Recovery of LiCoO2 and graphite from spent lithium-ion batteries by molten-salt electrolysis
Jin Feng,
Beilei Zhang,
Pin Du,
Yahong Yuan,
Mengting Li,
Xiang Chen,
Yanyang Guo,
Hongwei Xie,
Huayi Yin
Affiliations
Jin Feng
Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral of Ministry of Education, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, 11 Wenhua Road, Heping District, Shenyang 110819, P.R. China
Beilei Zhang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, P.R. China
Pin Du
Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral of Ministry of Education, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, 11 Wenhua Road, Heping District, Shenyang 110819, P.R. China
Yahong Yuan
Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral of Ministry of Education, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, 11 Wenhua Road, Heping District, Shenyang 110819, P.R. China
Mengting Li
Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral of Ministry of Education, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, 11 Wenhua Road, Heping District, Shenyang 110819, P.R. China
Xiang Chen
Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral of Ministry of Education, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, 11 Wenhua Road, Heping District, Shenyang 110819, P.R. China
Yanyang Guo
Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral of Ministry of Education, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, 11 Wenhua Road, Heping District, Shenyang 110819, P.R. China
Hongwei Xie
Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral of Ministry of Education, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, 11 Wenhua Road, Heping District, Shenyang 110819, P.R. China
Huayi Yin
Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral of Ministry of Education, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, 11 Wenhua Road, Heping District, Shenyang 110819, P.R. China; Key Laboratory of Data Analytics and Optimization for Smart Industry, Ministry of Education, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, P.R. China; School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, 299 Bayi Road, Wuhan, Wuchang District 430072, P.R. China; Corresponding author
Summary: The recovery of spent lithium-ion batteries has not only economic value but also ecological benefits. In this paper, molten-salt electrolysis was employed to recover spent LiCoO2 batteries, in which NaCl-Na2CO3 melts were used as the electrolyte, the graphite rod and the mixtures of the spent LiCoO2 cathode and anode were used as the anode and cathode, respectively. During the electrolysis, the LiCoO2 was electrochemically reduced to Co, and Li+ and O2− entered into the molten salt. The O2− was discharged at the anode to generate CO2 and formed Li2CO3. After electrolysis, the cathodic products were separated by magnetic separation to obtain Co and graphite, and Li2CO3 was recovered by water leaching. The recovery efficiencies of Li, Co, and graphite reached 99.3%, 98.1%, and 83.6%, respectively. Overall, this paper provides a simple and efficient electrochemical method for the simultaneous recovery of the cathode and the anode of spent LiCoO2 batteries.
