1. |
- Du, Hao, et al.
(author)
-
Easily recyclable lithium-ion batteries : Recycling-oriented cathode design using highly soluble LiFeMnPO4 with a water-soluble binder
- 2023
-
In: Battery Energy. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2768-1688 .- 2768-1696. ; 2:4, s. 1-9
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recycling lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is fundamental for resource recovery, reducing energy consumption, decreasing emissions, and minimizing environmental risks. The inherited properties of materials and design are not commonly attributed to the complexity of recycling LIBs and their effects on the recycling process. The state-of-the-art battery recycling methodology consequently suffers from poor recycling efficiency and high consumption from issues with the cathode and the binder material. As a feasibility study, high-energy-density cathode material LiFeMnPO4 with a water-soluble polyacrylic acid (PAA) binder is extracted with dilute hydrochloric acid at room temperature under oxidant-free conditions. The cathode is wholly leached with high purity and is suitable for reuse. The cathode is easily separated from its constituent materials and reduces material and energy consumption during recycling by 20% and 7%, respectively. This strategy is utilized to fabricate recyclable-oriented LiFeMnPO4/graphite LIBs with a PAA binder and carbon paper current collector. Finally, the limitation of the solubility of the binder is discussed in terms of recycling. This research hopefully provides guidance for recycling-oriented design for the circular economy of the LIB industry.
|
|
2. |
- Du, Hao, et al.
(author)
-
Recovery of lithium salt from spent lithium-ion battery by less polar solvent wash and water extraction
- 2023
-
In: Carbon Neutralization. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2769-3325 .- 2769-3325. ; 2:4, s. 416-424
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) in spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is a potentially valuable resource and a significant environmental pollutant. Unfortunately, most of the LiPF6 in a spent LIB is difficult to extract because the electrolyte is strongly adsorbed by the cathode, anode, and separator. Storing extracted electrolyte is also challenging because it contains LiPF6, which promotes the decomposition of the solvent. Here we show that electrolytes in spent LIBs can be collected by a less polar solvent dimethyl carbonate (DMC) wash, and LiPF6 can be concentrated by simple aqueous extraction by lowering ethylene carbonate (EC) content in the recycled electrolyte. Due to the similar dielectric constant of EC and water, reducing the content of EC in LIB electrolytes, or even eliminating it, facilitates the separation of water and electrolyte, thus enabling the lithium salts in the electrolyte to be separated from the organic solvent. The lithium salt extracting efficiency achieved in this way can be as high as 99.8%, and fluorine and phosphorus of LiPF6 can be fixed in the form of stable metal fluoride and phosphate by hydrothermal method. The same strategy can be used in industrial waste electrolyte recycling by diluting the waste with DMC and extracting the resulting solution with water. This work thus reveals a new route for waste electrolyte treatment and will also support the development of advanced EC-free electrolytes for high-performance, safe, and easily recyclable LIBs.
|
|
3. |
- Du, Hao, et al.
(author)
-
Side reactions/changes in lithium-ion batteries : mechanisms and strategies for creating safer and better batteries
- 2024
-
In: Advanced Materials. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0935-9648 .- 1521-4095.
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Abstract Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), in which lithium ions function as charge carriers, are considered the most competitive energy storage devices due to their high energy and power density. However, battery materials, especially with high capacity undergo side reactions and changes that result in capacity decay and safety issues. A deep understanding of the reactions that cause changes in the battery's internal components and the mechanisms of those reactions is needed to build safer and better batteries. This review focuses on the processes of battery failures, with voltage and temperature as the underlying factors. Voltage-induced failures result from anode interfacial reactions, current collector corrosion, cathode interfacial reactions, overcharge, and overdischarge, while temperature-induced failure mechanisms include SEI decomposition, separator damage, and interfacial reactions between electrodes and electrolytes. The review also presents protective strategies for controlling these reactions. As a result, the reader is offered a comprehensive overview of the safety features and failure mechanisms of various LIB components.
|
|
4. |
- Li, Chenglei, et al.
(author)
-
Room-temperature direct regeneration of spent LiFePO4 cathode using the external short circuit strategy
- 2023
-
In: Next Sustainability. - : Elsevier. - 2949-8236.
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), widely used as power sources, are forecasted to reach the terawatt-hour scale, inevitably leading to battery waste and expediating the urgency for effective recycling processes for LFP. The modern recycling methodologies based on material recovery face significant economic, environmental, and energy consumption challenges. This research attempts to resolve these challenges by providing direct cathode regeneration based on the principles of an external short-circuit to replenish lithium lost in the spent cathode with lithiated materials (LiC6, Li metal). Given that most active lithium loss in the cathode is caused by the growth of the solid electrolyte interphase rather than structural damage, restoring the lost lithium can revitalize a spent cathode battery’s electrochemical performance to a near-original state. The lithium loss in LFP cathodes ranging from 20% to 80% was renewed by supplementing lithium. Relithiation of 10Ah commercial LFP spent cathode showed revitalized electrochemical performance. Compared to the modern recycling methods, direct cathode regeneration improves the economic benefits of recycling by 33%, decreases energy consumption by 48%, and reduces carbon emissions by 62%. Direct cathode regeneration provides a scaffold for the next generation of recycling methods to improve recycling efficiency while reducing their environmental footprint.
|
|
5. |
- Lu, Jian, et al.
(author)
-
Surplus energy utilization of spent lithium-ion batteries for high-profit organolithiums
- 2022
-
In: Carbon Energy. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2637-9368. ; 5:6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It is challenging to efficiently and economically recycle many lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of the low valuation of commodity metals and materials, such as LiFePO4. There are millions of tons of spent LIBs where the barrier to recycling is economical, and to make recycling more feasible, it is required that the value of the processed recycled material exceeds the value of raw commodity materials. The presented research illustrates improved profitability and economics for recycling spent LIBs by utilizing the surplus energy in lithiated graphite to drive the preparation of organolithiums to add value to the recycled lithium materials. This study methodology demonstrates that the surplus energy of lithiated graphite obtained from spent LIBs can be utilized to prepare high-value organolithiums, thereby significantly improving the economic profitability of LIB recycling. Organolithiums (R–O–Li and R–Li) were prepared using alkyl alcohol (R–OH) and alkyl bromide (R–Br) as substrates, where R includes varying hindered alkyl hydrocarbons. The organolithiums extracted from per kilogram of recycled LIBs can increase the economic value between $29.5 and $226.5 kg−1 cell. The value of the organolithiums is at least 5.4 times the total theoretical value of spent materials, improving the profitability of recycling LIBs over traditional pyrometallurgical ($0.86 kg−1 cell), hydrometallurgical ($1.00 kg−1 cell), and physical direct recycling methods ($5.40 kg−1 cell).
|
|
6. |
- Wu, Junru, et al.
(author)
-
Unique tridentate coordination tailored solvation sheath towards highly stable lithium metal batteries
- 2023
-
In: Advanced Materials. - : Wiley-VCH Verlagsgesellschaft. - 0935-9648 .- 1521-4095. ; 35:38
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electrolyte optimization by solvent molecule design has been recognized as an effective approach for stabilizing lithium (Li) metal batteries. However, the coordination pattern of Li+ with solvent molecules has been sparsely considered. Here, we report an electrolyte design strategy based on bi/tridentate chelation of Li+ and solvent to tune the solvation structure. As a proof of concept, a novel solvent with multi oxygen coordination sites is demonstrated to facilitate the formation of an anion-aggregated solvation shell, enhancing the interfacial stability and de-solvation kinetics. As a result, the as-developed electrolyte exhibits ultra-stable cycling over 1400 h in symmetric cells with 50 ?m-thin Li foils. When paired with high-loading LiFePO4, full cells maintain 92% capacity over 500 cycles and deliver improved electrochemical performances over a wide temperature range from -10 °C to 60 °C. Furthermore, the concept is validated in a pouch cell (570 mAh), achieving a capacity retention of 99.5% after 100 cycles. This brand-new insight on electrolyte engineering provides guidelines for practical high-performance Li metal batteries. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
|
|
7. |
- Zhao, Yun, et al.
(author)
-
Precise separation of spent lithium-ion cells in water without discharging for recycling
- 2022
-
In: Energy Storage Materials. - : Elsevier. - 2405-8289 .- 2405-8297. ; 45, s. 1092-1099
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- New methods for recycling lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are needed because traditional recycling methods are based on battery pulverization, which requires pre-treatment of tedious and non-eco-friendly discharging and results in low efficiency and high waste generation in post-treatment. Separating the components of recycled LIB cells followed by reuse or conversion of individual components could minimize material cross-contamination while avoiding excessive consumption of energy and chemicals. However, disposing of charged LIB cells is hazardous due to the high reactivity of lithiated graphite towards cathode materials and air, and the toxicity and flammability of the electrolytes. Here we demonstrate that the disassembly of charged jellyroll LIB cells in water with a single main step reveals no emissions from the cells and near perfect recycling efficiencies that exceed the targets of the US Department of Energy and Batteries Europe. The precise non-destructive mechanical method separates the components from jellyroll cell in water, avoiding both uncontrollable reactions from the anode and burning of the electrolyte, while allowing only a limited fraction of the anode lithium to react with water. Recycling in this way allows the recovery of materials with a value of ∼7.14 $ kg−1 cell, which is higher than that of physical separation (∼5.40 $ kg−1 cell) and much greater than the overall revenue achieved using element extraction methods (<1.00 $ kg−1 cell). The precise separation method could thus facilitate the establishment of a circular economy within the LIB industry and build a strong bridge between academia and the battery recycling industry.
|
|
8. |
- Zhao, Yun, et al.
(author)
-
Recycling of sodium-ion batteries
- 2023
-
In: Nature Reviews Materials. - : Springer Nature. - 2058-8437. ; 8:9, s. 623-634
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are promising electrical power sources complementary to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and could be crucial in future electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Spent LIBs and SIBs both face many of the same environmental and economic challenges in their recycling, but SIB recycling has a much higher economic barrier. Although LIB recycling can be profitable by recovering high-valued metals of lithium and cobalt, the lower material valuation of spent SIBs diminishes profitability and may hinder industrial recycling. Pre-emptive strategies to facilitate recycling spent SIBs should be made during the early commercialization stage to ensure that SIBs are designed for ease of recycling, low operation costs and optimum efficiency. This Perspective article summarizes the material components of SIBs, discusses strategies for their recycling and outlines the associated challenges and future outlook of SIB recycling. The insights presented should aid scientists and engineers in creating a circular economy for the SIB industry.
|
|