Sulfation Roasting Mechanism for Spent Lithium-Ion Battery Metal Oxides Under SO2-O2-Ar Atmosphere

Abstract

Sulfation roasting followed by water leaching has been proposed as an alternative route for recycling valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In the present work, the reaction mechanism of the sulfation roasting of synthetic LiCoO 2 was investigated by both thermodynamic calculations and roasting experiments under flowing 10% SO 2 -1% O 2 -89% Ar gas atmosphere at 700°C. The products and microstructural evolution processes were characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer, and atomic absorption spectroscopy. It was confirmed that Co 3 O 4 was formed as an intermedia product, and the final roasted products were composed by Li 2 SO 4 , Li 2 Co(SO 4 ) 2 , and CoO. The leaching results indicated that 99.5% Li and 17.4% Co could be recovered into water after 120 min of roasting. The present results will provide the basis and solid guidelines for recycling of Li and Co from spent LIBs.

A Combined Pyro- and Hydrometallurgical Approach to Recycle Pyrolyzed Lithium-Ion Battery Black Mass Part 1: Production of Lithium Concentrates in an Electric Arc Furnace

“…Four minerals were identified in the samples, γ-lithium aluminate, lithium metasilicate and two lithium aluminum silicates. Furthermore, at least one mineral is present in the slags 4, 5 and 6, which could not be identified, since peaks at for example 21 Lithium metasilicate is present in all samples, except for trial 5. Trial 6 contains even less silicon, but lithium metasilicate is present in that sample, even though the peak intensity is quite low compared to the slag 1, 2, 3, and 4.…”

“…Although lithium does not represent a critical metal, its recovery, especially regarding future battery systems, where lithium will be manifested as an indispensable cathode component, becomes essential. In the field of battery recycling, research projects have been carried out for several years dealing with both single and combined mechanical, pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes as well as pyrolysis to recover battery components [5,10,11,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. However, the focus is set mainly on critical and valuable metals, which is the reason why lithium as a component has not been sufficiently considered [24].…”

Integrating Flotation and Pyrometallurgy for Recovering Graphite and Valuable Metals from Battery Scrap

“…The estimated lifetime of EV batteries is eight years during first life and five years for second life [5]. In consumer electronics, the lifespan is generally less than three years [6].…”

A Combined Pyro- and Hydrometallurgical Approach to Recycle Pyrolyzed Lithium-Ion Battery Black Mass Part 2: Lithium Recovery from Li Enriched Slag—Thermodynamic Study, Kinetic Study, and Dry Digestion

“…In 2020, lithium was newly included among the European Union (EU)'s critical raw materials, which made its recovery, especially in the battery systems, where lithium is an indispensable cathode component, essential [13]. In the field of battery recycling, research projects have been carried out for several years dealing with both single and combined mechanical, pyrometallurgical, and hydrometallurgical processes as well as pyrolysis to recover battery components [5,10,11,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. However, the focus is mainly set on more valuable metals, which is the reason why lithium as a component has not been sufficiently considered [25].…”