Recovery of Metals from Waste Lithium Ion Battery Leachates Using Biogenic Hydrogen Sulfide

Abstract

Lithium ion battery (LIB) waste is increasing globally and contains an abundance of valuable metals that can be recovered for re-use. This study aimed to evaluate the recovery of metals from LIB waste leachate using hydrogen sulfide generated by a consortium of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in a lactate-fed fluidised bed reactor (FBR). The microbial community analysis showed Desulfovibrio as the most abundant genus in a dynamic and diverse bioreactor consortium. During periods of biogenic hydrogen sulfide production, the average dissolved sulfide concentration was 507 mg L−1 and the average volumetric sulfate reduction rate was 278 mg L−1 d−1. Over 99% precipitation efficiency was achieved for Al, Ni, Co, and Cu using biogenic sulfide and NaOH, accounting for 96% of the metal value contained in the LIB waste leachate. The purity indices of the precipitates were highest for Co, being above 0.7 for the precipitate at pH 10. However, the process was not selective for individual metals due to simultaneous precipitation and the complexity of the metal content of the LIB waste. Overall, the process facilitated the production of high value mixed metal precipitates, which could be purified further or used as feedstock for other processes, such as the production of steel.

Selective bacterial separation of critical metals a sustainable method for recycling lithium ion batteries

“…S3). 17 Co and Ni precipitation was not detected by ICP-OES in fresh nutrient media or 3-(N-morpholino) propanesulfonic acid (MOPS) buffer abiotic controls. Upon examination of the bacterial cells post-treatment using cryo-EM, we observed areas of high-density in the bacterial envelope of cells incubated with 50 ppm Co 2+ (Fig.…”

E-Waste Recycling and Resource Recovery: A Review on Technologies, Barriers and Enablers with a Focus on Oceania

“…The most common bioleaching processes involve the use of biogenic sulfuric acid and biogenic ferric iron generated by sulfur-and iron-oxidising microorganisms, respectively. These reagents have been used in laboratory scale trials to extract base metals from PCBs [162] and lithium-ion batteries [221] as well as gallium, copper and nickel from light-emitting diodes [222]. Previously, the toxicity of heavy metals and/or other components in e-waste has limited the potential application of one-step contact bioleaching of e-waste with iron and sulfur-oxidising microorganisms [223].…”

Metal Sulfide Precipitation: Recent Breakthroughs and Future Outlooks

“…The selective Co recovery from LIB leachate was recently studied by Choubey and colleagues [38], who reported a Co recovery higher than 99% at a pH around 3.0, using ammonium sulfide as the precipitant. Previously, Calvert and colleagues [39] studied the recovery of different metals from LIB leachate using a BSP process, reporting high metal recoveries for Cu, Al, Co, Ni, Cd, Zn, Mn, and Fe. However, the selective precipitation was only achieved for Cu and Al at a lower pH (<5.0).…”