencies that did not exceed 46.6 %. Urban ´ska made similar observations under comparable conditions, with leaching efficiencies even lower ( 35 %) [11]. Whether or not organic acids perform better, is matter of controversial discussion.…”

“…Mineral acids such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and nitric acid usually show higher leaching efficiencies. However, these acids also have disadvantages, such as the release of toxic gases or strong corrosiveness [11]. For this reason, organic acids such as citric acid, oxalic acid or tartaric acid are progressively used for leaching of spent LIBs.…”

“…In addition, organic acids may act as reducing agents, which can further increase leaching performance [5]. On the other hand, they are far more costly and their use can only be justified in terms of process economy by the intrinsic value of the metal content exceeding the value of the reactants used [11].…”

Removal of Zn(II) and Mn(II) by Ion Flotation from Aqueous Solutions Derived from Zn-C and Zn-Mn(II) Batteries Leaching

“…Ecological aspects and an increasing depletion of polymetallic ores generate the need for research on new nonferrous materials in unused and hard-to-reach places as well as for the improvement in techniques used to recover metals from secondary sources. There is a growing interest in the recovery of metals from electrical and electronic solid wastes [1][2][3][4][5][6], batteries and accumulators [7][8][9][10], as well as car catalysts [11]. The main advantages of waste treatment are the recovery of valuable metallic materials and the prevention of the release of toxic metals into the natural environment.…”

High-Performance Recovery of Cobalt and Nickel from the Cathode Materials of NMC Type Li-Ion Battery by Complexation-Assisted Solvent Extraction

“…Nevertheless, the metal extraction percentage in some organic acid solution systems is not high enough for the recovery and separation of different metals from ternary metal oxide, i.e., NMC. As shown in Table 2, there are also some studies using inorganic acid leaching solution [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Among them, acid leaching solution added with reducing agent has higher efficiency for cathodic metals.…”